To Get the Best Results,be Positive

The right approach is critical in getting message across
 
DO THE following statements sound familiar to you?
“We’ll never finish the job on time, especially with the limited resources we’ve been given.”

“How come our department always gets all the ’special’ projects”?

“The new associate is nothing like the person she re-placed. What was management thinking?”

These are negative words reflecting negative attitudes from negative people.

Everyone has worked with employees who walked around the office with what seemed to be a dark cloud hovering over them. Wherever they went, problems, miscommunications and extra work followed. Nothing was ever good enough, fast enough or complete enough.

Medical studies and common sense tell us that people tied up itt “nots” get tied up in knots. They experience more physical, emotional and situational complications than those with a more positive approach.

They seem to get less work done and generally have a counter-productive effect on those around them.

Reconsider the opening comments, this time with apositive twist.

“Even though we don’t have all the resources we need, wouldn’t it be great if we could finish the job on time?”

“Every time our department gets `special’ opportunities, we have a chance to per-form miracles and impress the bosses.”

“The new associate seems to have different assets and experiences than we’re used to. We can learn a little fresh, outsider perspective.”

Different words and different attitudes get different results.

Being positive does not mean being oblivious to all the difficulties and challenges of the work environment. It means looking at situations and seeing the promise rather than the peril.

Use positive words
Clinical psychologists say that we hear and remember positive words better than negative words, particularly instructions.

When someone reads a sign that says, “Do not dump trash here”, he has to figure outwhere to dump it.

However, if the sign reads, “Dump trash in the bin near the back door”, the person gets clear instructions.

Instead of saying: “I wasn’t able to reach him on the phone”, say: “We never spoke to him by phone.”

Avoid saying: “Our managers don’t communicate with each other.”

Instead, say: “Our managers should find ways to communicate about cross-departmental projects on a regular basis.”

Positive words sink in easier, deeper, faster.

Emphasise dos, not don’ts
A manager at a large computer company had to put together an online database that would make life easier for all his telephone support people, but he could get no cooperation from them. Here was the situation.

As part of a licensing agreement and fee, users received telephone support by calling an 800 number.

The problem was that whena call came in on a complex question, the staff would spend hours researching the answer, but there was no record of that call or answer.

There was a lot of duplication of research effort, a big backlog of customer calls and numerous complaints about delays. The manager’s goal was to have the staff record their answers and send him copies so that he could put the an-swers into an online database.

After reading his memo to solicit their written answers, I understood why he got so few positive responses.

The memo began: “As you know, we are legally obligated to provide a four-hour response on all customer calls.’ Currently, we are backlogged with customer calls and making little or no progress; complaints continue to grow…” Inother words, it was a negative approach.

I suggested a rewording the memo: “How would you like to get through your stack of backlogged customer calls quickly? How would you like to have all the researched answers to customer calls at the tip of your fingers? Help is on the way. For the next 30 days, I’m asking you simply to record and forward to me a copy of …”

The positive approach generated a much better response. Say what you are for, not what you are against; what you’re going to do, not what yot not going to do; what you can do, not what you cannot do.

The positive angle take more thought, but the results are well worth the effort.

Focus on communicating positively. You will get more and better work done. And when you enter the room, the people around you will be happy, they will not rush to find the exit.