Early Winter 2003
the
Mount Vernon Report
“Issues Affecting Re putation Management and Strategic Communication”
Optimism Can Fuel Business Success
Confidence, idealism, trust, energy, good, right, positive, bright, bliss, hope, faith, happy, Shackleton, smile,
upbeat. These are words my colleagues equate with optimism. I would add the word “success” to that list.
A recent study revealed that the most essential personality
trait consistently shared among successful CEOs is optimism
– more so than ambition, intelligence or competitiveness. We
often think only of people as optimistic or pessimistic, but
businesses can fall into those categories as well. Optimism
can play a large role not only in the success of an individual,
but also in the success of a business.
An interesting phenomenon occurs around optimistic people
and businesses – good things happen to them. Optimism
is a valuable motivator. It is a driving force that enables
individuals to take action or make the best of a bad situation.
It is a state of mind that encourages high expectations, which,
in turn, fuel success.
The Power of Dreams
Being in the reputation management profession necessitates a
constant awareness of world events. One of the best ways to
do this is to tune into National Public Radio (NPR).
It’s hard to be an optimist when the news reports deliver
a daily message of strife and hopelessness. But, as the
philosopher says, it is the blackness that makes the light so
redeeming when it shines.
Recently, WBUR-FM, Boston’s NPR affiliate, aired a story
by Daniel Schorr on the 40th anniversary of the assassination
of John F. Kennedy. His report reminded us that the noble
aspects of Kennedy’s reputation remain fresh.
JFK’s youthfulness and joie de vivre personified optimism.
Kennedy always had a quick joke or self-effacing quip, along
with a sense of humility. When his PT boat sank during
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Just as doom and gloom can be self-fulfilling in business, so
can optimism. Rather than looking at the glass as half full
or half empty, the real challenge is looking at the glass and
thinking, “What can I do to make it full?”
Optimists and pessimists operate very differently, and business
success is a direct result of individual actions. Optimists take
more risks and try more new things – they cheerfully deal
with problems head on, rather than withdrawing in presumed
defeat. They view failure as something changeable, something
that can be overcome. Pessimists blame themselves for failure,
attributing it to some permanent characteristic. Because of
this, optimists are more successful in negotiating our world
of constant change.
{SEE OPTIMISM- PG 2}
World War II, JFK wrote a note to his rescuers on a coconut
and floated it out to sea. He knew that if you could dream
it, you could probably achieve it. He foresaw a world free
of the threat of nuclear war, and an America free of racial
injustice. Perhaps the most lasting of his optimistic gambits
was the dream of putting a man on the moon before the
1960’s ended. Kennedy was a leader who saw the possibilities
where others saw obstacles.
Optimists overcome adversity through will, persistence
and hard work. Optimism is contagious. Optimists blaze
with hope and emit inspiration. Positive leaders and
can-do companies with an unwavering sense of purpose
and dauntless enthusiasm draw others into their vision.
Optimists are competitors who love the chase almost as
much as the victory.
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{ O P T I M I S M - co nt . from p g. 1}
In more than 30 years of research on the topic, Dr. Martin
Seligman, a noted psychologist, revealed that optimists:
> Set higher objectives and have a stronger
commitment to their goals.
> Are resilient – they have the staying power for
long-term success.
> Demonstrate persistence – they believe challenges
can be overcome.
> Are flexible, enabling them to effectively manage
new circumstances.
> Recover quickly from rejection and setbacks.
> Focus on how it can be accomplished, rather than
why it can’t be done.
> Are more secure with themselves.
> View success as permanent – each success
motivates an optimist to achieve higher ideals.
> Believe they influence and control their results,
motivating them to try harder.
> Are capable of managing their motivation during
difficult times.
> Consistently produce more than pessimists,
particularly in challenging situations.
> Are healthier, physically, so take less sick-time
from work.
> Are less likely to quit their jobs.
Optimism is a recurring theme in successful people, businesses
and even expeditions throughout history.
The famed explorer Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 expedition to
Antarctica is considered one of the greatest exploration epics, and
serves as a parable for modern business in many ways. Among his
qualifications for members of his crew: Irrepressible optimism.
When the Ritz-Carlton won the Malcolm Baldridge National
Quality Award, Horst Schulze, the luxury hotel’s CEO, was asked
pg.
2
to pinpoint the single most important factor behind the honor.
“People,” Schulze said enthusiastically after only a few seconds of
thought. “Having motivated, energetic, hardworking people with
great attitudes. That’s the single most important factor.”
During the Great Depression, the president of the Los Angeles
Chamber of Commerce was quizzed about the effects of the
Depression on the City of Angels. He replied, “Depression? We
have no depression in Los Angeles, but I will admit that we are
having the worst boom in many, many years.”
When trying to grow his business, Starbucks Chairman and
CEO Howard Schultz identified the facts, acknowledged them,
Rather than looking at the glass
as half full or half empty,
the real challenge is looking
at the glass and thinking,
“What can I do to make it full?”
and creatively discovered ways of moving forward. Naysayers
pointed out that Starbucks had no hold on the world’s supply
of fine coffee and no patent on the dark roast. There are, they
noted, many reasons why cups of coffee would never be a
growth industry.
Today, the highly successful Starbucks has thousands of stores
across the U.S., and opens hundreds more each year.
Fueling the importance of optimism in business, especially in
today’s economy where every penny counts, the Bureau of Labor
Statistics estimates that U.S. companies lose approximately $3
billion per year due to negativity.
But, for pessimists, hope remains. In The Power of Positive Thinking
in Business, Scott Ventrella outlines a model to help businesses
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achieve greater productivity and improved profitability. The
key to achieving greater levels of performance in the workplace
is to equip people with ways to uncover and eliminate hidden
attitudinal barriers and re-discover positive behaviors, which he
maintains we all have, but are dormant in many. The first step
in increasing an individual’s optimism level is to determine the
point at which their mindset shifts to pessimism – often one or
multiple events that act as triggers for that person. By re-orienting
how they view certain obstacles and setbacks, individuals can
short-circuit the chain reaction that leads to pessimism.
Being optimistic does not mean being unrealistic. According to an
article in July’s Harvard Business Review by consultant Dan Lovallo
and Professor Daniel Kahneman, forecasts should be realistic
– based on data and facts. But once plans are in place, contagious
optimism can inspire the team to new heights, encouraging
extraordinary efforts to achieve goals.
As we move into 2004, and we begin to see the dark cloud over
the economy lift, it seems important to aspire to bring optimism
to all we do, in business and otherwise. Better attitudes will help
fuel recovery, and ultimately, success.
~ Megan Page
“No pessimist ever discovered
the secrets of the stars,
or sailed to an uncharted land,
or opened a new heaven to the
human spirit.”
- Helen Keller
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3
We all have these mornings. You wake up on the wrong side
of the bed. The paper is late. Your cornflakes are too soggy.
Inanimate objects seem to be plotting against you. You spend
half the morning in traffic or the train runs late. It starts
raining on your walk to the office. And then you step into the
office and are greeted by someone’s unending chirpiness and a
cheerful, “Good morning!”
Suppress that urge to strangle them and to grumble: “What’s
so good about it?”
Relax. Have a cup of coffee. Take a deep breath. And change
your attitude!
Why? That foul disposition can make you sick. Literally!
Last summer, Dr. Richard Davidson, a neuroscientist at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison, confirmed in a study what
many have believed for a long time: Optimism and positive
thinking leads to a longer life. According to Davidson’s study,
people with high activity in the left side of their brain, where
positive thinking takes place, enjoy better immune systems than
those who have a more active right side, where the negative
emotions are predominant.
Of course, pessimists can now claim that they are the only
people in their “right minds.”
Nonetheless, the study revealed that optimists have fewer
illnesses and doctor visits, fewer accidents, better physician
ratings of their general well being, and longer survival times
following a heart attack or disease.
Thus, there is good reason for staying upbeat, positive and
optimistic. The heady force of optimism has powered our
nation’s economic and political engines, led to such triumphs as
putting a man on the moon, Lewis & Clark’s trek across America
and even “depressing” Boston’s Central Artery underground.
But now we know there are health benefits as well!
In other words, think happy thoughts and, though you may not
have discovered the Fountain of Youth, maybe you’ll avoid a
nasty cold this winter.
~ John Lamontagne
 “The only limit to our realization of
tomorrow will be our doubts of today.”
Accentuate the Positive
I think I can, I think I can. Those simple words, uttered and sputtered
by Wally Piper’s legendary storybook character, The Little Engine
That Could, have wiggled their way into our society’s vernacular
society as the optimist’s anthem.
The classic children’s story of a down-on-his-luck, toy-toting
locomotive and his unflinching perseverance has taught
generations of children, and adults alike, the literal strength of
positive thinking.
In the story, an undersized train with a big heart, a venerable
underdog of the locomotive sect, sets off to deliver loads of good
food and fun toys to deserving children everywhere. This little
train pipes off a positive vibe, a turned up smile, and a cheerful
disposition. No angry gray smoke stacks or screeching, dusty
wheels for this chipper choo choo.
What’s more, even when crisis hits in the form of a too steep
hill, and the temptation to give up rears its ugly head, the little
train keeps going. He rallies his passengers, fires up his engine
of can-do optimism, and transforms what little physical strength
he has into an unstoppable emotional force that carries him, and
the childhood dreams of kids everywhere, above and beyond the
challenge he had faced.
Our locomotive hero literally turns mountains into molehills.
Behold, the power of optimism.
Like the famous “little engine,” we all have bad days. Sometimes
life gives us lemons, and often, the glass is indeed half empty. A
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pg.
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- Franklin D. Roosevelt
stressful morning in the office or a trying evening at home can
feel like an endless uphill trek with too much weight on our backs
and too little steam in our engine. It is during these times that
optimism seems impossible, while a devil sits on our shoulders
preaching the power of pessimism.
When faced with these demons, like our heroic locomotive, we
seek out alternate routes and look to others. Visit characteristically
optimistic coworkers and soak up their positive vibe. Leave the
complicated adult world behind and laugh with your children.
Give your mind a rest and watch a funny movie. Fill your feet
and your head with warm fuzzies and put on a pair of slippers,
curl up on the couch and read a classic novel. Write in a journal.
Go for a jog. Play your favorite CD, open that bottle of wine
you were saving for company, and ignore that negative little devil
trying hard to hang on to your shoulder and your mindset.
Let’s face it: Sometimes it is easier to be negative than it is to
remain optimistic. It seems all signs point to giving up, and the
will to keep going is a futile and frivolous aim. Sometimes it
seems easier to abandon the train, leave the toys behind, and call
a cab.
When this happens, there is only one thing to do: Fight your way
up the hill.
Or, as Dorie, the chronically forgetful but relentlessly cheerful
fish in Pixar’s animated blockbuster, Finding Nemo, might advise:
“Just keep on swimming.”
~ Kerry Murphy