Dr. Deming's Joy at Work, Happiness & the High Performance Organization

 5. Optimism and Creative Dissatisfaction Generate Performance

Norman Vincent Peal was right. The Power of Positive Thinking is one of the most popular management and self help books of all time. He had no scientific data to support his philosophy, but like Dr. Deming, he had good intuition and powers of observation. You can summarize its guidance in this quote:

“Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop the picture…Do not build up obstacles in your imagination.”

Today we might view this as somewhat sophomoric advice from a bygone age. But, it turns out, that today’s science proves that he was right on the money. Martin Seligman wrote a great book title Learned Optimism which followed his less happy book, Learned Helplessness. In it he cites a great deal of research that demonstrated that well functioning, high performing, individuals are essentially optimistic and not pessimistic.

“The optimists and the pessimists: I have been studying them for the past twenty-five years. The defining characteristic of pessimists is that they tend to believe bad events will last a long time, will undermine everything they do, and are their own fault. The optimists, who are confronted with the same hard knocks of this world, think about misfortune in the opposite way. They tend to believe defeat is just a temporary setback, that its causes are confined to this one case. The optimists believe defeat is not their fault: Circumstances, bad luck, or other people brought it about. Such people are unfazed by defeat. Confronted by a bad situation, they perceive it as a challenge and try harder.” Martin Seligman in Learned Optimism.

In other words -- hire optimists and not pessimists! Create a culture of optimism, of hope, of belief in a positive future for your organization. Winning cultures and winning teams are optimistic. No football coach before the game gave a speech to his team in which he said, “Well boys, we have no chance of beating this team, so let’s go out there and take what’s coming to us!” And, subsequently won the game. Losers tend to believe in their own defeat.

The positive psychology research has demonstrated that“On average, optimistic individuals are healthier because they take care of themselves; optimistic students earn better grades because they go to class; optimistic insurance agents sell more policies because they make cold calls; and so on.” (Peterson, p. 89.)

However, optimists also need what I have termed creative dissatisfaction in order to motivate high performance. In order for positive reinforcement to have its effect, there must be deprivation and not satiation. Creative dissatisfaction is the awareness of the gap between where I am or who I am and where I could be or who I could be. I could have a best-selling book. I could get that promotion. I could get that better job or learn that new skill. On the other hand, I will never play in the NBA.

It is a core function of leadership in every organization to generate both optimism or hope and creative dissatisfaction. Where are we going and why will it be great when we get there? How will we get there? What must I do to help us get there? Effective leaders provide the answer to these questions and generate both optimism and creative dissatisfaction.

So, to summarize how you can instill joy and high performance in your organization:

1. Build great teams! Be sure that every employee serves on a well functioning team with knowledge of its purpose and its performance. Encourage celebration of winning team goals and setting records.
2. Build internal social networks. Build social networks around common interests and competencies. These become learning networks that provide both the joy of social relationships but also the joy of learning.
3. Be sure to practice respect for people and recognize that the world’s greatest experts are those who are on-the-spot, with their hands on the work. This builds their self-esteem and encourages learning.
4. Institute a process of gaining flexibility through multi-skilled, cross trained employees who can optimize the effectiveness of their teams.
5. Stop wasting money where it doesn’t pay off and spend it where it does. Pay employees for gaining skills and achieving performance. Value high performance by paying for it.
6. Know and promote the worthy purpose of your organization. Ennoble your employees by connecting them to a spirit of service. This is the essence of leadership.
7. Hire optimists and not pessimists. Generate hope and optimism by clearly stating where we are going and why it will be great when we get there. Generate creative dissatisfaction in yourself and your employees.

If you do these things, you will be applying much of the current research in positive psychology and it will fulfill Dr. Deming’s guidance to provide joy at work.

Recommended Reading:

• Authentic Happinessby Martin Seligman
• Pursuing the Good Lifeby Christopher Peterson
• Happiness and the GoodLife by Mike W. Martin
• Stumbling on Happinessby Daniel Gilbert

Lawrence M. Miller has been doing organizational change consulting for 35 years, beginning with his work creating a free economy in prisons. He has worked with Honda, Shell Oil, and dozens of other corporations. He is the author of nine books, most recently Lean Culture The Leader's Guide. His website and blog is www.ManagementMeditations.com. He can be reached at LMMiller@LMMiller.com.