A Pound of Bad Outweighs a Ton of Good
Developing goodness is war.
The grueling truth of leadership is good doesn’t overcome bad. Be gentle 80% of the time and gruff the other 20% and what are you? Gruff! The same is true for generosity and greed, or gratitude and ungratefulness.
Bad is five times stronger than good.
Deal with bad:
Because bad is stronger than good, the negative behaviors you tolerate dominate your culture.
Deal quickly with bad. For example, when gossips complain, ask, “What do you want?” Don’t ask, “What’s the matter?”
See Bob Sutton’s book, “Scaling Up Excellence.”
Good:
Great leaders are aggressively good because a pound of bad outweighs a ton of good. One lie defeats a thousand honest statements when it comes to reputation, for example.
5 expressions of aggressive goodness:
- Choose to be a Go-Giver. “Go-givers go further than go-takers.” Bob Burg. (See the five laws.)
- Inconvenience yourself for the convenience of others.
- Listen first, often, and most. Fewer words have more power than many.
- Find ways to go with more than against. Say yes frequently.
- Develop people aggressively and expect them to live up to their potential. Agree on where they want to go and challenge them to get there.
Bring value:
“Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.” Bob Burg.
- Help others reach their goals.
- Surround yourself with people you feel free to support. If you can’t pour yourself into the people around you, you need new people around.
- Understand and embrace their goals before explaining yours.
- People with conflicting goals can’t work together until they find alignment.
Leadership dictionary “G’s”
- Gain
- Gallant
- Genuine
- Generate
- Generous
- Gentle/gentleness
- Gift
- Gifted
- Give/giving
- Global
- Glue
- Go
- Go-getter
- Go-giver
- Goal
- Good
- Grace/gracious
- Grapple
- Grateful
- Great/greatness
- Gregarious
- Grit
- Grounded
- Group
- Grow/growth
- Guts
**Tomorrow is the “H” installment in the Dictionary for Leaders. Leave your leadership “H” words on Facebook.
Dan, Great as always, that is why you have become the go-too guy! “Get it done” (Gitter done the Cable guy) the new catch phrase done comes to mind as well! Cheers
Thanks Tim. Nice use of “G’s!” I’m grateful for your commitment to growth.
What do you want?
Beautiful – such a simple question with such power to confront and turn the process.
Interesting to challenge weather as leaders we are clearing the way for the good or creating a resting place for the bad.
so in the vein of seeing the whole picture or only the part that shouts louder my G word is Gestalt.
Thanks Dan.
Thanks Richard. Ah! Ha!. You just gave me a moment of enlightenment.
I think it’s easier to promote the good than it is to work on the bad. But the trouble is, when we ignore the bad it spoils the good. Ugh!
Cheers
Dear Dan,
What do you want is the useful technique to deal with gossips. It will further stop damage. But, it often becomes difficult to trace the root. In that case, it is better to let it go. When you come to know the source, then it is better to confront it.
Leaders can engage in the war for goodness in one way. They should not worry about aberrations. I mean, when leaders are on right path, they should not bother about people who questions them. They also do not need to respond them. It is better to stop people who question your approach. It is important to understand the limitation of people. There will always be people who criticize your goal and approach. You do not need to satisfy them.
Time is the great judge. It does justice to each and every effort. Even if you achieve greater height, there will be some who will questions your intention. Leaders set higher goals, they move towards with unshakable determination.
Thanks Dr. Gupta. Your observation about not being pulled off course by aberrations is powerful. It’s also a challenge to manage. Perhaps one way to know if we should pay attention to an “aberration” has to do with the intent of the person/persons involved.
“G” like GIFT – Sancte spiritus 🙂
I like the gift – because unite in their many qualities, including that of the mind (spirit).
Love, joy, passion, commitment and enrichment, to name just a few.
Enrichment is one of the most beautiful gifts for me, we will not only continue – but we share them – yes. The strength and wisdom – thanks to powerful words – is a gift which can act enriching and transforming.
In this sense – wonderful gifts today – thanks Dan.
With joy Beate
Thanks Beate. I find the word “gift” delightful. I also find it easier to give than receive. But, for the idea of “gift” to work we need to learn how to receive as well as give.
I add gratuitous. If you only return to people what they are worth, you aren’t benefitting anyone but yourself. Give more, inspire and drive happiness in others, and you will get more in return.
Thanks John. Going the extra mile for no “good” reason, just because, is powerful.
Hmm… *Guide*… Gë¿ë…U…&…I…D(deserve)…E(everything)… Humbly *Guide*… Your Self… w/ Others… Thinking You Have… All The Answers… Or… Above… Making Mistakes… *Generates*… Your Character Defects… Making It Become… Part Of… The *Gross* Evil… Walk Forward… Giving Of Yourself…Mistakes…*Grows*…Wisdom… … Believing In… The *Greatness*… Of Some Thing… More *Giant*… Than Trivial… *Greedy*… *Gains*… *Great* Read For Today… No *Grumbling*… From Me… Gë¿ë…Thanx!!!
A generous use of “G.” Thank you trbl13
But then, look at the newspaper. Not much attention is given to good news…
Thanks Rajiv. Our proclivity toward the negative makes working toward the positive even more important… I think
You are absolutely spot on…
Takes 5-7 Great Jobs to make up for 1 Gotcha..
Thanks Patrick. Truth!
This is great, feels rare to find a leader fearless enough to focus on good!
Love the picture Dan – says it all – very simply
Thanks Tony.
Thanks Natasha.
Dan, I appreciate the intent behind the image of the two dogs, but its actually wrong. When dogs pull against each other, that’s their version of team building. You see, this is the part of the wild instinct for hunting that calls for dismembering the prey. It is quite difficult for a single dog/wolf to tear the carcass hide, so in the wild several wild dogs/wolves will pull in different directions to split the hide so they can get at the flesh. Counter-intuitive, but true. The wolf pack very rarely fights among themselves for scraps. They are consummate co-operators. So, if anyone wants to be their dog’s best buddy, play pull at the rope, and your canine will just love you as a team member; a really great bonding activity..
Thanks denpobedy. Glad you gave me a lesson in team building from a dog’s point of view. I suppose that when we pull against each other as we try to find common ground, we end up pulling together, too.
It seems to me that the lesson here is the importance of maintaining focus on a constructive mission and its objective, and larger strategic aim even if team members must sometimes engage in seemingly adversarial tasks as part of their functional roles.
How about “Gravitas” – some combination of dignity, being solemn and humble at the same time one is able to draw others closer. Not in some forceful way, but through the gravity of their ability? I don’t know…
For the Geek record, if bad is five times stronger than good, a pound of bad cannot outweigh a ton of good, at 2,240lbs.
Even if we were to take into account the metaphoric multiplier, and the artistic licence fee, Goodness still defeats Evilness, as in all the best movies.
Thanks Al. Very creative.
Please note that the contrast is between good and bad not good and evil. The idea is that bad experiences stick with us longer than good, for example. Think about a being complimented or corrected by a boss. Generally speaking, the correction stings more than the compliment feels good.
Glad you stopped in. Cheers
You’re right of course, but is it because we are more sensitive to bad than good? A lot of folks brush off compliments, perhaps because they are embarrassed by it. It doesn’t change your point, but it does depend on the norm in the relationship. I remember being chewed out every day for months, and then one day, an angels choir sang, the sun broke through the clouds as the words “Good Job!” were heard.
Good point Al. Probably it’s some of both. Recent FMRI’s indicate that ‘bad’ impacts the brain more than ‘good.’ I’m thankful for our exchange and your insights.