Negativity Cycle

We all hate negativity, who doesn't? Even a negative person hates negativity. Here's a thought from all the years I've run a business and have worked with large corporations and dealers and watched them handle issues and people.

I believe that negativity doesn't pop up out of nowhere--seldom is a person just "mean" and likes to bring everyone down. Often, not always, the negative situation is fueled by a series of non-confrontations: various people avoiding expressing their concern or busy people putting off an undesirable talk.

As this cycle of non-confrontation continues, the stakes get higher, the pressure raises and at some point, someone (either the person most frustrated or the person who is most outspoken) blurts out something that is concerned "negative." Then the recipient of the outburst usually feels sorry for himself or herself, maybe angry, confused--and that's understandable because "up till now nobody had said anything."

I think we can reduce the negative situations one step at a time if we can address little issues before they grow. The good news is that if we do that, those issues are not nearly as difficult to deal with when they're small as when we leave them to grow.

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
http://www.labov.com/