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The Positive Outlook That Optimists Project Does Not Come From Ignoring Or Denying Problems. Optimists Simply Assume That Problems Are Temporary And Can Be Solved, So Optimists Naturally Want More Information About Problems Because Then They Can Get To Work And Do Something. Pessimists Are More Likely To Believe That There Is Nothing They Can Do Anyway, So What's The Point Of Even Thinking About It?

-Rosabeth Moss Kanter

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The Positive Outlook That

Rosabeth Moss Kanter

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The Positive Outlook That Optimists Project Does Not Come From Ignoring Or Denying Problems. Optimists Simply Assume That Problems Are Temporary And Can Be Solved, So Optimists Naturally Want More Information About Problems Because Then They Can Get To Work And Do Something. Pessimists Are More Likely To Believe That There Is Nothing They Can Do Anyway, So What's The Point Of Even Thinking About It?

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Confidence Is The Sweet Spot Between Arrogance And Despair-consisting Of Positive Expectations For Favorable Outcomes.

The Positive Outlook That Optimists Project Does Not Come From Ignoring Or Denying Problems. Optimists Simply Assume That Problems Are Temporary And Can Be Solved, So Optimists Naturally Want More Information About Problems Because Then They Can Get To Work And Do Something. Pessimists Are More Likely To Believe That There Is Nothing They Can Do Anyway, So What's The Point Of Even Thinking About It?

The Difference Between "winners" And "losers" Is Not Whether They Face Obstacles And Setbacks - We All Do, And It Is Inevitable That Plans Do Not Unfold Exactly As Imagined Or That Unexpected Events Surprise Us Or That A Few Mistakes Happen. The Real Difference Is That "winners" Bounce Back From A Fumble Or A Loss By Refusing To Panic, Analyzing The Situation And Looking For Positive Actions They Can Take To Correct The Problem, And Then Go On To Resume Winning.

I Wonder Whether There Has Been Too Much Emphasis On Teaching Women To Conform, To Fit Into The System. Certainly That Suits Conservative Organizations In Conservative Times. But Now ... Innovation And Creativity Are Necessary.

The Most Radical Thing We Can Do Is Connect People To One Another. That Starts Conversations Toward A Vision For Change.

Leaders Must Wake People Out Of Inertia. They Must Get People Excited About Something They've Never Seen Before, Something That Does Not Yet Exist.

Embrace Change As An Opportunity To Learn, To Improve, To Make A Difference In Others' Lives As Well As In Your Own. Have The Courage To Challenge The Status Quo. Remember That Preparation And Ambition In Combination With Opportunity Equals Success. And Have Fun!

The Degree To Which The Opportunity To Use Power Effectively Is Granted To Or Withheld From Individuals Is One Operative Difference Between Those Companies Which Stagnate And Those Which Innovate.

Leaders Are More Powerful Role Models When They Learn Than When They Teach.

Throughout Human History, People Have Developed Strong Loyalties To Traditions, Rituals, And Symbols. In The Most Effective Organizations, They Are Not Only Respected But Celebrated. It Is No Coincidence That The Most Highly Admired Corporations Are Also Among The Most Profitable. Why? Because Everyone Involved Is Committed To Certain Non-negotiable Core Values. Traditions Keep Them Alive. Rituals Such As Special Occasions Reaffirm Them. Symbols Serve As Constant Reminders Of Their Enduring Importance.

Leaders Is The New Organisation Do Not Lack Motivational Tools, But The Tools Are Different From Those Of Traditional Corporate Bureaucrats. The New Rewards Are Based Not On Status But On Contribution, And They Consist Not Of Regular Promotion And Automatic Pay Rises, But Of Excitement About The Mission And A Share Of The Glory Of Success.

A Self-reinforcing Upward Spiral: Performance Stimulating Pride Stimulating Performance.

Nations Need To Understand Their Own Strengths And Weaknesses, And India's Tradition Of Dissent And Democratic Debate Is A Positive Aspect.

The Importance Of Discretion Increases With Closeness To The Top Of A Hierarchical Organization.

I've Found That Small Wins, Small Projects, Small Differences Often Make Huge Differences.

Change Masters Are - Literally - The Right People In The Right Place At The Right Time. The Right People Are The Ones With The Ideas That Move Beyond The Organization's Established Practice, Ideas They Can Form Into Visions. The Right Places Are The Integrative Environments That Support Innovation, Encourage The Building Of Coalitions And Teams To Support And Implement Visions. The Right Times Are Those Moments In The Flow Of Organizational History When It Is Possible To Reconstruct Reality On The Basis On Accumulated Innovations To Shape A More Productive And Successful Future.

The Commune Movement Is Part Of A Reawakening Of Belief In The Possibilities For Utopia That Existed In The Nineteenth Century And Exist Again Today, A Belief That By Creating The Right Social Institution, Human Satisfaction And Growth Can Be Achieved.

The Very Lack Of Opportunity The Group Faces Creates A Self-defeating Cycle And Puts Pressure On Members To Limit Their Aspirations.

Corporate Men And Women, Once Divided By Striking Differences In Opportunity For Career Growth, Have Come To Share Career Chaos.

Confidence Is Not Lodged In People's Brains, It Comes From The Support System That Surrounds Them. Let's Not Confuse Confidence Overall With Just Self-confidence. Self-confidence Is Only One Part Of Confidence. People Also Need Confidence In Others - Their Colleagues And Leaders - That They Can Count On Them To Do The Right Thing And Not To Let Them Down.

Our Future Will Be Shaped By The Assumptions We Make About Who We Are And What We Can Be.

Everything Looks Like A Failure In The Middle.

Companies Used To Be Able To Function With Autocratic Bosses. We Don't Live In That World Anymore.

The Boomers' Biggest Impact Will Be On Eliminating The Term 'retirement' And Inventing A New Stage Of Life... The New Career Arc.

Pessimists See Problems As Stemming From Stable And Universal Causes, Thus Making Them Less Susceptible To Corrective Action. Optimists, In Contrast, View Problems As Temporary And Resulting From Specific Factors That Will Either Change Or Be Changed.

A Great Thinker Once Described Innovative Thinkers This Way: "some Men See Things As They Are And Say, 'why?' I Dream Of Things That Never Were And Say, 'why Not?'" Innovative Thinkers Are Constantly Asking Questions Such As These. How Can We Improve Recruiting, Hiring And Training. How Can Be Add Greater Value To Our Products And Services By Making Them Even Better? How Can We Do More To Nourish The Personal As Well As Professional Development Of Our People? What More Can We Do As A Good Citizen Where We Do Business?

Everything Looks Like A Failure In The Middle. In Neary Every Change Project, Doubt Is Cast On The Original Vision Because Problems Are Mounting And The End Is Nowhere In Sight.

Those Enjoying Winning Streaks Thus Win Twofold. They Win Not Only The Game But Also The Right To Greater Self-determination. They Become Masters Of Their Own Fate. That Feeling Of Efficacy, Of Being In Charge Of Circumstances, Is The Essence Of Confidence. Winning Once Or Twice Is Encouraging, But Winning Continuously Is Empowering.

I Was Determined To Achieve The Total Freedom That Our History Lessons Taught Us We Were Entitled To, No Matter What The Sacrifice.

After Years Of Telling Corporate Citizens To 'trust The System,' Many Companies Must Relearn Instead To Trust Their People - And Encourage Their People To Use Neglected Creative Capacities In Order To Tap The Most Potent Economic Stimulus Of All: Idea Power.

Perpetuating Success Or Sliding Into Decline Is The Result Of Many Intersecting Forces That Reinforce One Another Directly And Indirectly. They Are Both Cause And Effect Of Winning Or Losing. Winning Generates Positive Forces, Losing Generates Negative Forces.

You've No Future Unless You Add Value, Create Projects.

Mindless Habitual Behavior Is The Enemy Of Innovation.

A Great Idea Is Not Enough.

The Middle Of Every Successful Project Looks Like A Disaster.

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People Often Resist Change For Reasons That Make Good Sense To Them, Even If Those Reasons Don't Correspond To Organizational Goals. So It Is Crucial To Recognize, Reward, And Celebrate Accomplishments.

The Way Innovating Companies Are Designed Leaves Ambiguities, Overlaps, Decision Conflicts Or Decision Vacuums In Some Parts Of The Organisation. People Rail At This, Curse It-and Invent Innovative Ways To Overcome It.

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No" Is Always An Easier Stand Than "yes.

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A Basic Truth Of Management - If Not Of Life - Is That Nearly Everything Looks Like A Failure In The Middle.

Money Should Never Be Separated From Values. Detached From Values It May Indeed Be The Root Of All Evil. Linked Effectively To Social Purpose It Can Be The Root Of Opportunity.

Creativity Is A Lot Like Looking At The World Through A Kaleidoscope. You Look At A Set Of Elements, The Same Ones Everyone Else Sees, But Then Reassemble Those Floating Bits And Pieces Into An Enticing New Possibility.

Winning Becomes Easier Over Time As The Cornerstones Of Confidence Become Habits.

The Behavior Of People And The Culture Of An Organization Are Very Different In Winning Streaks And Losing Streaks. But What Both Have In Common Is Their Momentum - Once Winners' Or Losers' Habits And Culture Take Hold, They Tend To Perpetuate Themselves.

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"leadership" Is A Big Topic Today. We Know That The World - Nations And Communities In Addition To Companies - Needs More And Better Leaders. So I Wanted To Explore How Leaders Make A Difference, How They Can Shift A Negative Cycle, Turn Around A Losing Organization, Propel A Team To Victory When Conditions Aren't Perfect. I Saw That What Leaders Do Is Build Confidence In Advance Of Victory. Then The Confidence They Produce Makes The Hope Of Success Turn Into The Reality Of Success, Because People Behave Differently When They Are Surrounded By A Culture Of Confidence.

The Martha Stewart Trial Makes Clear How Far Women Have Risen In The Business World. America Can Be Proud Of Our Equal-opportunity Prosecution And Conviction.

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The Goal Of Winning Is Not Losing Two Times In A Row.

The More Closed The Circle, The More Difficult It Is For 'outsiders' To Break In. Their Very Difficulty In Entering May Be Taken As A Sign Of Incompetence, A Sign That The Insiders Were Right To Close Their Ranks.

Sometimes You Lose - Perhaps Because You Play Against The Very Best, Or Because Surprises Happen - But If There Is Organizational Confidence, You Bounce Back From Losses And Convert Them To Successes.

Passion For A Goal Doesn't Guarantee Success, But Without It, You Can't Even Begin.

Lack Of Opportunity Breeds Dreams Of Escape. But Professionals And Managers Who Have Invested In Their Careers Do Not Leave The Work Force As Frequently As Discouraged Workers In Lower Status Occupations. Instead, They Keep Working, But They Escape Emotionally By Defining Achievement In Professional, Not Company, Terms. ... Thus, The Potential For Being Stuck As Career Uncertainty Grows Takes Its Toll In Weakening Attachment To Any Particular Employer.

I've Been Looking At Companies That Are On A Positive Path Vs. A Negative Path And I've Come To Use The Language Of Sports, Winning Streaks And Losing Streaks.

Leaders Must Pick Causes They Won't Abandon Easily, Remain Committed Despite Setbacks, And Communicate Their Big Ideas Over And Over Again In Every Encounter.

Powerlessness Corrupts: Absolute Powerlessness Corrupts Absolutely.

John Akers Once Said That Changing Ibm's Culture Was More Difficult Than Getting Elephants To Dance. Of Course It's Really Difficult, As Lou Gerstner Also Found Out Years Later. The Title Of His Own Book Is Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? He And His Top Executives Were Change Masters At Ibm. All Organizations, Especially The Larger Ones, Will Always Need Change Masters. Dissatisfaction With The Status Quo And Efforts To Improve It Should Be Encouraged Rather Than Discouraged. Regrettably, That Is Often Not The Case.

... People Are Capable Of More Than Their Organizational Positions Ever Give Them The Tools Or The Time Or The Opportunity To Demonstrate.

Change Is A Threat When Done To Me, But An Opportunity When Done By Me.

During The Boom Years, It Was So Easy To Lose Sight Of Basic Values. For Example, There Was Lots Of Nonsense Said And Written About The So-called "new Economy." Some People Said All Economic Laws Have Been Overturned! Then All The Problems Developed. Corporations Were Heavily Fined For Illegalities. Many Of Their Senior-level Executives Were Indicted, Convicted, And Sent To Prison.

Innovation Is An Outgrowth Of Initiative, And Initiative - Taking Positive Actions In A Belief That Your Actions Can Make A Difference - Is A Big Part Of Confidence.

Making A Difference

A Vision Is Not Just A Picture Of What Could Be; It Is An Appeal To Our Better Selves, A Call To Become Something More.

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