Blind Optimist
Blind Optimist
Do you have a Blind Optimist at work? The kind of person who sees good in everything, no matter what the situation? That ever so cheery person who never seems to be living in reality? A little ray of sunshine in the workplace is good right? The sprinkler alarms could be raining water down on desks and they would smile and say… “at least the plants are getting watered”. Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration but you get the point.
Having optimism is good, but it is also possible to have too much optimism to the point that it is “blinding”. An optimistic attitude is good, especially if you are in a position that requires a little extra positive energy, such as sales or customer service, however if the optimism gets in the way of making accurate strategy analysis or executing or performing a tasks with attention to the possible fail factors the increased level of optimism could become a hindrance to success.
Is your Board and executive team developing human capital strategies to gain competitive advantage and accelerate their business goals? Is your organization seeking new ways to positively impact engagement and retention? If so, they are not alone! Deloitte Consulting and Bersin identifies three primary areas of strategic focus in their Global Human Capital Trends report: Lead & Develop, Attract and Engage, and Transform and Reinvent. Among these strategic trends, leadership, retention and engagement, talent acquisition and reskilling HR were the top urgent needs to support business priorities and goals. Additional research by Aberdeen Group of Best-in-Class organizations demonstrates that top performing organizations, successfully utilize behavioral assessment as an enabler in each of the strategic talent needs.
November 11 proved we love our Veterans! There were many stories shared of heroes who humbly said they were just doing their jobs, like the heroic story from the Battle of Iwo Jima, of Hershel “Woody” Williams, the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient at 92. He only knocked out seven concrete enemy pillboxes and cleared the way for Marines to press the attack on the island – he was just doing his job along with 6,800 American service members who died and thousands more who were injured taking the island back from 22,000 Japanese defenders. 
Since the 1960s, outplacement has benefited millions of transitioning employees. By providing effective outplacement services their former organizations reaped tangible economic benefits. Those same benefits, both for employees and organizations, are needed today. In fact, the business case for providing outplacement is actually stronger today than in those early years of the fledgling career transition industry. To put it succinctly, whether recruiting or seeking to engage and retain those all-observant millennials, how you treat their friends in a layoff is only a text away from going viral! Given that reality, it is counter-productive that at best only 30% of companies offer outplacement and with declining program budgets and services. What gives?
Organizations like to focus on the positive when developing strategic plans based on the best business and economic scenarios, yet it is often the negative economic surprises that drive organizational change. After over 30 years in business, I recently developed a retrospective of the primary global, national and regional economic drivers covering over 50 decades. It is gripping to review the succession of economic downturns, mergers, reorganizations, natural disasters, war, disruptive global and workforce trends, technological change, and industry upheavals which impact organizations and their employees at the visceral level. (
The ticker tape parade in NYC last Friday was a well-deserved home coming celebration for our USA Women’s World Cup Soccer champions. Their amazing win against defending champion Japan on July 5 was a climatic burst of electrifying fireworks for our national holiday weekend celebration. After waiting 16 years to bring the trophy home again, this team could not be denied. When Wombach stated pre-match, “We have to bring the fire,” she was prophetic. The most watched soccer match in US history, this blow-out statistic will go down in the sports annals: 26.7 million US viewers. And by the way, the men’s World Cup drew only 17.3 million US viewers in July, 2014. Advertisers and promoters take note — women athletes can draw a crowd! This spectacular win is great for the team, the sport, women’s athletics and for the nation. We love winners and this World Cup team defines for us all what a true winner is. This team and the individual players provide a model you can emulate for your own success. What are the SUCCESS lessons?