Pessimists, Introverts and Business
Business is for the optimistic, extroverted and hard-nosed. So the story goes. Problem is, the story is wrong. At least, that is, according to a few business gurus and authors out there. Speaking as an introvert, a pessimist and a businessperson, that makes me do something akin to smiling. But not quite. According to Lucy Kellaway of the Financial Times, pessimism is good for...
Read MoreAmerican Pessimism and the Recession
The relationship between optimism, pessimism and the economic downturn is a fascinating one. I’ve blogged before about how some American thinkers have tried to blame the recession on a surplus of optimism, untempered by the sense of realism that pessimism brings. But it now seems that too much pessimism is bad for you too. In fact, increasingly, the US is positively – or should...
Read MorePessimism, Realism and the Recession
An Australian psychologist has claimed that feeling grumpy ‘is good for you’. At least that’s the spin the popular media put on the findings of Professor Joe Forgas of the University of South Wales. What the guy actually says is a little more nuanced. His claim is that there are some advantages to negative moods, just as there are to positive moods. For instance, negative...
Read MoreCutting the Crap of Recession-Speak (Part 2)
Breaking news – Gordon Brown has become a personal development guru! I’ll have to watch out for my customers… In Cutting the Crap of Recession-Speak (Part 1) I contrasted the advice of entrepreneur Sir David Tang with our Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Tang urges small-but-optimistic thinking, whereas Brown preaches a kamikaze imprudent doctrine of spend, spent, spend. Now it...
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