Social and
popular media is awash with messages of positivity; how to achieve your goals,
the impact of positive thinking and be more effective in ten easy steps. We all need positive people around us,
especially when we feel challenged or things aren’t going too well however is
there a place for pessimists in a world that values positivity so highly?
It is easy,
especially when pursuing an idea that is your own, to only see the positives,
to extol why it will succeed and ignore the obvious (and less apparent) pitfalls. Of course, there are plenty of business plans
and new ideas that succeed however there are also numerous projects which despite
starting with best laid plans fall by the wayside. This costs businesses and entrepeneurs hours
in productivity, pounds, shillings and pence (assuming you are reading this in
Great Britain) something which smaller organisations can ill afford.
So how do
you give your plan the best chance to succeed?
Look for a pessimist. Unlike the
eternal optimist they may be more attuned to the pitfalls in your plan, the
oversights and areas where more detail is required. By their very nature they are likely to see
why something might fail rather than why it may succeed and it is this information
that will help you plan for roadblocks and, if necessary, alter your plan
accordingly. The downside? Well too many pessimists may prevent you from
trying anything new or getting your idea off the ground. If however you can use their feedback
constructively without it affecting your enthusiasm, a well placed 'doubting Thomas' may force you to think about the challenges before they arise and invest your
time in projects more likely to succeed.
How you
decide whether someone is a pessimist or not is up to you.
