I once knew a guy who could tell you to go to hell and make you look forward to the trip.
Many times we would have meetings where I was anticipating that he would deliver bad news on a deal or project. I would go into those meetings loaded for bear and prepared for a confrontation. However, it rarely played out that way. He would give me so much good news about other deals we were working on that by the time he got to the bad news about the current deal, I hardly noticed it.
Another similar thing happened recently with my wife of 30 years. We were walking out to being our annual ritual of seeding and fertilizing our grass. Candidly, this is not one of my favorite pastimes. My wife is a garden coach with an extensive background in horticulture, and she has a great love and passion for gardening. Me, not so much. If I had to rate my interest in yard work on a scale of 1-10, it would be a negative number.
Aside from lacking the desire, I find myself resenting my wife telling me what to do and correcting me when I do it wrong. However, on this occasion as we walked around the yard my wife began by pointing out the places we had worked earlier in the year and how good the grass looked in those places as a result of our efforts.
This made such a difference in my attitude.
Suddenly, I was not bothered by my wife giving me instructions and was much more focused on doing the job right and building on the progress we had already achieved.
This is a powerful approach that is guaranteed to bring positive results. Whether in business or in your personal relationships, try leading with the positive first and you’ll be amazed at the difference.
Have a great weekend,
Ro
My wife, Paula Waldron, is a professional garden coach who can teach you about what is in your garden and how to care for it. Visit www.paulasgardencoaching.com for more details.