Negative Emotions Make You Fail
Pete, the new Sales Manager of ABC Autos, was yelling at the salespeople to do better, but with no improvement. The company owner, Mr. Christopher, was getting desperate.
He sat down with the sales manager and said, “Pete, since you took over the Sales Department, our car sales have been going down. You’ve got to quit yelling at the salespeople. Our old sales manager never yelled. Please give it a try.”
Pete said, “Where I come from, you have to yell at the salespeople if you want to get sales. Fire me if you want, but I’m gonna yell.”
Mr. Christopher said, “Okay, I don’t care what you do, just get the sales numbers back up this week.”
So, Pete held a sales meeting and screamed, “IF YOU DON’T MAKE AT LEAST ONE SALE THIS WEEK, YOU ARE FIRED!”
The sales staff ran out and started calling people on the phone. They said things like, “You HAVE to call me back!” “I know it’s been six months since you were here, but I need to see you.” “Your old car is dangerous; you must come in NOW!”
A couple walked in to browse. Four salespeople charged at them. The couple jumped back, mumbled “No thanks” and headed for the door. Another salesperson blocked the doorway and said, “Did you find what you were looking for?”
The couple fought their way out the door and the salespeople went back to their telephones.
Emotional Reactions
When things don’t go your way, how do you react?
Some people get more emotional, more reactive. They get frustrated, sad, angry or worse. They react without thinking.
Unfortunately, this can make a short-term improvement. This is why bosses will threaten, scream and pound. They don’t realize FORCED productivity is slavery and always backfires.
In 1971, L. Ron Hubbard wrote: “THE PRIMARY BARRIER TO PRODUCTION IS HUMAN EMOTION AND REACTION.”
Careers, jobs and businesses fail when emotional reactions take over.
Mr. Christopher Hires a New Manager
Of course, sales at ABC Autos went from bad to worse and Pete was fired. The owner, Mr. Christopher, decided to run the salespeople himself.
First, he held a sales meeting with gourmet pizza. They celebrated Pete’s departure.
Next, he showed the staff how to use kindness and intelligence to sell cars. No more emotional outbursts and reactive behavior.
By the end of the week, sales increased and continued to increase each week.
Everyone — managers, employees and the self-employed — all ruin their productivity and income if they dramatize their negative emotions.
Sixty-five Examples of Human Emotions and Reactions That Hurt Your Income
You must remove, control or ignore these types of emotions and reactions to improve your personal power and performance. As a leader, you need to remove these negative emotions from your group. They are wrecking your forward progress.
- Angry
- Indignant
- Apathetic
- Blaming
- Ridiculing
- Upset
- Annoyed
- Evil
- Ridicule
- Disrespectful
- Backstabbing
- Attacking
- Mean
- Unfeeling
- Avoiding
- Depressed
- Hostile
- Covertly Hostile
- Whining
- Snippy
- Silent Treatment
- Revenge
- Resentment
- Sulking
- Death Wishes
- Blaming
- Fear
- Mocking Someone
- Hatred
- Cold
- Sad
- Emotional Pain
- Complaining
- Avoidance
- Grouchy
- Hostility
- False Sincerity
- Making Someone Wrong
- Jealous
- Overwhelmed
- Anxiety
- Sarcasm
- Despair
- Harassment
- Pretending to Be Hurt
- Needing Sympathy
- Antagonism
- Terror
- Critical
- Belligerent
- Exasperated
- Regret
- Pity
- Feeling Useless
- Hopeless
- Stressed
- Crying
- Confused
- Numb
- Being Glum
- Hysteria
- Being a Victim
- Cutting off Communication
- Offended
- Egotistical
Reaching your goals and succeeding as never before means you need high-level performance. You must be capable of high-volume work. The road to success does not include negative emotional reactions.
To succeed, shake off these emotional reactions, get focused and get working. Check out Self Analysis for more tips.
For another TipsForSuccess article on emotions, check out “The Emotional Tone Scale.”