The (Sometimes Destructive) Power of Praise
Archives: Daily Issues
Issue #2171
- WEALTHY: A valuable market tool… but not by itself (Rick Pendergraft)
- HEALTHY: What does "natural flavorings" really mean? (Jon Benson)
- WISE: Catherine the Great on praise
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Are you too generous – or not generous enough – with compliments? (Michael Masterson)
- The difference between delegating and abdicating responsibility
- It’s Good to Know… about deleting sensitive files
- Add "obsequious" to your vocabulary
"I lost my fear, opened my mind and listened and I cannot believe the result."
Hello Bob,
I finished The Billionaire Way about 10 days ago. Now I promise you I did not cheat on this so hear me out.
I started the first two or three days I think and there was a transaction I was involved in that I was not comfortable with but had an emotional attachment to. I sat down one night and crunched the numbers and made some tough decisions, all emotion aside.
Then about two weeks into the program there was the day when we had to exclude our emotions and cut off dead baggage. Wow, I felt like yeah, OK I’m getting this because I just did that.
OK so now I’m tearing along the program, accepting things that I am already doing and working on the things I am not comfortable with. Vigilantly everyday, watching the DVD after the kids were in bed and working my work book.
Two days after I finished the program I saw an opportunity which I could assess very well given my clarity of vision, my assessments of my talents and the work I had accomplished.
It is my joy to tell you that I am founding executive of a new international network marketing company, the likes of which have never been seen and I have already built my team Australia wide within 10 days, using the billionaire way techniques.
I lost my fear, opened my mind and listened and I cannot believe the result. Thank you so much…
Regards,
Kathy
Learn more about The Billionaire Way program today…
You Need to Look at the Whole Picture
Darryl, a colleague of mine, wants a better understanding of how to incorporate sentiment analysis into his stock selections. He understands that you want to pay attention to sentiment because it gives you a read on how much buying pressure or selling pressure exists for a stock. But what he still needs to learn is how to read the sentiment, especially in combination with a stock’s fundamentals and technical signals.
The other day, Darryl brought a stock to my attention because it had a short interest ratio of 20. This means that there are enough shares sold short that it would take short sellers 20 days of average trading volume to cover their short positions. That would seem like a bullish sign for the stock – so Darryl was excited to invest. But he wasn’t looking at the whole picture.
A short interest ratio is not a bullish or bearish sign by itself. When I looked at the stock’s chart, I noticed that it had fallen from a high of $16.92 on June 29 to a low of $8.50 on August 10. In other words, there is a good reason for such a high short interest ratio and the overall pessimism toward the stock.
At the same time, another stock has a short interest ratio of 17.8 yet is in a strong uptrend. Since it is trending higher and has such bearish sentiment toward it, this is a bullish sign.
When using sentiment to help determine whether you should buy, look for the following combinations:
- Bullish: Positive fundamentals and technical signals amidst negative sentiment or lowered expectations
- Bearish: Negative fundamentals and technical signals coupled with positive sentiment and high investor expectations
[Ed. Note: Rick Pendergraft is a market expert and two-time winner of the "Top Trader" award at Schaeffer's Investment Research. In ETR's free e-zine, Investor's Daily Edge, Rick and a select group of market specialists will give you to-the-point analyses and tell you how you should act TODAY to make the most money with the least risk. ]
"I praise loudly, I blame softly."
Catherine the Great
The (Sometimes Destructive) Power of Praise
The rabbi at JC’s wedding was a friendly looking fellow, and his sermon was a friendly compromise between "Lessons From the Torah" and "Daytime-TV Platitudes." He talked about the usual things – the purpose of marriage, its historic underpinnings, and its potential in the postmodern world of multiculturalism and ecumenicalism. These topics he dispatched with relative ease.
When it came time to give the Big Advice about how to get along for the long run, he had this to say:
"If I could say only one thing to you… if I were restricted to a single piece of advice about your future… it would be this: Praise.
"Make it a habit to praise each other, to compliment your partner freely and often when he or she does something that pleases you.
"It is astonishing how powerful simple praise can be. It can motivate the lethargic, stimulate deep affection, and unlock doors that have been bolted shut for ages. Praise can brighten your spirit, cheer up those you love, and make the days that come smoother, happier, and more successful for you.
"There is not enough praise in the world and far too much criticism. Praise your partner every chance you get, and you will have a happier, healthier, and more spiritually fulfilled relationship, now and forever."
I was moved by what the rabbi said, and wondered if this advice would apply in the world of business.
Certainly, there are plenty of business gurus who would agree. "Shower your employees with praise, and they’ll sparkle with good ideas and productivity," they might say.
But when I discussed it with KY, she made a very good point. "There is a big difference between spousal relationships and most work relationships," she said. "The first type is one of equals. The second type is hierarchical."
Very true.
In business, we use praise to encourage desired results. And so, it has pragmatic (or manipulative, if you prefer) value. Praise can indeed be a great tool for motivating and reinforcing behavior, but it can also be destructive.
For praise to work in a subordinate/superior relationship, it has to come from a person who is respected, be sincerely offered, and be well-deserved. Anything less than that will be seen as shabby – a fawning compliment by an obsequious subordinate or meaningless encouragement from a perennial Pollyanna.
The most powerful praise is, ironically, that which comes from a predominantly critical person. And the withholding of praise can be as much a motivator as its provision.
When praising employees, keep the following in mind:
1. Be careful with your praise (and even more careful with your criticism).
If you give abundant and unregulated praise to your subordinates, it is likely to backfire. They will believe all the hype you are throwing at them. Or they will see you as insincere. Or both.
2. Praise the action rather than the person.
If you praise the person and not the action, you risk spoiling the person and your relationship with him. If you praise the action, the person will get the idea that his future value is based on his actions – as it should be – rather than on his intrinsic worth. In other words, he will realize that his value to the business is based on his performance, not his talents.
Praising the action – the specific behavior – says, "Your value resides in what you do. So long as you do well, you will be valued." This message focuses the employee’s attention where it should be – on his actions and accomplishments. And it acknowledges a very necessary truth: that if he changes his behavior and does not continue to perform, he will become less valuable.
3. Be sincere.
Some managers believe they can criticize effectively simply by starting off with a bit of praise… and then adding a "but." This is a common tactic, but it almost always backfires because the person who is being manipulated sees right through it. Other managers believe they can get an employee to feel good about himself – and repeat the things he is doing well – by jacking up the intensity of their praise. But even with the best of intentions, overblown, effusive praise defeats the purpose. The approval will come across as vacuous – almost worthless.
4. Be fair.
It shouldn’t be your goal to please your employees, but the truth is, employees will often (though not always) like you better if you’ve supported them and given them credit for their accomplishments. And having your employees think of you as a fair manager can benefit you when you’re looking for a promotion or a new job. So praise them generously and publicly when they deserve it. Criticize them carefully and privately when they make mistakes.
5. Be specific.
"Good job" is a compliment your employees will always welcome. But if that’s the way you praise every good deed or job, they’ll start to wonder whether you’re really paying attention. Make it a personal policy to explain exactly what it is about an employee’s behavior or performance that you like and why you like it. This tells the person not only what action or behavior should be repeated in the future but also what goal you are looking for.
[Ed. Note: Michael Masterson is one of the core contributors behind ETR's new Internet business-building program. If you're interested in profiting from all the benefits of starting an online business, click here to join our priority notification list.]
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On November 16-18, eleven of the country’s top real estate investors will meet for the first time ever at one of Florida’s finest golf resorts.
There, in a private, closed-door meeting, they’ll reveal the secret techniques that are making them millions in today’s historic buyer’s market… including one of the most lucrative opportunities investors have seen since 1979.
What’s more, if you’re one of the first to sign up, you’ll get a full day of intensive training with “Apartment House King” Dave Lindahl… absolutely free!
Worth Quoting: George Cloutier on Delegation
"There’s way too much emphasis right now on business owners needing to delegate. When you’re a small-business owner you do have to delegate, but you can’t abdicate. Ultimately, you’re responsible for the company and you have to stay on top of things.
"Even after you’ve delegated something crucial to an employee, you have to circle back regularly and make sure you’re getting the right performance in that area. Don’t blame others for their shortcomings if you didn’t bother to follow them closely enough.
"I tell clients there are no bad employees, just bad owners. If an employee isn’t working out, you have to get rid of him. If you’re too busy to notice something’s going wrong, you’re not managing your time correctly or working hard enough."
(Source: BusinessWeek.com)
MSG and Obesity
By Jon Benson
John Erb, a research assistant at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, wondered what has been causing the rapid increase in the occurrence of obesity over the past 15 years. Though obesity is not a "one-cause condition," some of his digging unearthed compelling evidence against what we already knew to be a danger: MSG (monosodium glutamate) in food.
MSG is only one of the little demons that make up a small but deadly group of offshoot amino acids called excitotoxins, "a class of substances… that bind to certain receptors (e.g., certain glutamate receptors) and may cause neuronal cell death." (Other excitotoxins include hydrolyzed vegetable protein and aspartame.) These excitotoxins have found a good home under the protective blanket of "natural flavorings."
Most obesity is caused by hormonal issues (usually brought on by eating too much of the wrong thing for too long) or hormonal dysfunction (such as hypothyroidism). Still, we cannot turn a deaf ear to the contributing players.
No strain of rat or mice is naturally obese, but, in hundreds of studies worldwide, scientists have created obese rodents by injecting them with MSG at birth. MSG triples the amount of insulin the pancreas creates, causing these animals (and, many researchers believe, humans) to become obese.
Given the evidence, you might wonder why food manufacturers continue to add MSG to their products. Well, it’s because when food is made with MSG, people eat more of it – far too much, in fact. Multiple studies show that MSG deadens the "fullness receptors" in the brain and on the tongue.
What’s the best course of action for you to take? The answer is simple: Eat unprocessed real food.
[Ed. Note: Jon Benson, a lifecoach and nutrition counselor who specializes in helping individuals discover a life-altering mind/body connection, offers practical advice for becoming stronger, healthier, and more energetic in the articles he writes for ETR's free natural health e-letter. His work in the field of post-40 fitness and mental empowerment has helped countless thousands. Learn how you can do the same at www.fitover40.com or www.mpowerfitness.com.]
It’s Good to Know: Deleting Sensitive Files
When you delete a file from your computer, it goes to your trashcan, giving you a "second chance" to save it. Only after you’ve deleted the file from your trashcan is it really gone.
But if you have a sensitive file that you want to get rid of immediately, you can delete it without taking that extra step.. By using Shift+Delete on a selected file, the file skips the trashcan and is gone for good. If you realize that you deleted the file by mistake (oops!), you can hit Ctrl+Z, within a very limited period of time, to bring it back.
Of course, even when you delete a file "for good," it’s still on your hard drive… and could be recovered. So if you have REALLY sensitive data and you want to make sure it doesn’t fall into evil hands, you need to take a third step.
Third-party programs exist for this very purpose. For more information, search Google for "windows sensitive file delete."
(Source: Zeigen.com)
Start Making Money Today
Interested in getting a nice little side-business going on the Internet? Or maybe even from your living-room table?
But you don’t have too much money, you don’t have too much time, and you’re not exactly Bill Gates when it comes to technology. Sound familiar?
A lot of people are in the same boat. The good news is that ETR has heard you. And now we’ve done something about it…
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They say when you’re first getting your feet wet with a side-business, the most important dollar to make is the first one. Well, Marc is an expert at taking beginning entrepreneurs and showing you how to make that first buck. He knows, because he’s done it dozens of times for himself, his family and his friends.
If you’ve been dreaming about starting your own business… now you can get started for about the price of 2 lattes.
And get this – you could be making money literally just hours from now. Imagine the feeling of finally getting a side business launched – TODAY!
- Patrick Coffey
Word to the Wise: Obsequious
"Obsequious" (ub-SEE-kwee-us) – from the Latin for "obedient" – means servilely compliant or deferential.
Example (as I used it today): "For praise to work in a subordinate/superior relationship, it has to come from a person who is respected, be sincerely offered, and be well-deserved. Anything less than that will be seen as shabby – a fawning compliment by an obsequious subordinate or meaningless encouragement from a perennial Pollyanna."
[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker ... build your self-confidence and intellect ... increase your attractiveness to others ... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's new Words to the Wise CD Library.]
Michael Masterson
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2007
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