zeal without knowledge is deadly. Positive thinking without substance is nothing but a fairytale for adults. Overemphasizing positive thinking at the expense of other critical success factors will only lead to embarrassment and disappointment.

A whole industry has sprung up in recent times to teach us how to radiate a positive image. We get taught to dress professionally and how this will positively influence our companies, careers and credibilit

Something bothered me about the teeth of the consultant who was sitting in front of me, on the other side of the helpdesk. I couldn’t identify what it was immediately. I was at my bank’s foreign exchange division, hoping to get some advice on an upcoming business trip. As the positive and friendly consultant was talking, I suddenly realized what seemed out of place for me. Embedded in his front tooth was the ultimate symbol of business success - a gold dollar sign! I struggled to concentrate on our conversation. I caught myself in forced contemplation and my curious mind was analyzing why he chose this unique form of expression. I was ambushed by the realization that it was because he was working in foreign exchange. Different strokes for different folks. Some committed corporate employees choose to personalize their car number plates with the company’s name, but this consultant chose to add some bite to the bark. I interrogated myself in silence. Was this not taking it a bit too far? Was I a perplexed spectator of misdirected positive thinking?

I’m not sure what the right answer is, but I am convinced that this type of mindset can sometimes lead to eccentric behaviour, to say the least. The wheel starts buckling once we abandon common sense and basic business acumen in the process. Positive thinking without common sense is like operating your computer without anti-virus software. It causes illogical and unnecessary threats to one’s career and business that could easily be avoided. Please don’t get me wrong! The workplace needs more positive people than ever. No-one can deny the exciting impact that positive attitudes have on the outcome of our strategies and events. The problem is just that positive thinking on its own doesn’t pay the bills nor grow market share. Someone once said that zeal without knowledge is deadly. Positive thinking without substance is nothing but a fairytale for adults. Overemphasizing positive thinking at the expense of other critical success factors will only lead to embarrassment and disappointment.

A whole industry has sprung up in recent times to teach us how to radiate a positive image. We get taught to dress professionally and how this will positively influence our companies, careers and credibility

dollar sign! I struggled to concentrate on our conversation. I caught myself in forced contemplation and my curious mind was analyzing why he chose this unique form of expression. I was ambushed by the realization that it was because he was working in foreign exchange. Different strokes for different folks. Some committed corporate employees choose to personalize their car number plates with the company’s name, but this consultant chose to add some bite to the bark. I interrogated myself in silence. Was this not taking it a bit too far? Was I a perplexed spectator of misdirected positive thinking?

I’m not sure what the right answer is, but I am convinced that this type of mindset can sometimes lead to eccentric behaviour, to say the least. The wheel starts buckling once we abandon common sense and basic business acumen in the process. Positive thinking without common sense is like operating your computer without anti-virus software. It causes illogical and unnecessary threats to one’s career and business that could easily be avoided. Please don’t get me wrong! The workplace needs more positive people than ever. No-one can deny the exciting impact that positive attitudes have on the outcome of our strategies and events. The problem is just that positive thinking on its own doesn’t pay the bills nor grow market share. Someone once said that zeal without knowledge is deadly. Positive thinking without substance is nothing but a fairytale for adults. Overemphasizing positive thinking at the expense of other critical success factors will only lead to embarrassment and disappointment.

A whole industry has sprung up in recent times to teach us how to radiate a positive image. We get taught to dress professionally and how this will positively influence our companies, careers and credibilit

te to the bark. I interrogated myself in silence. Was this not taking it a bit too far? Was I a perplexed spectator of misdirected positive thinking?

I’m not sure what the right answer is, but I am convinced that this type of mindset can sometimes lead to eccentric behaviour, to say the least. The wheel starts buckling once we abandon common sense and basic business acumen in the process. Positive thinking without common sense is like operating your computer without anti-virus software. It causes illogical and unnecessary threats to one’s career and business that could easily be avoided. Please don’t get me wrong! The workplace needs more positive people than ever. No-one can deny the exciting impact that positive attitudes have on the outcome of our strategies and events. The problem is just that positive thinking on its own doesn’t pay the bills nor grow market share. Someone once said that zeal without knowledge is deadly. Positive thinking without substance is nothing but a fairytale for adults. Overemphasizing positive thinking at the expense of other critical success factors will only lead to embarrassment and disappointment.

A whole industry has sprung up in recent times to teach us how to radiate a positive image. We get taught to dress professionally and how this will positively influence our companies, careers and credibilit

our computer without anti-virus software. It causes illogical and unnecessary threats to one’s career and business that could easily be avoided. Please don’t get me wrong! The workplace needs more positive people than ever. No-one can deny the exciting impact that positive attitudes have on the outcome of our strategies and events. The problem is just that positive thinking on its own doesn’t pay the bills nor grow market share. Someone once said that zeal without knowledge is deadly. Positive thinking without substance is nothing but a fairytale for adults. Overemphasizing positive thinking at the expense of other critical success factors will only lead to embarrassment and disappointment.

A whole industry has sprung up in recent times to teach us how to radiate a positive image. We get taught to dress professionally and how this will positively influence our companies, careers and credibilit

zeal without knowledge is deadly. Positive thinking without substance is nothing but a fairytale for adults. Overemphasizing positive thinking at the expense of other critical success factors will only lead to embarrassment and disappointment.

A whole industry has sprung up in recent times to teach us how to radiate a positive image. We get taught to dress professionally and how this will positively influence our companies, careers and credibility. Clients will view us in a new light and the business results will follow. Positive image consultants help us with our colour coding, rearrange our wardrobes and make sure that certain clothing items get the boot. Being in touch with our colours and making our ties and scarves work for us will positively sway opinions around us. We will also feel better about ourselves. To a certain extent this might be true, but what about the elegantly dressed executive who cannot rally her sales force to higher performance? What about the colour coordinated, smartly dressed financial broker who doesn’t know the difference between life insurance and a pension fund? Do they perhaps spend too much time in front of the mirror and too little time growing their knowledge, products and people? A young accountant approached her retired mentor one day and asked very expectantly how she managed such a successful career. This answer was surprisingly brief: “Good decisions”. In anticipation she launched the next question: “But how can I learn to make good decisions?” The wise mentor paused for a moment and replied: “Through experience!” Again the eager accountant asked: “But how do I gain experience?” Her mentor smiled understandingly: “Through bad decisions!”

Some of the ardent advocates of positive thinking with their new-age message of “I”, “me” and “myself” are simply neglecting very important factors in the process. Very often, they do not take into account the importance of experience, teamwork and old-fashioned hard work across the span of a career. It is much easier and profitable to sell instant solutions to the market place. The problem is just that people are not computers. A rapid reboot doesn’t instantly prepare people for a lifetime of growth and success. A quick download from a memory stick doesn’