Smart Forecasts Change Outlooks and Outcomes
Do you sometimes predict what will happen next? Are you making smart forecasts about the future?
It seems like everyone does it sometimes. You believe that you know what the person will say next, you know the behavior they’ll exhibit, and you know what the reactions will be throughout their network.
Do you get is right?
The best answer is probably, “Sometimes.”
Your confidence grows when you nail it. You may even be sort of proud about it and proclaim, “I told you so.”
We’re not always correct though. Sometimes we get it wrong.
Sometimes we finish their sentence and it isn’t where they were heading. Sometimes we suggest something was different about the circumstances that we didn’t realize and that is why the behaviors weren’t as predicted.
Are your forecasts useful?
Smart Forecasts
If people are expecting a sun-shiny day, their mood might perk up. If it starts to rain there is disappointment. Perhaps even some wet clothes or soggy shoes.
It isn’t that much different in the workplace.
Sensing that your computer will crash today is unlikely unless of course, it has been crashing frequently without resolution.
Worrying about the meeting your boss just called may not help your plight unless there is something overdue or some wrongdoing that you might be able to correct before the meeting.
Attitudes and moods are often conditioned by expectations. Expectations develop from communication.
Let’s not forget about self-fulfilled prophecy. What you think or believe will often have a strange way of unfolding.
That is precisely why smart forecasts matter so much.
There has to be accuracy, but it also should be backed up by optimism.
Smart forecasts have a way of coming true.
Predict more sunshine.
-DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
