Wishful Thinking In The Workplace Is What You Need
Wishing someone to “get well soon” seems helpful. Depending on the results, wishing for sunshine instead of rain, or warm weather instead of bitter cold may also feel good. Does wishful thinking change the outcomes in your workplace?
You may want to start with consideration for the reality of the wish. Wishing to lose weight while consuming several donuts and a sugared-up tall coffee may not make much difference.
It may not be realistic to wish for a winning lottery ticket, for someone to do your household chores, or that all the traffic lights will be green when you approach the intersection.
Wishing for someone to have a great weekend, a happy birthday, or a happy anniversary is a generous act. It is a kind gesture and it feels good.
Does wishful thinking help create business success, or is it really only for feel-good cheer?
Wishful Thinking
In the workplace, it may be beneficial to make wishes count. Certainly, far-out wishes that are unrealistic are not useful. In fact, they may even be counter-productive.
Wishing that sales will increase is a dangerous game without a strategy and tactics to pursue it. It’s similar to wishing that the quality will be good, customers will be happy, and that everything will go exactly as you expected.
If you don’t have a good plan, it is likely that very little will happen.
Wishing is not a plan.
It’s an act that provides focus, gives people something to look forward to, and may change future outcomes.
When there is a stretch goal, wishing for it to be achieved makes it much more likely than denying it as a possibility.
When others see the potential outcome as possible, team momentum gains strength. When people remove hurdles, go around customer satisfaction roadblocks, and strive to deliver the very best, positive things will happen.
Does wishing change outcomes?
Changing Outcomes
You aren’t going to change the weather, purchase the winning lottery ticket, or magically lose weight with a wish.
On the flip side, when you have a well-thought-out and well-executed plan that includes the necessary resources, one of the best things you can do is wish for great success.
A wish may be all that it takes to make others believe that it can come true.
Wishful thinking creates focus.
Focusing on the plan may be exactly what you need.
-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.
