Constructive Pessimism is Like Being a Platoon Sergeant...

Bear with me on this analogy, it will all hopefully make sense in the end...

So one of my fellow Constructive Pessimists wrote a brilliant article, which sadly has elapsed from the net, so you'll just have to take my word on this. He proposed that team members could be plotted on a cartesian graph with a horizontal axis representing the pessimism-to-optimism continuum and the vertical axis representing the destructive-to-constructive continuum.

From this, he identified some stereotypes in the team and suggested that the best performance occurs when the team is using at least one constructive pessimist for decision making.

Well, nothing beats a cartesian graph like a tasty doughnut!!!!

In the doughnut model, we have four types - obviously, any real person will vary along this continuum and behave either optimistically or pessimistically depending on mood, circumstance, involvement in the project and such.

The four types are Destructive Pessimist (DP), Constructive Pessimist (CP), Constructive Optimist (CO) and Destructive Optimist (DO).

The trick,

 for the manager

or anyone in the team needing to influence the team,

is to shift attitudes from

Destructive Doughnut to

Constructive Hole.

This is a far cry from what most of us are taught: That attitudes need to shift from Pessimism to Optimism.

In fact, I suspect it's easier to do the former than the latter anyway.

What you do is:

1. Get the COs to set the targets - it pays to dream big.

2. Get CPs to brainstorm the solutions - they will identify the potholes and work out how to get past them

3. Give DOs difficult new projects outside their expertise so they can't wing it. They will either become COs, or they will fail to change - and ask any T-Rex what happens when you can't change!

4. Give the DPs easy stuff to get some quick wins under their belts - they will either become more CP, or again, they will fail and you really don't need their negativity!

So how does this fit with the platoon model?

The most successful organisations are military - partly because shoot people who try to leave, partly because they blow up the competition, but mostly because they have had a lot of practice!

In  a platoon, the Platoon Commander decides what they will do strategically - he is a CO. The Platoon Sergeant is the guy who maintains discipline - that is, he ensures that what the CO wants is feasible, because he makes sure everyone is prepared - that is surely the perfect use for a CP!

And the soldiers? Any type, but I can tell you from experience, the army does not tolerate destructive personalities, and they have a knack for changing people!

Viva la Philosophie!