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Is Negative Target Fixation Crushing Your Opportunities?

image of clear field from plane for negative target fixation blog post - Gregory Olson

In a past life I founded a software company. In that company, I cast a wide net searching for learning and support wherever I could get it. One of the places I landed was at garage.com’s bootcamp for entrepreneurs. During my two-day immersion with Guy Kawasaki and entrepreneurs at all stages I heard a valuable story that resonated with me; it still does. It goes like this…

image of clear field with object from plane approaching for negative target fixation blog post - Delight Customers Gregory Olson
Pilots of small aircraft are a highly attentive and skilled group. Some might even refer to them as anal-retentive. They are trained to always look for the clear field; that is the place where they’ll set the plane down in the event of engine failure. This obsessive lot are constantly scanning the horizon, looking out the window, and monitoring their gauges much like an attentive driver rotates glances among the speedometer, rear-view mirror, side mirror, and windshield. With a small plane, you have much more control than a large plane so putting one down in a clear field doesn’t necessitate a grisly crash like one normally associates with the crash landing of a commercial airliner. So you’d expect more fatalities with large commercial airliners. But, statistically this isn’t what happens at all. Most of the fatal airplane crashes are small planes that are more easily controlled by highly attentive and skilled individuals. So, what is going on? Chock it up to Negative Target Fixation.

image of clear field with tree or object for plane approaching - Negative target fixation blog post - Greg Olson

Here is what often happens during the small craft clear field landing scenario. The pilot, upon having engine trouble, recalls the field they saw moments before. They position the plane and begin a controlled descent toward the clear field. As they approach the field they notice an object, it could be a tree, a house, or a goal post; it doesn’t matter, the outcome is the same. Consciously or more likely subconsciously the pilot begins saying or thinking, “Don’t hit the goal post. Don’t hit the goal post. Don’t hit the goal post.” The plane descends further, speed is well within control, and as the plane approaches the field it seems to make a beeline right toward the goal post. Negative Target Fixation captivated the pilot’s attention.

Not being a pilot myself, I’ve been validating this story with pilots of small aircraft ever since I heard it. Granted everybody I’ve talked to has survived and most never had engine trouble that necessitated such a landing. What would be telling would be to interview those who didn’t survive.

The Office Experiment

Interested with the concept of Negative Target Fixation and its applicability to the business world I ran an experiment when I returned to my office. We had a small portable golf putting setup in our open office space. We’d use this to blow off steam and generally take a break from the nonstop pace of our startup. Usually 3 or 4 people would be involved. This day the setup was a little different. In between where we putted from and the receiving cup that would receive our golf ball I placed an office chair, you know the type, thin round chromed steel legs and a curved plastic bottom and backside. Hey, we were frugal Ikea shoppers.

Player number one stepped up to the tee mark, peered over and around the chair and swatted the ball with the putter. The ball went directly to the steel leg. Player number two, same fate. Player three was me and I simply ignored the chair. I don’t remember if I got a hole-in-one, but I did not hit the chair legs. I was focused on the green not even thinking, “Don’t hit the chair.” Player four also crashed his proverbial plane into the goal post.

After that round completed I told the story of negative target fixation and we played another. This time nobody’s golf ball hit the chair legs. The lesson was imprinted in my mind like indelible ink. To this day when things are going rough or not measuring up or there are obstacles in the way, I try to stay focused on the value and benefits, what is possible, and creating a clear path forward. If you are in leadership you have a duty to keep your team positively focused on the path forward. But, you can also employ this bit of team psychology no matter your place on the team. Good luck in your ventures. May all of your opportunities always clear the goal post.

image of goal posts for plane to avoid with Negative target fixation blog post - Greg Olson

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Why Think Positive is so Last Year

Smiley face night light plugged into electrical outletIt turns out that the world has been swimming in positive psychology for a couple of decades. Amid that, we have many things to cite in the world that aren’t so swimmingly positive. And how many of us have fallen prey to the motivating seminar or sales pitch, only to fail later when we return to our old habits and practices. Being positive, having unabated enthusiasm, and putting blinders up to all things negative, doesn’t create the warm, fuzzy, prosperous future we once thought it would.

In the December issue of Psychology Today, Annie Murphy Paul, explores the uses and abuses of optimism (and pessimism). Like the author of the article suggests, as in many things, context matters. It turns out that there is a time to be optimistic and a time to be pessimistic. Sometimes it is helpful to think of things that might go wrong.

The most recognized trophy in the world, the Oscar statuetteWe find this especially interesting given our work with teams using the Big Idea Toolkit. It turns out people adopt two distinct psychological zones or mindsets, when using the toolkit. There is the PlayGround, rife with positive psychology. This is where we encourage people to think about the unbounded possibilities and untapped potential. Here we want unbridled enthusiasm and expansive thinking. One of the guiding principles for the PlayGround is “Ideas are not judged here.” While we do tout the PlayGround as the place where ideas live, those ideas won’t make it in the real world until somebody focuses and gets something done.

For that, you need execution and the place where execution lives, the PlayBook, another component of the Big Idea Toolkit (or your innovation culture). In the PlayBook, a healthy dose of pessimism is welcome. Here you need to be mindful of deadlines, deliverables, actions, and owners. It might be construed as negative, but guess what – that negative energy brings focus, just what you need to ensure your execution wheels stay on the tracks.

Positive and negative complimentary opposites - Yin YangThis isn’t a new idea; the ancient Chinese subscribed to a concept called Yin Yang, the belief that there exists two complementary forces in the universe. One is Yang which represents everything positive or masculine and the other is Yin which is characterized as negative or feminine. One is not better than the other. Instead they are both necessary and a balance of both is highly desirable. We live in a world that needs a balance of both positive and negative, because that is the real world.

Was it all Pollyanna thinking at Bank of America when executives there rolled out the plan to charge customers $5 a month for debit card transactions? Consumers roiled by this decision arrived on the doorsteps of credit unions in droves. On the backs of this, Verizon quickly followed with a decision to charge customers $2 per month to pay their Verizon bill online or over the phone. In all of their positive thinking, perhaps they thought they were granted immunity from similar customer backlash. A healthy dose of “What Could Really Go Wrong Here” is sometimes the best conversation.

Psychology magazine cover with article, Optimism - How to Tap it When to Wield It... Or Withhold It

If after you are reading this article and you are still thinking positively, think about how optimistic you would be if you encountered a Kodiak bear while on a hike? Or were faced with the challenge of launching a space shuttle or mega store or latest tablet computer or asked to change your pricing plan or add charges to your loyal customers. Remember, context matters.

If you might get eaten, accidentally kill others, lose investors money, go out of business, tarnish a longstanding company reputation or alienate your best customers, then you might want to employ a bit of healthy skepticism in your planning, execution, and most importantly in your conversations. Many organizations that are no longer around probably wish they had.

If you don’t switch up your mindset from time to time, matching optimism or pessimism to suit the context, then you might just NetFlix your customers and BlockBuster yourself out of business.

Like Annie stated in her article, if the father of positive psychology, Martin Seligman, is rethinking the role of optimism in our lives then perhaps you should too!

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about the author

image of author and consultant Gregory Olson

Gregory Olson is a consultant, speaker, and author of The Experience Design BLUEPRINT: Recipes for Creating Happier Customers and Healthier Organizations.

His latest book project is “L’ impossi preneurs: A Hopeful Journey Through Tomorrow.” It is a celebration of impossipreneurs of the past and an exploration of today’s “impossible” ideas. Stay tuned to learn more by subscribing to this blog or connecting with Greg on LinkedIn.Connect with Delightability on LinkedIn

Chapters in “The Experience Design Blueprint” that especially pertain to this article include:

  • Chapter 12: The Three Psychological Zones
  • Chapter 13: Taking Flight

See a book summary. Read the book reviews on Amazon. Read The Experience Design Blueprint on Kindle or any device using the free Kindle Reader application or read the full color print edition. Already read it? Please connect and let me know.