How to Downsize Negativity (and Scale Positive Thinking) in Your Business

By Brian Chiou, co-founder of Orbose.

How do you avoid negativity in the workplace? Empower those who have a positive mindset about the organization and its respective employees. I recently asked a close friend, Shea Coakley, CEO of LeanBox, whether I should fire a negative employee. His response? “Horns out, not in.”

Upon reading up on his reference, I learned that Ankole-Watusi cows are known to form a circle with their horns pointed outward in order to keep their young protected in the center of the circle. Having individuals with their horns pointed inward reduces the overall integrity of the defensive structure.

After all, you have plenty of external hurdles to focus on. Do your best to minimize negativity within the workplace. This will allow you to free up more resources needed to address larger issues that impact your customers and business.

Here’s how to accomplish this:

• Listen to the “word on the street.” Observe the discussions happening around the water cooler. Eventually, you’ll pick up enough breadcrumbs (positive or negative) leading to the person who should either be commended or let go. We recently hired a capable — but extremely negative — employee. This person created rifts throughout our organization as well as the company we had partnered with. We made the decision to part ways with this individual, and it has been one of the best decisions we have made within our organization from both a productivity and a culture perspective.
• Look at body language. Humans naturally gravitate towards mirroring one another to build better relationships. The last thing you want is for people to mirror negative body language. Interpreting body language is not a perfect science. As entrepreneurs, we rely heavily on these nonverbal skills to push our business further. Constant sighing, shrugged shoulders, head in hands and an overall lack of enthusiasm is pretty telling of an employee who simply does not want to be there. Laughter, energy and poise on the other hand, are usually indicative of a happy employee who you should nurture to grow within your organization.
• Eliminate a culture of blame. Does a certain employee point fingers first? The culture of blame is typically found in environments where employees aren’t team players. On the other hand, a team member who is constantly on the lookout for self-improvement can be a huge boon to an organization. I promise my team members that we have the opportunity to grow together. Those who can understand that personal development will constantly evolve as the company progresses will be the perfect additions to any team.
• Seek out solution providers. Constant criticism without giving fellow team members the opportunity to explain their view or provide context is always a red flag. In addition to the aforementioned faux pas, a team member who complains without communicating the problem to the right people is an indication of issues to come. Look for employees who offer constructive criticism, followed by potential solutions.
• Identify dreamers — and gossipers. It is natural for employees to have a bad day on occasion and want to gripe to someone about it. However, a consistent complainer’s naysaying can spread throughout an organization quicker than you might imagine. Complaining to someone who has little control over the ability to resolve the issue doesn’t improve the situation; however, those who present criticisms to the right parties in a positive fashion should be rewarded. I call these hardworking and knowledgeable employees the “golden geese” of any startup. I was lucky enough to bring on a “golden goose” as one of my first three hires. He has helped steer our company in a better direction in only six short months.

Our development team has doubled in size since we first started, but we’ve still been able to maintain the integrity of our culture. This has led to eye-opening opportunities that will help keep our company on a positive growth trajectory. While there is no silver bullet to hiring or maintaining an excellent team, it is important to remember that businesses and products always start and end with the individuals who build them.

Brian Chiou is an enthusiast for actionable metrics and creating better business processes as a result of iterative improvement. His company, Orbose, is a tablet-based consumer interaction platform to help retailers and distribution companies with supply chain headaches through delivery-point consolidation.