Negative thinking

Here's an article from the WSJ on the Power of negative thinking  I like it because it counters rigid conformance to having SMART goals and unrelenting positive attitude. Not to discount the idea of having tangible goals and being a good personality to work with, I find that when working through layers of hierarchy, SMART goals can become a decoy. Upper management focuses on the measurable goals and loses sight of current events. For example, management might focus on achieving sales goals when there is a disastrous issue with product design or changing marketplace brewing. The positive attitude is a mask everyone puts on to be a good team player.

From my perspective, I can't say what my upper management was thinking and if I would have done things differently if I was in charge. But my goal now is to tuck away this experience and try and learn from it.