Productive Paranoia

“Plant what you love, and it will grow.” – Mitta Xinindlu

In their book, Great by Choice, authors Jim Collins and Morten Hansen discuss the concept of Productive Paranoia.

The focus here centers around how top companies operate in a business environment where the marketplace changes violently and unexpectedly.

The authors state, “The idea of Productive Paranoia is not for leaders who walk around scared, afraid to make decisions and suspiciously paranoid about their employees.”

Paranoid Behavior

Let’s take a look at paranoid behavior displayed by these managers and leaders:

• They have an excessive mistrust of their employees and think they are being manipulated or exploited.

• They are hypervigilant, believing there is potential danger everywhere.

• They find it tough, if not impossible, to forgive employees who make mistakes, even though they are trying their best.

• They take a defensive stance more times than not, often becoming argumentative and combative.

• They believe that employees have a hidden agenda or hidden motives.

What do you think about this behavior? Just writing about it drained my energy.

No fun!

Productive Paranoia

From an overview perspective, Collins and Hansen recommend that company leaders adopt a different approach, one that is productive in nature, such as doing the following:

• Build cash reserves and buffers to be prepared for market challenges and opportunities.

• Take calculated risks during turbulent market changes … avoid standing still.

• Use a dual lens perspective where you “Zoom Out” first and then “Zoom In” to execute.

Zoom Out and Zoom In

This dual lens advice provides excellent guidance for any person who wants to avoid succumbing to paranoia.

The first step here is to zoom out to scan the environment. For example, I shared with my students recently that they should do the following regarding their future careers …

• Create your one-year plan. Where will you be in the next 12 months? What degree have you earned? What certification have you completed?

• Outline your 3-year plan. Think about where you will be in 36 months. Are you in the right industry? How do you know?

• Visualize your 5-year plan. I understand that so much can change in 60 months, but you need to have a clear vision of what you will be doing this far down the road. If your dream job is to be a project manager working on global ventures, it is important that this vision is clear in your mind. You can only make it happen if you can see it and feel it.

The point here is that we have zoomed out, and we know where we are going. Now that we can visualize the future, it’s time to zoom in.

In other words, the action begins now!

The bottom line is that successful people know exactly what they want. The next part is taking the daily actions to make it happen.

One more thing I would like to add to the discussion is that we must lead a balanced life, which means humility is a must.

Our future dream job will be far more rewarding if we humbly help others along the way.

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Inspiring Quotes

“It's hard to build momentum if you're dividing your attention.” – J.K Dean

“Maintain a clear focus irrespective of the intentions of others to change the dynamics.” –

Steven Redhead

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Homework Inquiry

During the next week, here’s your homework inquiry: How do you know you are heading in the right direction?

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I use this opportunity to share with you a unique story and a couple inspiring quotes. Oh ... as a professor at heart, you guessed it, I have a homework inquiry for you. This is a powerful question that might just trigger you to take action on something that really matters in your life. If you feel the Catalyst Newsletter brings benefit to you,

please share this link with others!

See you next week!

Dr. Jimmie Flores