A kid gets 12 A’s and 1 B.
What was the first question everyone asked them?
“What did you get the B in?”
An employee broke the company records and got a 97% score.
But their manager’s reaction?
‘You missed out on 3%’
Some view this pointing out the ‘lack of’ as a motivation tactic but I was never a fan of it.
I much prefer the growth mindset (see Carol Dweck’s great book ‘mindset’) approach.
I think the key difference between these two is the focus.
The growth mindset obsesses over progress, the ‘lack of’ mindset obsesses over perfection.
Therefore the kid who got 12 A’s and 1 B should not feel ashamed but take immense pride in the fact that previously their average was C’s.
Also the employee who got 97% should not beat themselves up for missing out on the 3% but pat themselves on the back for breaking the company’s record.
Thomas Duggan 