Thursday, February 7, 2008

Between acting emotionally and acting rationally

Many years, many of us were educated to think and act in a rational matter; to be logical and ordered. I can testify that I was brought up learning in a very strict high school and things surely got even more logical and rational during the university as I learned in the Mathematics and Computing department. No doubt, that rational management has significant benefits: It enables consistent progress to achieving company goals; it enables existence of uniform processes in organization; it enables us control.

A known saying regarding to sales, speaks about 80% of every sale to be emotional, and 20% to be rational, justifying the emotional.
Even if we think this saying is exaggerated and radical, yet, a substantial portion of every sale is emotional indeed.
I took part, last week, in a convention that dealt with decision making; most lectures were based on game theory, psychology of decisions making and the combination of both; we combine ordered processes with personal emotional decisions.
I wish to claim, that emotional and rational combined management, is not a constraint or weakness. Emotional and rational combined management is better. I am sure that some may think (and they may stand correct) that what I say is exactly the proof that cognitive dissonance works. Maybe I am trying to justify myself, as so I act.
Yet, here are some points in favor of emotional management and the combination of it with rational management:
  1. We work with people; whether if customers, suppliers, managers or employees. In an era of knowledge, more people work a greater portion of their time with people. The recommended way to work with people is to be a person ourselves: to speak with those we work with, not only as professionals, rather, as people. To be sensitive to others. To support and take interest in what they go through. Not to be arrogant. Combining emotional aspects, enables me to express the "me".
  2. Intuition seems to be the opposite of rational management; deciding from "guts feeling", not brains. However, when examining the issue more carefully, we understand that the experts, those who have deep smarts, work a lot using their intuition. They take many decisions without even thinking. Even when they analyze alternatives, many times the first alternative considered, turns out to be the best. That is intuition. How does intuition work? Maybe, the decisions are not really "guts feeling" decisions. The expert does think, does analyze and does decide rationally. He or she runs this process unconscious and therefore we have the illusion that it was emotional and not rational. The uncertainty gives us the feeling of something irrational. That does not stand correct.
  3. However, above all, the main point is that combining emotional and rational management aspects together, gives us a broader view. It enables us to take into consideration, not only what is profitable, but also what is right to do. Emotional thinking, gives us the opportunity, many times, to think not only "business", but also "values". Emotional management does not necessarily mean getting angry and acting impulsively, externalizing all our week points. Emotional management is first and mainly, doing what is right in our eyes (not only regarding our conscious brain).

I am lucky to run a private held company that belongs to me. Managing in such terms, I do not have any directorate who may guide me to concentrate on money and business profit only. I can act involving emotions and logic, and no one can complain.
Yes, I am lucky. I thank god every day for that.

Yours,
Moria

1 comment:

Andy Nightingale said...

Your following statements strongly align with my own life experiences;

Emotional thinking, gives us the opportunity, many times, to think not only "business", but also "values".
Emotional management does not necessarily mean getting angry and acting impulsively, externalizing all our week points.
Emotional management is first and mainly, doing what is right in our eyes (not only regarding our conscious brain).


I work in the high pressure environment of operational emergency services and our greatest challenge so far is to combine emotional and rational management so that we can predict safe systems of work yet take account of diverse belief when planning how we arrange our working practices and training.

I have evolved my own way of managing people which is seems to go down well. I aim to encourage individual emotion and then provide a conduit to make it work for the team. It requires a lot of people skills so I'm not sure everyone could do it. What do you think?