New Favorite LIne

Catching up on The Chronicle Review's lead essay on "The Mixed Success of Postitive Psychology," I saw this pull quote:

For "defensive pessimists," one reasearcher says, focusing on what could go wrong spurs them to take more-effective action.

I like that, not because it feeds a dark side within, but it recognizes a firm reality. Just because your media specialist is always talking about what could happen, speaking in terms of the worst case, planning to mitigate the downside effect DOES NOT make that person a pessimist.

It makes them a defensive pessimist.

Time spent on media training, a quick Q&A before a difficult press event, working on talking points -- it is all to make the subject better equipped to convey the message.

In the past, one of my favorite responses from a coach, player or administrator was "they weren't as tough as you said they would be" or "they never asked the me questions you asked me." That means you did your job, because the 30 minutes spent hurling the most invasive, nasty, pointed questions imaginable -- the ubiquitous dirty thirty -- prepared them, gave them confidence in their positions and made them practice reaction to the hardest issues.

Today -- let me be very clear, I don't mean at Arkansas -- I see more and more discussion about leaders wanting only positive comments, only positive thoughts, to somehow channel The Secret into their media relations work. Those that spend their time raising questions internally get labeled as "negative", marked with a big black "N" for their attitudes.

Want the philosophy in a pithy single phrase: Plan for success, but prepare for disaster.

Any athletic season could end in a horrible losing streak in which fans and media are circling, and if you have not planned for that type of disaster, you are going to need a bigger boat. Certainly, as we look ahead to a potential H1N1 outbreak, it is not being negative to create plans on how games might need to be rescheduled and how teams might suspend activity.

No one wants to see that happen, but only fools skip into the future thinking that confidence that the unlikely will not come to pass is a legitimate strategy.

At the same time, we need to plan for a BCS bowl game. How will we leverage success? One must have both templates in hand, and know that the reality is you will probably use some of both scenarios during any given year.