Hey guys,
Our science fact for the day is the pain of losing is psychologically about twice as powerful as the pleasure of gaining. Ouch.
The psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky showed that even something as simple as a coin toss demonstrates our aversion to loss. In an interview, Mr. Kahneman shared the usual response he gets to his offer of a coin toss:
“In my classes, I say: ‘I’m going to toss a coin, and if it’s tails, you lose $10. How much would you have to gain on winning in order for this gamble to be acceptable to you?’
“People want more than $20 before it is acceptable. And now I’ve been doing the same thing with executives or very rich people, asking about tossing a coin and losing $10,000 if it’s tails. And they want $20,000 before they’ll take the gamble.”
So how does this translate to the work environment? This fear of loss could manifest itself in a few ways, notably:
- In fighting over being ‘recognised’
- Team members holding on to particular clients long past their due date
- A lack of innovation and personal development
So what can we do about it? Well, this feeling isn’t going anyway any time soon. It is hard-wired into our brains via evolution but there are a few ways we can use this awareness to improve our work lives. A few ideas have been listed below:
Risk Intelligence – it’s a thing
Most people would normally ‘follow their gut’ when faced with a question that involves risk. The more risk-averse will play it safe whilst the risk-takers will go all in. There is a distinction, however, between your default risk-taking position and what is the most appropriate decision based on the variables you have at play. We would recommend having a deep, objective look at what you can gain and lose from a particular decision. We all have the potential to get sucked into a life, career, project that we did not want to do just because we were afraid of losing what we had without objectively weighing up what they could gain by making a change. There will always be a risk, it just needs to be managed intelligently.
If taking risks, prepare to go it alone
At one point in everyone’s career, there will be an opportunity and that opportunity will come with an inherent risk. Regardless of how effectively you are persuaded, there is no such thing as a risk-free opportunity. As such, if you are expecting someone else to jump first to check if it will work out and then you follow in behind, this is unrealistic, unrewarding and slightly cowardly if you ask me. Most risks will are solo endeavours and so they should be, they are not for the faint-hearted. If anything you may have to manage both your internal reluctance of taking on the risk whilst also dealing with your colleagues calling you crazy. #Fun.
Understand the social aspect at play
One of the world’s best Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) coaches, Firas Zahabi would ask his fighters that issues with anxiety to think about how the media would treat them if they were to lose a fight. The fighters responded by stating that it would be in the news for a day or two and then it would eventually vanish as people moved on with their day to day lives. This is essentially what happens in an office environment, people talk about it for a few days and then it will all be forgotten. We tend to put a lot more pressure on ourselves to do well when the eyes are on us but in reality, those people do not care nearly as much about our success or lack thereof. If you are worried about what other people would think of you, it’s really no big deal.
We hope this helps. When it comes to risks, think objectively, prepare yourself and don’t look back.
Until next time,
Nathan
Nathan Ranamagar is the founder of flofinder.com – the hub for people working within Professional Services. He likes Excel formulas, real people and vodka cocktails. Email: nathan@flofinder.com
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