Pygmalion Effect

The work of Rosenthal and Jacobsen (1968), among others, shows that teacher expectations influence student performance. Positive expectations influence performance positively, and negative expectations influence performance negatively. Rosenthal and Jacobson originally described the phenomenon as the Pygmalion Effect.

“When we expect certain behaviors of others, we are likely to act in ways that make the expected behavior more likely to occur.” (Rosenthal and Babad, 1985)

“High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation”.—CHARLES KETTERING, PROLIFIC INVENTOR AND FORMER HEAD OF RESEARCH FOR GENERAL MOTORS

Individuals tend to rise to the level of other people’s expectations of them. In general, people tend to perform up to the level that others expect them to perform. If you don’t expect much from the people you work with, it’s likely you won’t inspire them to perform to the limits of their capabilities. Let them know you expect great things from them, and more often than not, you’ll find that they perform well.

The Pygmalion Effect is a tendency named after the protagonist of a Greek myth. Pygmalion was a gifted sculptor who created a statue of a woman so perfect that he fell in love with his creation. After Pygmalion desperately prayed to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, she took pity on him by bringing the statue to life. The Pygmalion Effect explains why all of our relationships are, in a very real sense, self-fulfilling prophecies. The effect was first verified in studies that examined the relationship between teachers and students. If a teacher believed a student was “gifted” or “smart,” the teacher would act in ways that encouraged the student to live up to that assessment. If the teacher believed a student was “difficult” or “challenged,” they wouldn’t receive as much support and wouldn’t perform as well—a self-fulfilling prophecy.

In How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie recommends “Giving others a great reputation to live up to.” He was a wise man—raise your expectations of others, and they’ll naturally do their best to satisfy those expectations.

The Pygmalion Effect isn’t an excuse to have unrealistic  expectations of other people. Even the best builder on earth couldn’t replicate the pyramids of Egypt in an afternoon, so expecting that level of performance from anyone is a recipe for disappointment and frustration. Expecting quality and performance is one  thing—expecting miracles is unrealistic. 

The Pygmalion Effect also features a paradox: having high expectations of people will produce better results, but it also increases the probability that you’ll be disappointed.

The Expectation Effect means that our perception of the quality  of someone’s work is a function of our original expectations. The higher our expectations are to begin with, the higher their performance will generally be, but the risk that our expectations will be violated is also much higher. If you’re doing a formal assessment of someone’s performance, remember to judge performance objectively and quantitatively as much as possible. Let others know you expect great work from them, and they’ll do their best to live up to your expectations.

Pygmalion in Management -  J. Sterling Livingston writes,

“Some managers always treat their subordinates in a way that leads to superior performance. But most … unintentionally treat their subordinates in a way that leads to lower performance than they are capable of achieving. The way managers treat their subordinates is subtly influenced by what they expect of them. If manager’s expectations are high, productivity is likely to be excellent. If their expectations are low, productivity is likely to be poor. It is as though there were a law that caused subordinates’ performance to rise or fall to meet managers’ expectations.”

Source: ”THE PERSONAL MBA” by Josh Kaufman

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The Secret of Happiness

When Gurdjieff (George Ivanovich Gurdjieff  was a mystic, philosopher, spiritual teacher, and composer of Armenian and Greek descent, born in Armenia, Gurdjieff's method for awakening one's consciousness  referred to it as the "Fourth Way")  was a small boy, his dying grandfather summoned his beloved protégé to be by his side. Of Greek descent, the old man had studied the great Greek philosophers all his life and had a compelling piece of advice to pass on.

“Life is a constant stream of moments,” he said, drawing the nine-year-old Gurdjieff closer. “On their own, those moments are good and pure. But, the path of this stream is littered with the snares of urges and immoral choices. The more you give in to temptations, the worse your life will become. You understand what I’m saying?”

Gurdjieff nodded, his eyes welling up to hear the feeble voice of his grandpa. He knew this was perhaps their last interaction.

“I have no wealth to give you, no houses, no horses,” the old man said, “but, I have some golden words for you. You etch those on your mind, and you will never regret a day. You see, my boy, life will put you through innumerable tests and temptations. Don’t let them drag you down the perilous road of conceit or self-destruction. Carefully separate the good from the bad and then choose the former. Good choices lead to good outcomes.”

 “But, how will I know what is good?” Gurdjieff asked.

“It’s hard to say. There’s no certain way of figuring that out but I can give you the rule of thumb: whenever you are hurting anyone or telling lies, it’s unlikely to be a good thing. One day, it’ll come back and haunt you. Remember what Aristotle said, ‘A pursuit of honor or material wealth can’t be the highest good. Instead, it is what helps you maximize your faculties as a human being.’ In simple words, you must strive to become a better human being. You understand?”

Gurdjieff nodded again and said, “I promise you, Grandpa, I will.”

“Now that you have given me your word,” the old man said, “I can give you the secret of happiness, of living a life of goodness. You listening carefully?”

“Yes.”

“Whenever you are tempted to do anything bad, or you are angry and want to give someone your piece of mind, just delay it by twenty-four hours. Never respond in haste. And, any time you have the opportunity to do any good, never postpone it. Do it immediately.

A series of good choices, a series of right actions eventually come around to insulate you from the undesirable situations and events in life. Really, it’s that simple. Good thoughts, words and actions culminate to become your shield. It’s not that life will stop shooting arrows, but you stand protected.

Source: ”The Secret of Secrets ”  by Osho

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The Secret of Mastery

The phenomenal Spanish painter Pablo Picasso was sitting in a small cafe in France. Waiting for his third cup of coffee, while a smoldering cigarette rested in an ashtray, he was doodling on a paper napkin. Oblivious to Picasso, another patron, a woman from an adjacent table, had been observing keenly. A few minutes later Picasso put his pencil down, lifted the napkin and stared at it blankly, as if he wasn’t pleased with it or maybe it needed more work. He was then about to crumple the serviette when the lady spoke.

“Don’t!” she hollered, almost startling Picasso. “I’ll take it.”
He gave her a curious look and kept silent a few moments longer than one would usually in a similar situation.

“I’ll pay you for it,” the woman continued and reached out for her handbag. “It’s not for gifting or sale,” Picasso said with indifference.

“Oh yeah?” She pulled out her checkbook. “Maybe I can offer you a good price!”

“Done. Four million Francs.” This was roughly $10,000.

“That’s ridiculous!”

“Well, that’s the price.”

“But it only took you a few minutes!”

“No Madame.” Picasso folded the napkin and put it in his pocket. “This took me sixty years.”

While growing up, most of us have our sources of inspiration, our role models, people we admire, our super-heroes. These are the people who reached the pinnacle in their respective fields and the world labeled them as geniuses, child prodigies, talented, gifted and so on. For, they demonstrated not only an extraordinary skill but a great degree of effortlessness too. As if they just sat down and championed their art. Nothing could be further from truth than the assumption that they were born with it or somehow got it all too easy.

Effortlessness in anything comes from immense effort. The more mindful effort we put in any endeavor, the easier it gets to become naturally good at it. Whatever you wish to master, be it meditation or basketball or anything at all, be prepared to put in a lot of tiring hours. Keep at it. Mindfully. Keep reviewing and continue working. Gradually, you’ll discover that things that seemed difficult, even impossible at first are now well within your reach. 

Source: ”The Children Of Tomorrow”  by OM SWAMI

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The Man Who Thinks He Can

"Thinking" is a poem written by Walter D. Wintle, a poet who lived in the late 19th and early 20th century. Little to nothing is known about any details of his life. "Thinking" is also known as "The Man Who Thinks He Can".

If you think you are beaten, you are
If you think you dare not, you don't,
If you like to win, but you think you can't
It is almost certain you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost
For out of the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow's will
It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are
You've got to think high to rise,
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!”

-Walter D. Wintle

The poem was referred to by Napoleon Hill in his 1937 book Think and Grow Rich, published by The Ralston Society.

Source: ”Think and Grow Rich”  by Napoleon Hill

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Who Packed Your Parachute?

Charles Plumb was a US Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience! . One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!". "How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb.

"I packed your parachute," the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked!" Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."

Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, "I kept wondering what he had looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat; a bib in the back; and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said 'Good morning, how are you?' or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor." Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent at a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know.

"Who's packing your parachute…?"

 Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. He also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory - he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety.

Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason. As you go through this week, this month, this year, recognize people who pack your parachutes.

Source: Author Unknown.

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Make Your Bed

Admiral William H. McRaven delivered a commencement address to the graduates of The University of Texas at Austin on May 17, 2014. It's been almost 37 years to the day that he graduated from University of Texas. The University's slogan is, “What starts here changes the world.” 

Admiral William H. McRaven in his address said

  “ If You Want To Change The World, Start Off By Making Your Bed”. …

I have been a Navy SEAL for 36 years. But it all began when I left University of Texas for Basic SEAL training in Coronado, California. Basic SEAL training is six months of long torturous runs in the soft sand, midnight swims in the cold water off San Diego, obstacles courses, unending calisthenics, days without sleep and always being cold, wet and miserable. It is six months of being constantly harrassed by professionally trained warriors who seek to find the weak of mind and body and eliminate them from ever becoming a Navy SEAL.

Every morning in basic SEAL training, my instructors, who at the time were all Vietnam veterans, would show up in my barracks room and the first thing they would inspect was your bed. If you did it right, the corners would be square, the covers pulled tight, the pillow centered just under the headboard and the extra blanket folded neatly at the foot of the rack—rack—that’s Navy talk for bed.

It was a simple task—mundane at best. But every morning we were required to make our bed to perfection. It seemed a little ridiculous at the time, particularly in light of the fact that were aspiring to be real warriors, tough battle hardened SEALs—but the wisdom of this simple act has been proven to me many times over.

If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter.

If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right. And, if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made—that you made—and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.

If you want to change the world … start off your day by making your bed ,i.e start each day with a task completed..

Source: “Make Your Bed” by Admiral William H. McRaven

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Compound Effect..

Compound Effect is based on the principle that decisions shape your destiny. Little, everyday decisions will either take you to the life you desire or to disaster by default. 

“The Compound Effect is the principle of reaping huge rewards from a series of small, smart choices.”

“Small, Smart Choices + Consistency + Time = RADICAL DIFFERENCE”

Daren Hardy the author of Compound Effect explains the principle through following ideas

a.  A single penny that doubles every day for 31 days has a larger payoff than taking $3 million in cash today.

b.  Or take three friends who start off in relatively the same place—one makes no changes (good or bad), one adds a weekly beer to his diet and watches TV on his downtime, another makes some small changes like eliminating 200 calories a day and reading 10 pages of a good book daily… Which of these three people do you think end up in a better place two years down the road? 

Choices are at the root of every one of your results. Each choice starts a behavior that over time becomes a habit.

The most challenging aspect of the Compound Effect is that we have to keep working away for a while, consistently and efficiently, before we can begin to see the payoff.

Source:  “The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy  

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Always say less than necessary

“Be particularly careful with sarcasm: The momentary satisfaction you gain with your biting words will be outweighed by the price you pay.”

In 1825, Czar Nicholas I, ascended the throne of Russia. A rebellion immediately broke out, led by liberals demanding that the country modernise — that its industries and civil structures catch up with the rest of Europe.

Brutally crushing this rebellion (the Decemberist Uprising), Nicholas I sentenced one of its leaders, Kondraty Ryleyev, to death. On the day of the execution, Ryleyev stood on the gallows, the noose around his neck. The trapdoor opened...but as Ryleyev dangled, the rope broke, dashing him to the ground.

At the time, events like this were considered signs of providence or heavenly will, and a man saved from execution this way was usually pardoned. As Ryleyev got to his feet, bruised and dirtied but believing his neck had been saved, he called out to the crowd, “You see, in Russia they don’t know how to do anything properly, not even how to make rope!”

A mesenger immediately went to the Winter Palace with news of the failed hanging. Vexed by this disappointing turnabout, Nicholas I nevertheless began to sign the pardon.

But then: “Did Ryleyev say anything after this miracle?” the Czar asked the messenger. “Sire,” the messenger replied, “he said in Russia they don’t even know how to make rope”. “In that case”, said the Czar, “let us prove the contrary”, and he tore up the pardon. The next day Ryleyev was hanged again. This time the rope did not break.

A lesson from 48 laws of power..

“When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinx-like. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.”

Source:  “The 48 Laws Of Power" by Robert Greene 

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Extreme Ownership

Own everything in your world, and blame no one else....

Sent to the most violent battlefield in Iraq, Jocko Willink and Leif Babin’s SEAL task unit faced a seemingly impossible mission: help U.S. forces secure Ramadi, a city deemed “all but lost.” In gripping firsthand accounts of heroism, tragic loss, and hard-won victories in SEAL Team Three’s Task Unit Bruiser, they learned that leadership—at every level—is the most important factor in whether a team succeeds or fails. Task Unit Bruiser became the most highly-decorated special operations unit of the Iraq War.

Willink and Babin returned home from deployment and instituted SEAL leadership training that helped forge the next generation of SEAL leaders. After departing the SEAL Teams, they launched Echelon Front, a company that teaches these same leadership principles to businesses and organizations.

If there is anybody to learn leadership principles from, it would be these gentlemen.

 “For all the definitions, descriptions, and characterizations of leaders, there are only two that matter: effective and ineffective. Effective leaders lead successful teams that accomplish their mission and win. Ineffective leaders do not. And the only way to  become effective is to take…Extreme Ownership ”

The basic idea is that leaders are responsible for every thing that is in or somehow impacts their world. It’s easy to assign blame to outside circumstances or other people (subordinates, superiors, peers), but Extreme Ownership removes those excuses.

Source : “Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win ” by Jocko Willink

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