Don’t let negativity be your boss

Negativity can infiltrate something as seemingly pleasant as the golf industry.

Consider how a superintendent will remember an awful weather day in June 2018. The same superintendent will then forget the seven delightful days preceding and following that day.

And don’t get a superintendent started on the one customer who thought the greens were a little inconsistent on a Friday morning in October 2021. The 114 other golfers who enjoyed terrific putting experiences on the same day are forgotten. Ignorant comments are etched in memory.

Tools exist for overcoming the negativity.

Writer John Tierney and research psychologist Roy F. Baumeister co-authored “The Power of Bad,” a 2019 self-help book designed to allow readers to understand the roots of negativity and how they can be handled in settings ranging from relationships with significant others to online chatter. Because it was released a year before the most negative year many of us have experienced, it explores how negativity is handled and defeated in normal times.

The book doesn’t reference golf course superintendents — the only golf anecdote involves the fear of potentially three-putting when standing over a birdie putt. Tierney’s and Baumeister’s golf tip? Go for the birdie!

The authors provide logical solutions to addressing negativity. One early chapter delves into the technical parts of the brain and how they affect negative thoughts, but the rest of the book is practical and applicable to nearly every job, including golf course maintenance. Grasping concepts such as positivity ratio, the “Rule of Four” and safety addiction can produce better personal and professional decisions.

According to Tierney and Baumeister, the typical person experiences three good days for every bad day. If your positivity ratio meets or surpasses 3-to-1, you’re in a solid spot despite the “Rule of Four,” which suggests four good things are required to overcome one bad thing. Think of weather and customer relations. Are you really experiencing more than one bad weather day for every four good weather days? Do you really think more jerks play your course than happy customers relishing a few hours outdoors?

A fear of getting fired permeates among superintendents, especially within professional networks holding the best-paying jobs. It’s easier to find a job paying $50,000 per year in this industry than one paying $150,000. But very few superintendents, in any pay bracket, are actually fired. We asked superintendents in a 2016 survey if they had ever been fired for job performance reasons. Only 9 percent responded yes. A 91 percent positivity ratio is phenomenal, yet management and leadership decisions are frequently made based on a myth dispelled by overwhelmingly positive data.

The fear of being fired leads to what Tierney and Baumeister consider a safety addiction. Safe decisions to protect the jobs of managers — who data suggests are unlikely to be fired — make it difficult for the golf industry to develop Kevin Kelley-like figures. Kelley is an Arkansas high school football coaching legend who led Pulaski Academy to a 216-29-1 record and nine state titles in 18 seasons. He rarely punted and regularly attempted onside kicks and two-point conversions. Tierney and Baumeister cite Kelley’s triumphs at Pulaski Academy as an example of what can be achieved when positive outcomes play a bigger factor in decision making than negative thoughts.

We’re not suggesting every spray application or aerification should be skipped because a high school football coach avoided punting. But imagine how the golf industry might evolve if more leaders emulated Kelley and made decisions driven by positive outcomes instead of negative thoughts.

One of the biggest sources of negativity are people like … well … hopefully … we’re not too guilty. Thousands of media outlets contribute to what Tierney and Baumeister call the “crisis industry.” Fortunately, that negativity is easy to overcome. Pick information platforms and online friends wisely, and you’ll quickly be inundated with more positivity.

We’re striving to do our little part to help the industry and planet overcome negativity by packing more positivity into our pages, posts, podcasts and newsletters.

We’re even searching for the content equivalent of not punting.