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Energy Vampires: are they dragging down your company?

An energy vampire can have a huge impact on your business. As we continue on our growth journey, we find ourselves daily having to work around the negativity that surrounds our business.

I will be the first to admit, I too can be an energy vampire. It isn't easy to remain positive every day, especially with the markets in turmoil and everyone wondering what the future will bring.

Do you have someone in your life or office that is constantly complaining and talking about how the glass is empty and we are all doomed?

I recently wrote a blog post in which I had a ton of negative comments. While that was not my intention, I had some great positive responses that really made me think about positive solutions.

Here in our office we are working to eliminate complaining and negative energy. In doing this we have already seen a rise in moral and productivity.

How do you deal with these people? Does your office contain a "no complaining rule?" or something else to handle these "energy vampires"?

Posted by Nick Van Assche on 12/05/2008 09:47 AM

Comments (9)

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motivation, management, energy vampire, negative, agents, new agent

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9 Comments on Energy Vampires: are they dragging down your company?

DEC

2008

I have a no whining sign on my desk. I also try to surround myself with other agents that are positive like me! Good luck!

A lot of agents complain about the market and do put out a lot of negative energy. I always try to counter that with something positive - and when I'm feeling negative, I don't come into the office!

I try to stay away from anyone who will zap my energy. Unfortunately, this also includes family. But there is no room for so much negativity in my life!

I share with my staff my philosophy that either you are part of the problem or part of the solution. It's a death spiral when you have negative folks around so lucky for me that I own the biz and have hired positive folks.....

I let everyone know they are allowed to complain about something once, maybe twice, but after that they either need to do something about it or shut up! To put it crudely.

I just do not want anymore negativity than is needed and there are going to be things that are not right and need pointing out but you either figure out a solution or deal with it.

Good Luck!!

I think it's a good idea to buy one of those decorative pillows, the one that says "no whining allowed here", and keep it in a prominent position, that all agents can see as they go in and out of the office. It makes one smile, and then "think". Very tough, though, when there is a lot of fear in the air, to keep a level attitude. Also important to speak one to one with the naysayer, so that they can be encouraged to keep their worries to themselves, and not infect the office atmosphere.

We have been having our agents read the book: "No Complaining Rule by Jon Gordon.

So far it has been working great. We also have decided to add a "2 solutions to a problem." Part of making sure this work is that the key people in our organization are all working together to make sure we put two sides to every situation.

Wow! What a label0 energy vampire. Nobody in my office fits that, but my Mother fits it EXACTLY. I try to limit my time with her.

JUN

Energy Vampire.

That is an interesting label. I'd not ever thought of anything quite that way.

It's something I want to which I want to focus some attention.

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