Emotions' Influence on Business

Reading the Harvard Business Review's January-February 2010 issue, (with a new, seemingly more "interactive format", which I heartily disliked - but maybe I am just being resistant to change), I have come to ponder over human behavior in professional settings.

Subsequent to a research that claims measuring the power of charisma and another that attests to the long term effects of short term emotions both factors seriously damaging decision making, I am left questioning the rational behind business decisions.

The first research assumes that detecting "honest signals" would translate into disregarding the quality of the content of a pitch in favor of the enthusiastic and positive presenter. While the second claims that people are highly affected by their emotions when it comes to taking a decision; and consequently might make a wrong reaction simply because of a previously displayed bad mood.

This brings back to mind the book "Who moved my cheese" and the weaknesses we face as compared to less complex creatures. How dependent are we on our emotional status?

Sinking Through

In the business world, people get lost between management and entrepreneurship. While they seek to grow in the hierarchy chain of their enterprise the few who manage are those who are actually skilled and set for success. They are sinked into the multi-nationals, under the command of often less qualified superiors and are stuffed with a fair amount of consuming assets, while the real benefits of their hard work are channeled to the shareholders ...and I can only wonder what effects this might have on the economy, when people reap what they did not saw.

However, this is not what really scares me. What challenges all my means of logical understanding is when people are set aside for being too perfectionists and doing their tasks a bit "too well"; as if this term should actually exist! I am devestated at the thought of 2 amazing people leaving Siemens at about the same time as my stay is coming to an end. These employees, that I regarded as genius and would only dream to match their skills, are to step aside. Are multi nationals that strong in structure to handle the shock of losing their best assets and surviving the transition? I can't wait to see the results of Siemens PTD Grenoble the year to come, to conclude just how replaceable humans actually are in an enterprise...
For now, I blame it on a lack of judgement and interest from the HR department in the actual success of the company; and an unforgiveable jealousy and individual concern from the part of the head of the enterprise. To think that success leads to concern and makes you an enemy is not conceivable...

Between Theories and Practice

I am more and more convinced that when it comes to business no one knows what he is doing. I thought it would be different in a multinational. Nonsense.
All the systems, the matrixes and the models seem to be drawn to dilute the idea into a broader sense of control over intangible results.
While I can easily stuff graphs and numbers into the simplest presentation to make it look scientifically correct, I remain the hardest person to fool.

Yet, the other day, I saw a ray of light.

The Product Life Cycle Model might be one of the tools I never resorted to. Despite the stress and importance it was given in my marketing program, somehow I thought they were out of things to teach and had extra hours to fill.
Until the day, I myself was out of matrixes and models to present, I thought I'd fill an extra page. As I graphed the demand of each product over the period of time, never had I imagined I would get this result: 5 perfect curves, as perfect as the theory... and I was not dreaming!
What's more is that the stages of the product life cycle corresponded amazingly well with the actual situation of the product. I was shocked, astonished, bedazzled... no, enchanted!
Out there somewhere, there's a marketer who knew his business and who created a theory out of it. Now, remind me, who was that genius again?

*goes searching for the author*