Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential AND HOW YOU CAN ACHIEVE YOURS

by Shirzad Chamine

THE UPPER LIMIT OF PQ Marcial Losada’s mathematical modeling uncovered an upper limit to positivity equivalent to a PQ score of 92. My own interpretation of this finding is that a minimal level of negativity is inevitable, and is actually helpful. I want to emphasize minimal, so we don’t give the Saboteurs the excuse they need to get back into convincing us they are our friends. If we use the physical body analogy, we would say that while we should aim to avoid pain, it is critical that our body be capable of feeling pain. For example, if you touch a hot stove, you will feel pain temporarily. This pain is a critical signal to you that you need to move your hand. If you didn’t feel this pain, your hand might be badly burned before you realized you needed to move it. It is inevitable that you will feel anxiety, anger, shame, guilt, disappointment, and many other negative feelings at times. These feelings wake you up and tell you that you need to pay attention. The problem with the Saboteurs is that they want you to keep feeling that way. They want you to keep your hand on the stove, to keep feeling the anger, the guilt, the disappointment, the anxiety. Instead, we need to learn to shift to Sage mode soon after the pain gets our attention, shifting our feelings into positive territory. The necessity of this minimal amount of negative feeling is why I believe PQ has an upper limit.