One of my favorite topics that was discussed in the The Hagerman Group’s EQ (emotional intelligence) training was the concept of constructive discontent. A majority of what I learned on the topic was from a chapter of Robert K. Cooper’s book Executive EQ. Cooper interjects case studies throughout the chapter to explain how successful a company can be if it encourages its employees to practice constructive discontent. The quote I like to reference to explain this concept comes from Aristotle:
“Anyone can become angry – that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way – this is not easy.”
The case study from Cooper’s book that best describes constructive discontent is from the Honda Motor Company. Honda has a slogan “Listen, Ask, and Speak Up” which spawns from its management style encouraging discordance amongst employees. Honda staffs its development teams with engineers from other disciplines to encourage an outside critical eye. Honda believes that discontent leads to a better end product for the consumer.
The culture arose from the experience of a young engineer who challenged co-founder Soichuro Honda over the comparative qualities of the water – and air – cooled engines. He felt so strong in his position of switching to water-cooled engines, that when Honda did not agree to his point, he went on strike for a month and entered a Zen monastery. Honda was so impressed with the passion of this young man that he changed his mind and reconsidered the engineer’s proposal. Luckily, that innovation led Honda to develop the first engine to pass the US’s emissions standards and that same engineer went on to eventually become CEO of the Honda Motor Company, Tadashi Kume.
“When two people in business always agree, one of them is unnecessary.” -William Wrigley, Jr.
Karen Schutte, Estimator/Sustainability Coordinator
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