Don't Lack Discipline and Good Behavior: How Psychology Applies to Your Business

Business owners struggle to create a business that effortlessly flows. Whether it's the lack of consistent action, unacceptable business practice, or flat out laziness, it can be rather hard to create a business that runs as smooth as a river, adjusting seamlessly to whatever life throws at it. In order to achieve this "business like water" state, applying business psychology is not simply a want, it's a must!

The Golden Rule & Reciprocity
This one usually starts from the top down. Treat others the way you want to be treated. It's a very simple equation, yet, you'd be surprised how many businesses don't apply this simple psychological technique. Simply put, if the leadership treats the employees well, the employees are going to treat each other and their customers well. Also, the employees are going to be more inclined to give back to the company that treats them so well. The business increases revenue and everybody benefits.

Focus On Less Objectives
The reason why many people find discipline to be tough is because many companies force too many focuses on their employees. For example, if you want your sales people to flourish, do you want them to focus on a few metrics or over 20 metrics? The sales people who focus on only a few metrics are going to be able to create a consistent system of recommending and closing sales, thus building more discipline and confidence in the workplace. Too much variety is psychological devastating because the employee will always feel like they are behind the "power curve", and thus never able to hit their goals.

Finding Your "Keystone Habit"
A keystone habit is a specific behavior good or bad that when introduced, purposely or inadvertently, can affect many other functions of the company. Alcoa's former CEO Paul O'neill introduced a keystone habit of a "safety first" work environment that quadrupled the sales of his company. By focusing on safety, the company witnessed many different aspects of their company change from worker productivity, satisfaction, and even witnessed groundbreaking technological advances that affected the entire world!

Positive Psychology to Boost Good Behavior
Entrepreneurs all across the country are touting positive psychology to be the cornerstone of their business. In short, positive psychology seeks to capitalize on each person's character strength. When a person is doing what they do best, they are happiest, according to positive psychology. This is why many hiring managers are searching for business psychologists from top accredited programs, such as the online psychology degrees at the University of Southern California, in hopes of finding top talent. When the employees are happy about their situation, they tend to have better workplace behavior. A business psychologist that specializes in positive psychology can essentially be the mastermind behind an entire organization's prosperity, a cornerstone of success.