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October 21, 2004
Accurately Predict The Success Of Any Relationship
Interview
with Tom Rath co-author of the book, How
Full Is Your Bucket?
Mike
Carruthers:
Imagine being able to predict with ninety-four percent accuracy
whether a marriage will last or end in divorce based on a fifteen-minute conversation.
A researcher at the University of Washington conducted a study that did just that.
By observing the number of positive interactions a couple had versus the number
of negative ones. Tom
Rath:
We
call this the magic ratio so when you have five positives for every one negative
if you're above that line couples were likely to stay together if they're below
that line they were likely to divorce. Tom
Rath co-author of the book, How
Full Is Your Bucket… And
similar research in the work place has shown that work teams that are above three
to one ratio are significantly more productive than work teams that are below
that three to one line. It's
amazing when you think about it, says Tom, that just by increasing the number
of positive interactions you have with people you can improve virtually every
relationship in your life. So,
the next time you're having a conversation with another person, is there a point
in that exchange where you could stop yourself before you say something negative?
That's a start at least and maybe even turn it around in a more positive direction.
Once you kind of get a hang of that in the moment to see if you can look back
in your last two or three interactions, score your ratio to see if you have a
few more positives than a few more negatives. So, it's those small encounters
that accumulate and have kind of a cascading effect because both positive and
negative emotions are very contagious. At
somethingyoushouldknow.net
I'm Mike Carruthers and that's Something You Should Know.
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