“This is not a war on Islam.” Tony Blair on the war on…terrorism.
Drop the Pink Elephant is the best-selling business book written by Broadcasting Business Managing Director Bill McFarlan. Positive communication is the holy grail of everyday work and life. However almost all of us fall into the trap of allowing unnecessary negatives… what Bill calls ‘Pink Elephants’… to reduce our effectiveness often highlight the opposite of what we intend.
The book aims to:
- Create a more positive culture (by spotting and eliminating Pink Elephants)
- Target jargon as a disease to be eliminated
- Help people to be better understood through painting clearer pictures
- Promote Regret, Reason and Remedy as an alternative to blame
- Encourage managers to thank colleagues…and encourage colleagues to accept the praise on offer
Bottom line… greater morale, greater productivity, greater profitability.
I have to say, this is one of my favourite book which I felt like everyone must read!! Whenever there’s a talk about fresh graduates’ reasons for remaining jobless, these few points are always pointed out:
- Poor command in English
- Poor communication skill
- Poor IT skill
For one to improve his/her communication skill, this is a must-read book, at least to me!! It’s very simple to understand, has a lot of examples which proves his point and practical to apply to anyone. The first point in the book, which encourages us to eliminate “NOs, DON’Ts, COULDN’T” etc, is more than just trying to make your message more straightforward, it can help anyone to be more positive-minded too 
I guess this quote sums up the first point in the book very nicely:
“Whether you think you can, or you can’t, you’re right.”
-Henry Ford
Too many times I’ve encountered “Pink Elephants” everywhere I go, and it twitches me somehow, eg “it is not impossible”, won’t saying “it is possible” easier? But at times, it enlightens me. Like when Pak Lah recently announced he “is NOT going to step down soon”, yehehehehe……hehehehehehehehehheheheheheh!!
Of course, it definitely hurts when I see “petrol price WON’T increase soon”, cuz it can only mean I need to get prepared to fork out more money. Immediately. Damn.
Back to the book, I had a great joy reading it. And I feel that it can only become more vital today as the jobless grads continue to increase. As well as to generally enjoy less processing of what some people are actually thinking really.
