Soft Skills for the Professional Services Industry

CHAPTER 6Action Orientation

ONLY THOSE WHO ACT will be successful. Successful people are action oriented. For this reason, successful entrepreneurs do the right things at the right time. Certainly, this principle is easier said than done, especially in larger companies. There are clear hierarchies and anyone who oversteps them should be prepared to face negative consequences. Action is not really desired equally everywhere.

The principle of action orientation is highly significant in start‐up companies. Their current motto is often like the Nike slogan: “just do it.” And more and more established companies are letting entire departments “just do it” to find answers to questions related to digitalization and disruption.

Successful people in particular tend to be distinctly action oriented. They align their actions with their goals. Those who want to be commissioned should be in frequent contact with their clients. Those who want to climb the career ladder in a company are well advised to act in the interests of their superiors and keep in regular contact with them. In order to pass a professional exam, you have to work to prepare for it. That means making sacrifices.

But what is it that drives a person to act? In this context, the avoidance of pain and the creation of joy are closely related. According to this, people aim at bringing about those events that lead to positive emotional states by either striving for something (appetence) or avoiding it (aversion).

Whoever deals ...