One can employ many management tools to analyze the success or failure for any company. While they may be all true or valid, knowledge of management tools can be viewed as a pyramid with a common denominator at the top which evaluates all other data below it. If one is able to know and master the top level of the pyramid, one can easily understand how to apply the remaining management tools by correctly using the data.

At the top of the pyramid of the management tools, we can have a common denominator that is knowledge of human emotion and reaction. Regardless of the type, size and industry of any company, the only thing that can motivate or inhibit any productivity or performance within or outside the company is human emotion and reaction.

If a public relations executive did not understand correctly the human emotion and reaction of the individual, he would launch an ineffective public relations campaign with incorrect emotional tone, either too high or too low to the actual emotional tone of the public to the subject. In other words, the public relations campaign could not convey the message in a correct emotional tone to get the expected human reaction though the campaign had all other needed ingredients.

If a marketing manager did not understand the human emotion and reaction to the product of the company, there could be a waste of marketing campaign and effort not geared to the direction to lure the public to the right desired reaction to be interested in the company’s product.

If a salesman had a fixed idea that one needs to be enthusiastic to sell to anyone at all times, his closing rate would be terrible and he will easily drive away a lot of businesses from the company.

If a finance director knew the human emotion and reaction of the bankers with whom he needed to negotiate some financing terms for the company, he could easily add the advantages to the company by communicating at the right emotional tone with relevant financial data. Otherwise, the credit rating and liquidity of the company could be at risk.

Likewise, if the management did not know the human emotion of its managers and employees, it would be a puzzle on how to motivate the human resource and channel them to the right direction of the reality of the management as a team effectively.  To be either angry by threat or using propitiation to manage the staff could be the last failing resort to get things done but not for the long-run success of the company.

So you see the understanding of human emotion and reaction is no longer solely restricted to the human resources department of your company. And yes certainly this department does carry the indispensable duty to make sure your company getting the right staff by knowing their actual emotional tone rather than social tone as demonstrated in many regular job interviews to confuse many human resources managers and cause catastrophe. But this skill is definitely not limited to that department by any means whatsoever.

As you know, people do not know instantly the various human emotional tone, reaction and behavior simply by intuition.  However, a more observable and workable approach can be established to provide us effective tools to understand human emotion and reaction.It’s too simple to classify people with positive or negative emotions.  In fact, there is an emotional tone scale that one can be as high as enthusiastic or as low as apathy.  There’re also various emotional tone positions even in the negative emotional band. Everyone is virtually in a particular "emotional state" or tone at any given time. And just like a musical scale, these emotional tones can be high or low--with each emotional tone having an inherent set of predictable and observable personality characteristics.

People react and behave differently on various emotional tone positions, and therefore require different methods of communication and handling.  Once you have mastered it, the rest of the management tools can be integrated easily to give you better understanding and competence to fully implement all other management tools for better success of your company.

Now, based on the works of L. Ron Hubbard, there are answers to these emotional tones. One can learn and master the answers for results.  For example, there’s a film DVD: “Emotions in the workplace”* to illustrate the various emotional tones that you can quickly grasp the subject of emotional tone and apply it in business world. To learn about the tools of emotional tone scale and how to apply it in the workplace effectively, please contact us.

So know your people, and they are your staff and your customers, for the success of your company!

P.S. You will find the above same article to be published on the web site of the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resources Management!