Never underestimate the impact of a single rotten apple

Never underestimate the impact of a single rotten appleNever underestimate the impact of a single rotten appleWhat do you think is more likely to happen when a lazy person joins a highly productive team?Option AThe lazy person gets inspired by the productive people and their positive mindset. The lazy person automatically gets elevated to their level.Option BThe productive people in the team become lazy over time.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreIt cant be scenario B, right? Thats elend how it works. The lazy person is by himself. Theres no way he can influence the whole groupWhen the lazy person is surrounded by productive people, hell be inspired to do more work as well. Thats what most of usthinkwill happen.But in my experience, and from what Ive learned from others, the opposite happens.Onenegative person can easily destroy the group dynamic. So why do many of us believe that Option A will happen? Its because you look at yourself.When you have good intentionsYou expect that other people are also like that. I get emails from frustrated readers all the time.Leaders who cant seem to inspire their team. Men and women who are tired of their partners destructive behavior. Parents who cant watch their child throwing away their future.These problems are serious and happen to every person who aims up in life. If you are positive and try to make the best of your life, you expect that it will rub off on other people.Thats because people like you and I have good intentions. We want the best for others and for ourselves. When you treat yourself with respect, you cant imagine that others are screwing up their lives.How one person destroys the collectiveI always thought you could pull up people to a higher level. After all, Ive always lived that way myself. I looked at people who were ahead of me and got inspired by them. Im leise like that.Good people make you better . But thats not how it works for rotten apples people who gave up on life. It took me many years to accept that harsh reality about life.InPoor Richards Almanack, Benjamin Franklin wrote this in the18th centuryThe rotten apple spoils his companion.When you allow a rotten apple in your life, you are accepting their behavior. Its not on them. Its on us.Weare the ones who enable them. Ive made this mistake as well. And in fact, in the past, Ive behaved like a rotten apple as well. Thats how I know it has a such a big impact on people.But because I changed, I thought that you should others indefinite chances. That only screws up the group dynamic. Remember, life is not about you. Its about the common good.So what happens when you allow a single rotten apple in your group? The group falls apart. One of my friends, whos the CEO of a mid-sized company, recently told me about making the mistake to hire a negative person. His sale team performed great and posted double-digit growth 5 years s traight and he wanted to expand.The guy he hired had a great resume and performed well during the interview process. Within the first 6 months, he even made several sales. But after that, he started slacking off, gossiping, and acting negatively towards leadership. And gradually, the other sales execs started doing the same. These were people who performed well before.Over an 18 month period, sales of almost all team members declined. When I talked to my friend recently, he finally had fired the negative person. But it was already too late. He had to rebuild his team. He said that, in hindsight, he should have gotten rid of that person earlier. He ignored many warning signals because he wanted to give the guy a chance.Become a student of humanityLook, this is one of the most difficult things in life. Ive experienced situations like that as well.A single bad employee can set your company back for years.And how often do you see that asinglebad relationship screws up all your future on es? Again, its the power of a rotten apple.As a realist andpragmatist, I think we should avoid those folks. But because they are good at acting, its difficult to spot them. Its not like they have a sign on their forehead that says, AVOID ME.So whatcanwe do? First, we must do the right thing and always have a positive attitude. Second, we must become a student of psychology and human nature.I highly recommend everyone to study the work of Robert Greene, who dedicated all his books to this problem. Dont use books like48 Laws Of Power or The Laws Of Human Natureto deceive people and get what you want.No, use the books to SPOT people who try to do that. To fight your enemy, you must know his every move.Its not all badBut all of the above does NOT mean people are inherently bad. Far from it. People are good. I sincerely believe that.The most successful societies in the world are based on trust. We need to do everything in our power to keep it like that. And we must improve ourselves so o ur civilization improves over time. Gandhi famously saidYou must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.Even though with social media today, it doesnt look like it, but the majority of people are still good. Do not forget that. And ifweare also good, those few rotten apples will eventually only spoil each other.This article first appeared on DariusForoux.com .You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people