It was to this despised group that Norman Vincent Peale took his ministry beginning in the 1950s. Although he enjoyed consorting with top business leaders, he especially liked speaking to the lowly salesmen, even to the point of seeing himself as one of them-"G.o.d"s salesman," as he liked to say. Surely, except for the constant rejection, his life resembled those of the salesmen to whom he preached positive thinking. After the success of The Power of Positive Thinking The Power of Positive Thinking, Peale never ceased traveling and speaking, leaving his children to be raised by his wife and his church to be tended by his staff, so that he shared with salesmen their "nomadic, endlessly mobile, existences, aware that every transaction was an individual performance and a personal challenge," as a biographer puts it. 6 6 In In The Power of Positive Thinking, The Power of Positive Thinking, most of his anecdotes are set in hotels or conference rooms, where anxious or shattered salesmen b.u.t.tonhole him for personal counseling. This was Peale"s designated const.i.tuency-"the lonely man in the motel room." most of his anecdotes are set in hotels or conference rooms, where anxious or shattered salesmen b.u.t.tonhole him for personal counseling. This was Peale"s designated const.i.tuency-"the lonely man in the motel room." 7 7 Today salespeople are hardly alone in their efforts to achieve a state of frenzied enthusiasm; they get plenty of help from their employers, who have become increasingly ingenious in their motivational efforts. One approach, pioneered by the pharmaceutical companies, is to start by hiring people who are already, in a sense, motivators themselves-college cheerleaders-and they have turned out to be so successful as sales reps that a regular recruiting pipeline has developed between the drug companies and the campuses. "They don"t ask what the major is," a cheerleading adviser at the University of Kentucky said of the recruiters; it"s enough for the job candidate to be a trained cheerleader. "Exaggerated motions, exaggerated smiles, exaggerated enthusiasm," the adviser continued, "they learn those things, and they can get people to do what they want." 8 8 Another straightforward way to motivate a sales force is to offer rewards for high performers. Top sellers of Mary Kay cosmetics get pink Cadillacs; the "employee of the month" at any company may get a more convenient parking s.p.a.ce. A management consultant observed in 2006 that "U.S. employers spend $100 billion a year on incentives like T-shirts, golf outings and free trips to Florida in the belief that they somehow motivate and inspire their employees." Another straightforward way to motivate a sales force is to offer rewards for high performers. Top sellers of Mary Kay cosmetics get pink Cadillacs; the "employee of the month" at any company may get a more convenient parking s.p.a.ce. A management consultant observed in 2006 that "U.S. employers spend $100 billion a year on incentives like T-shirts, golf outings and free trips to Florida in the belief that they somehow motivate and inspire their employees." 9 9 Not all the motivational methods applied to salespeople feature rewards and incentives. In a workplace environment where employees have few if any rights, some companies resort to motivating their salespeople in ways that are cruel or even kinky. Alarm One, for example, a California-based home-security company, was sued in 2006 by a saleswoman for subjecting her to what could be called motivational spankings. The spankings, usually administered with the metal yard signs of competing companies, were meant to spur compet.i.tion between teams of salespersons. As one salesman testified, "Basically, you"d get up in front of the room, put your hands on the wall, bend over, and get hit with the sign." Other punishments for underperforming salespersons included having eggs broken on their heads or whipped cream sprayed on their faces and being forced to wear diapers. (Since both men and women were subjected to them, the spankings did not qualify as s.e.xual hara.s.sment, and the woman lost her suit.) An even more disturbing case comes from Prosper Inc. in Provo, Utah, where in May 2007 a supervisor subjected an employee to waterboarding as part of a "motivational exercise." The employee, who had volunteered for the experience without knowing what was involved, was taken outside, told to lie down with his head pointed downhill, and held in place by fellow employees while the supervisor poured water into his nose and mouth. "You saw how hard Chad fought for air right there," the supervisor reportedly told the sales team. "I want you to go back inside and fight that hard to make sales." 10 10 While insisting that the company does not condone torture, Prosper management has had nothing to say about this supervisor"s more routine motivational practices, like drawing mustaches on employees" faces and making them work standing up all day. Oddly enough, Prosper is itself in the business of selling "motivation" to other companies. While insisting that the company does not condone torture, Prosper management has had nothing to say about this supervisor"s more routine motivational practices, like drawing mustaches on employees" faces and making them work standing up all day. Oddly enough, Prosper is itself in the business of selling "motivation" to other companies.
Far more commonly, of course, companies have left their salespeople"s bodies untouched and sought only to control their minds. When sociologist Robin Leidner underwent sales training at a company called Combined Insurance in 1987, he found an "emphasis on teaching proper att.i.tudes and selling techniques and [a] relative lack of attention to teaching agents about life insurance." The first day of cla.s.s began with trainees standing up and chanting, "I FEEL HEALTHY, I FEEL HAPPY, I FEEL TERRIFIC!" while throwing "the winning punch." At Combined Insurance, this was part of the "Positive Mental Att.i.tude" philosophy developed by the company"s founder, W. Clement Stone-a major Republican donor and coauthor, with Napoleon Hill, of Success through a Positive Mental Att.i.tude. Success through a Positive Mental Att.i.tude. Slogans flashed at sales trainees on video included "I dare you to develop a winning personality." Leidner comments, "As that last slogan makes clear, trainees were encouraged to regard their personalities as something to be worked on and adjusted to promote success." Slogans flashed at sales trainees on video included "I dare you to develop a winning personality." Leidner comments, "As that last slogan makes clear, trainees were encouraged to regard their personalities as something to be worked on and adjusted to promote success." 11 11 Few companies have worked as hard to instill positive thinking in their sales force as Amway, the purveyor of cleaning products, water purifiers, and cosmetics. Amway recruits undergo an intense indoctrination, paid for out of their own pockets, in the form of tapes, books, seminars, and rallies. In the early 1980s, salespeople were expected to buy a book a month from a list including such cla.s.sics as The Power of Positive Thinking The Power of Positive Thinking and Napoleon Hill"s and Napoleon Hill"s Think and Grow Rich! Think and Grow Rich! 12 12 At seminars, which the salespeople pay to attend, they learn that "G.o.d is Positive, and the Devil is Negative." As one former Amway salesman explains, "Whatever influence weakens your belief and commitment in the business is Negative. . . . Refusal to buy a tape when recommended by the upline [people higher in the sales hierarchy] is Negative." This salesman describes an Amway sales rally as something like a rock concert: At seminars, which the salespeople pay to attend, they learn that "G.o.d is Positive, and the Devil is Negative." As one former Amway salesman explains, "Whatever influence weakens your belief and commitment in the business is Negative. . . . Refusal to buy a tape when recommended by the upline [people higher in the sales hierarchy] is Negative." This salesman describes an Amway sales rally as something like a rock concert: Waves of reciprocal chanting sweep back and forth over the hall, one side shouting, "Ain"t it Great!" and the other answering, "Ain"t it Though!" In a regional event, thousands flick their Bics, or other brand-name propane lighters (Amway does not yet manufacture one) and whirl the flames in a circle to symbolize the mystical force of the [company"s current sales] Plan. . . . Slogans and circles are flashed on a huge video screen at the front of the amphitheater, strobe-light style, in time to the music. 13 13 Not to throw oneself wholeheartedly into the frenzy would, of course, be "Negative."
As anyone who"s attended a sports event, a revival meeting, or a real rock concert knows, it"s hard to resist the excitement of a crowd. When the music"s pounding and others are standing, chanting, or swaying, we are involuntarily drawn in and may briefly experience a sense of exaltation, of being part of "something larger than ourselves." Motivational speakers-and event planners-understand and exploit this human capacity, often demanding that the audience stand and perhaps chant or dance in place. In his book on the motivational-speaking business, Jonathan Black describes one speaker"s audiences as "transformed employees," who occasionally "break down in sobs." after the performance, "they clasp [the speaker"s] hands and tell him he"s their savior. They hug him, shaking and crying." employees," who occasionally "break down in sobs." after the performance, "they clasp [the speaker"s] hands and tell him he"s their savior. They hug him, shaking and crying." 14 14 For an anxious salesperson or cubicle dweller, an event like this can be a thrillingly cathartic experience-not something to resent, as an attempt at mind control, but something to expect at any company gathering and even feel ent.i.tled to as a temporary release from the ongoing pressure. For an anxious salesperson or cubicle dweller, an event like this can be a thrillingly cathartic experience-not something to resent, as an attempt at mind control, but something to expect at any company gathering and even feel ent.i.tled to as a temporary release from the ongoing pressure.
By the start of the twenty-first century, canned motivation had ceased to be a sideshow to the main drama of the corporate world and begun to penetrate to the heart of American business. Not only salespeople but other white-collar workers, IT people, engineers, and accountants are now increasingly found to be in need of motivation and its promised results-positive thinking and improved performance. Everyone in the corporate world, it seems, is in danger of falling into a nonproductive funk unless continually propped up by fresh doses of motivational adrenaline. And perhaps the most surprising converts to positive thinking are the actual decision makers-the executives and managers.
The Era of Irrationality.
When I talk to relative insiders about the corporate market for motivation, they often seem uncomfortable with its loopier aspects-sales events that resemble political rallies or revival meetings, for example, and the promise of omnipotence through the law of attraction. James Champy, a management consultant and coauthor of the 1993 best seller Reengineering the Corporation, Reengineering the Corporation, said he finds much of the motivational oeuvre "delusional" and its pract.i.tioners often "cads." Clarke Caywood, a professor of marketing at Northwestern, admitted to being too "over-educated and cynical" for motivational tricks like visualization but insisted that they "can"t hurt": "If you learn just one little trick-like putting a picture of the boat that you want on your mirror-that could be what leads to a sale." He and I-a professor and a writer, respectively-might realize that visualizing a boat will not bring it to you, but it would be "arrogant," he told me, to deny that most corporate employees, especially salespeople, need to rely on such "tricks" just to get them through the day. said he finds much of the motivational oeuvre "delusional" and its pract.i.tioners often "cads." Clarke Caywood, a professor of marketing at Northwestern, admitted to being too "over-educated and cynical" for motivational tricks like visualization but insisted that they "can"t hurt": "If you learn just one little trick-like putting a picture of the boat that you want on your mirror-that could be what leads to a sale." He and I-a professor and a writer, respectively-might realize that visualizing a boat will not bring it to you, but it would be "arrogant," he told me, to deny that most corporate employees, especially salespeople, need to rely on such "tricks" just to get them through the day.
Corporate managers had thought of themselves, through much of the twentieth century, as cool-headed professionals trained in "management science" and performing a public service by making firms run smoothly and efficiently. Arising in the early part of the century, at the same time that medicine and engineering were organizing themselves into professions, professional management reflected a widespread middle-cla.s.s faith-ant.i.thetical to the tenets of positive thinking-that all problems would yield to a rational, scientific approach. Why bother with wishful thinking when science and technology were already generating such fabulous innovations as the automobile, the telephone, and the radio? The college-educated American middle cla.s.s hewed to one central belief: that the goal was progress for all, not just individual success, and that it would be achieved through the work of highly trained, rational, dispa.s.sionate specialists.
There never was a body of management "science" in the way that there is, for example, a body of medical science; there were only case studies to ponder and what we now call "best practices" to review. But the notion that management was a rational enterprise that anyone could master through study had a powerful meritocratic thrust, challenging the old practice of replacing business leaders with their sons or sons-in-law. The number of people employed as corporate managers ballooned in the postwar period; business became the most popular undergraduate major and the MBA the most popular graduate degree-all based on the idea that management was an impersonal, rational undertaking.
Then, in the 1980s, came the paroxysm of downsizing, and the very nature of the corporation was thrown into doubt. In what began almost as a fad and quickly matured into an unshakable habit, companies were "restructuring," "reengineering," and generally cutting as many jobs as possible, white collar as well as blue. Between 1980 and 1985, General Electric"s CEO, Jack Welch, earned his nickname of "Neutron Jack" by laying off 112,000 employees and announcing his intention to eliminate the bottom-performing 10 percent every year. Soon shareholders throughout the corporate world were demanding constant "reductions in force" (RIFs) as a way of boosting share prices, at least in the short term. The New York Times New York Times captured the new corporate order succinctly in 1987, reporting that it "eschews loyalty to workers, products, corporate structures, businesses, factories, communities, even the nation. All such allegiances are viewed as expendable under the new rules. With survival at stake, only market leadership, strong profits and a high stock price can be allowed to matter." captured the new corporate order succinctly in 1987, reporting that it "eschews loyalty to workers, products, corporate structures, businesses, factories, communities, even the nation. All such allegiances are viewed as expendable under the new rules. With survival at stake, only market leadership, strong profits and a high stock price can be allowed to matter." 15 15 Corporations had once been task-oriented ent.i.ties, created in the nineteenth century through charters to perform specific projects like ca.n.a.l or railroad building. The word "corporate" still suggests a group engaged in some collective undertaking-beyond making money for shareholders-and well into the postwar period corporations continued to define themselves in terms of their products and overall contribution to society. But with the advent of "finance capitalism" in the 1980s, shareholders" profits came to trump all other considerations, even pride in the product. Harvard Business School"s Rakesh Khurana, who has chronicled the decline of professional management, traces the changing conception of the corporation through policy statements made by the Business Roundtable. In 1990, this body representing America"s large corporations stated that "corporations are chartered to serve both their shareholders and society as a whole," including such stakeholders as employees, customers, suppliers, and communities. In 1997, however, the Roundtable explicitly denied any responsibility to stakeholders other than shareholders, stating that "the notion that the board must somehow balance the interests of other stakeholders fundamentally misconstrues the role of directors." Relieved of any concern for employees, customers, and "society as a whole," corporations degenerated into mere "aggregations of financial a.s.sets" to be plundered, disaggregated, or merged into one another at will. Some management thinkers even began to describe the corporation as "a legal fiction, a ghost of the mind," because the product was increasingly incidental and the bonds between corporate employees were increasingly fragile. 16 16 Business advice books like Business advice books like Swim with the Sharks without Being Eaten Alive Swim with the Sharks without Being Eaten Alive stressed that in the new corporate setting it was every man for himself. stressed that in the new corporate setting it was every man for himself.
High-level managers came to realize that they were no less expendable than anyone else. A hostile takeover or a sudden decision to eliminate a product line or division could send them packing at any time; even CEOs were being churned in and out of their jobs. But the higher-ups had one great advantage over the average employee living under the threat of layoffs: because they were increasingly rewarded with stock options-and often with golden parachutes-they stood a chance of striking it rich in the ongoing turmoil.
The combination of great danger and potentially dazzling rewards makes for a potent c.o.c.ktail-leading, in this case, to a wave of giddiness that swept through America"s managerial cla.s.s. Rejecting the old, slow, thoughtful methods of professional management, American managers became enamored of intuition, snap judgments, and hunches. As business guru Tom Peters observed, "Things are moving too fast for us to sort out logically what"s going on." 17 17 An article in An article in Fast Company Fast Company complained that "there"s this one big rub about management books-even the best-selling ones and even the ones with plenty of data attached. The world they seek to describe is so complex, so tumultuous, often so random as to defy predictability and even rationality." complained that "there"s this one big rub about management books-even the best-selling ones and even the ones with plenty of data attached. The world they seek to describe is so complex, so tumultuous, often so random as to defy predictability and even rationality." 18 18 Or, as Or, as BusinessWeek BusinessWeek put it in 1999: "Who has time for decision trees and five-year plans anymore? Unlike the marketplace of 20 years ago, today"s information and services-dominated economy is all about instantaneous decision-making"-and that had to be based on gut feelings or sudden, inexplicable revelations. put it in 1999: "Who has time for decision trees and five-year plans anymore? Unlike the marketplace of 20 years ago, today"s information and services-dominated economy is all about instantaneous decision-making"-and that had to be based on gut feelings or sudden, inexplicable revelations. 19 19 Hesitating or spending too long on a decision was now condemned as "overa.n.a.lyzing" or "overintellectualizing." The only workable "paradigm" was change itself, and the only way to survive was to embrace it wholeheartedly or, in Peters"s words, learn to "thrive on chaos." Hesitating or spending too long on a decision was now condemned as "overa.n.a.lyzing" or "overintellectualizing." The only workable "paradigm" was change itself, and the only way to survive was to embrace it wholeheartedly or, in Peters"s words, learn to "thrive on chaos."
At the top of the managerial hierarchy, CEOs forged a new self-image as charismatic leaders who could be counted on to have the right intuitions and gut feelings in a fast-changing world. The old-style CEO had risen from within the ranks of the company, mastering every aspect of the business before ascending to the top; the new one was likely to have been hired for his celebrity status in the business world, even if it was derived from totally unrelated lines of businesses. As Khurana describes the transformation: "The image of a CEO changed from being a capable administrator to a leader leader-a motivating, flamboyant leader"-very much like a motivational speaker, in fact. 20 20 Some business school academics found a disturbing element of the divine in the new CEO self-image. According to a 2002 article in the journal Some business school academics found a disturbing element of the divine in the new CEO self-image. According to a 2002 article in the journal Human Relations Human Relations, many business leaders "develop a monomaniacal conviction that there is one right way of doing things, and believe they possess an almost divine insight into reality." They were now convinced, in no small part by the motivational gurus who were replacing the old management "consultants," that "they are charismatic visionaries rather than people in suits." 21 21 Forsaking the "science" of management, corporate leaders began a wild thrashing around in search of new ways to explain an increasingly uncertain world-everything from chaos theory to Native American wisdom, from "excellence" to Eastern religions. It wasn"t enough to reject the old approaches; a kind of antirationality gripped American business. With a nod to management"s past commitment to rational a.n.a.lysis, BusinessWeek BusinessWeek admitted that "spiritual thinking in Corporate America may seem as out of place as a typewriter at a high-tech company." But as the cover story went on to report, it was everywhere. A 1999 gathering, for example, of "some of the world"s youngest and most powerful chief executives" featured a "shamanic healing journey": admitted that "spiritual thinking in Corporate America may seem as out of place as a typewriter at a high-tech company." But as the cover story went on to report, it was everywhere. A 1999 gathering, for example, of "some of the world"s youngest and most powerful chief executives" featured a "shamanic healing journey": There, in a candlelit room thick with a haze of incense, 17 blindfolded captains of industry lay on towels, breathed deeply, and delved into the "lower world" to the sound of a lone tribal drum. Leading the group was Richard Whiteley, a Harvard business schooleducated best-selling author and management consultant who moonlights as an urban shaman. "Envision an entrance into the earth, a well, or a swimming hole," Whiteley half-whispered above the sea of heaving chests. He then instructed the executives how to retrieve from their inner depths their "power animals, who would guide their companies to 21st century success." 22 22 Not only shamanic healing but dozens of forms of spiritual practice proliferated within corporate American in the 1990s and 2000s. There were "vision quests" and Native American healing circles for top managers, as well as prayer groups, Buddhist seminars, fire walking, exercises in "tribal story telling" and "deep listening." At the beginning of the 1990s, Esalen, the Big Sur spa that had been a bastion of the counterculture in the 1960s and 1970s, was raising money to turn its main building into a luxurious corporate retreat, and major companies like AT&T, DuPont, TRW, Ford, and Proctor and Gamble were buying up spiritual experiences for their higher-level managers. "Corporations are full of mystics," a 1996 business self-help book declared. "If you want to find a genuine mystic, you are more likely to find one in a boardroom than in a monastery or cathedral." 23 23 In the newly "spiritual" corporate culture, there was nothing at all unsettling about positive thinking and its promise that the law of attraction allows you to control the world with your thoughts. As Fortune Fortune observed, the new business spirituality offered "a world view in which . . . reality is not absolute but a by-product of human consciousness." observed, the new business spirituality offered "a world view in which . . . reality is not absolute but a by-product of human consciousness." 24 24 Traditional number-crunching management consultants began to give way to self-described management gurus like Peters and Tony Robbins-best-selling celebrities who could bring an audience to their feet with spirited renditions of the old positive-thinking nostrums. Traditional number-crunching management consultants began to give way to self-described management gurus like Peters and Tony Robbins-best-selling celebrities who could bring an audience to their feet with spirited renditions of the old positive-thinking nostrums.
The decline of management as a rational undertaking can be traced through the meteoric career of Peters, dubbed the "uber-guru" of management by the Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times. He started as an a.n.a.lyst at the old-line, hyperrational McKinsey consulting firm, only to discover the "human element" in management in his 1982 best seller, In Search of Excellence In Search of Excellence. It was not enough to manage "by the numbers," he and his coauthor argued, reasonably enough. Employees need to be motivated and rewarded for going the extra mile to satisfy customers, and this involved engaging their emotions. Corporations were made up of people, people are emotional beings, so management would just have to wade into this murky new territory. Peters, in other words, made a rational case for a new, less-than-rational approach to management based on motivation, mood boosting, and positive thinking.
But as the age of downsizing wore on, a menacingly nihilistic tone crept into his message. It was no longer enough to "thrive on chaos," as his 1988 book advised-the forward-looking manager should actually generate it. "Destroy your corporation before a compet.i.tor does!" he wrote in his 1992 book, Liberation Management Liberation Management. "Disorganize! And keep disorganizing!" 25 25 He issued no statement without his trademark red exclamation marks; he posed for photos in his boxer shorts. A 2000 article on Peters in He issued no statement without his trademark red exclamation marks; he posed for photos in his boxer shorts. A 2000 article on Peters in Fortune Fortune began: "If you know one thing about Tom Peters, you know about his first book, and if you know two things, the second is that he hasn"t written a book as good as that since, and if you know three things, the third is that sometime in the 18 years since that first precious book, he"s gone bonkers." began: "If you know one thing about Tom Peters, you know about his first book, and if you know two things, the second is that he hasn"t written a book as good as that since, and if you know three things, the third is that sometime in the 18 years since that first precious book, he"s gone bonkers." 26 26 Maybe it was the boxer shorts and Peters"s increasingly madcap speaking style that turned Fortune Fortune against him, because, no matter how bonkers, he had not in fact lost touch with corporate America. against him, because, no matter how bonkers, he had not in fact lost touch with corporate America. Downsize Downsize was his message for the 1990s-destroy the corporation as we know it-and this is exactly what the CEOs did. When Jack Welch retired from his chairmanship of GE in 2001, he ended his good-bye speech on a note every bit as nihilistic as Peters"s message, "by telling everyone to turn the organization upside down, shake it up, and go blow the roof off." was his message for the 1990s-destroy the corporation as we know it-and this is exactly what the CEOs did. When Jack Welch retired from his chairmanship of GE in 2001, he ended his good-bye speech on a note every bit as nihilistic as Peters"s message, "by telling everyone to turn the organization upside down, shake it up, and go blow the roof off." 27 27 Did layoffs strengthen or weaken the corporation? A mid-1990s study by the American Management a.s.sociation found no positive impact on productivity. Did layoffs strengthen or weaken the corporation? A mid-1990s study by the American Management a.s.sociation found no positive impact on productivity. 28 28 But it hardly mattered, since layoffs clearly led to increased share prices, at least in the short term. If there was a deity at the center of corporate America"s new "business spirituality," it was Shiva, the dancing G.o.d of destruction. But it hardly mattered, since layoffs clearly led to increased share prices, at least in the short term. If there was a deity at the center of corporate America"s new "business spirituality," it was Shiva, the dancing G.o.d of destruction.
Managing Despair.
Between 1981 and 2003, about thirty million full-time American workers lost their jobs in corporate downsizings. 29 29 American inst.i.tutions-corporate and governmental-had little of concrete value to offer the victims of this ma.s.sive social dislocation. Unemployment benefits generally run out after six months; health insurance ceases with employment. Many of the downsized white-collar workers bounced back, finding new jobs-although paying an average of 17 percent less than their former salaries-or adjusting to life as contract workers or "consultants" of one sort or another. American inst.i.tutions-corporate and governmental-had little of concrete value to offer the victims of this ma.s.sive social dislocation. Unemployment benefits generally run out after six months; health insurance ceases with employment. Many of the downsized white-collar workers bounced back, finding new jobs-although paying an average of 17 percent less than their former salaries-or adjusting to life as contract workers or "consultants" of one sort or another. 30 30 But without a safety net, formerly middle-cla.s.s people often tumbled quickly into low-wage jobs and even dest.i.tution. I have met, and heard from, many of these downwardly mobile former managers and professionals: the IT marketing woman in Atlanta who worked six months as a janitor between marketing jobs; the Minneapolis car service driver who gives his pa.s.sengers his old business card, from when he was a media executive, in case they might be interested in hiring one; the chemical engineer whose layoff resulted in a stint in homeless shelters. The once stable middle cla.s.s of white-collar workers, who had been brought up to believe that their skills and education would guarantee security, was reduced to anxious scrambling. But without a safety net, formerly middle-cla.s.s people often tumbled quickly into low-wage jobs and even dest.i.tution. I have met, and heard from, many of these downwardly mobile former managers and professionals: the IT marketing woman in Atlanta who worked six months as a janitor between marketing jobs; the Minneapolis car service driver who gives his pa.s.sengers his old business card, from when he was a media executive, in case they might be interested in hiring one; the chemical engineer whose layoff resulted in a stint in homeless shelters. The once stable middle cla.s.s of white-collar workers, who had been brought up to believe that their skills and education would guarantee security, was reduced to anxious scrambling.
Downsizing did not, of course, increase the number of salespeople, but it did increase the number of people who were encouraged to think think of themselves as salespeople. In the hazardous new corporate workplace, everyone was encouraged to engage in a continual sales effort, selling him-or herself. As anthropologist Charles N. Darrah put it, the white-collar worker had become a "bundle of skills . . . who can move freely between [workplace] settings, carrying his or her skills like so much luggage." of themselves as salespeople. In the hazardous new corporate workplace, everyone was encouraged to engage in a continual sales effort, selling him-or herself. As anthropologist Charles N. Darrah put it, the white-collar worker had become a "bundle of skills . . . who can move freely between [workplace] settings, carrying his or her skills like so much luggage." 31 31 But he or she could hope to move "freely" only by constantly working on and burnishing what Tom Peters termed "the brand called you." No longer were you to think of yourself as an "employee"; you were "a brand that shouts distinction, commitment, and pa.s.sion!" But he or she could hope to move "freely" only by constantly working on and burnishing what Tom Peters termed "the brand called you." No longer were you to think of yourself as an "employee"; you were "a brand that shouts distinction, commitment, and pa.s.sion!" 32 32 Everyone, from software writer to accountant, was now subject to the same insecurities as the "lonely salesman" once targeted by Norman Vincent Peale. Everyone, from software writer to accountant, was now subject to the same insecurities as the "lonely salesman" once targeted by Norman Vincent Peale.
The motivation industry could not repair this new reality. All it could do was offer to change how one thought thought about it, insisting that corporate restructuring was an exhilaratingly progressive "change" to be embraced, that job loss presented an opportunity for self-transformation, that a new batch of "winners" would emerge from the turmoil. And this is what corporations were paying the motivation industry to do. As the about it, insisting that corporate restructuring was an exhilaratingly progressive "change" to be embraced, that job loss presented an opportunity for self-transformation, that a new batch of "winners" would emerge from the turmoil. And this is what corporations were paying the motivation industry to do. As the Washington Post Washington Post reported in a 1994 article on motivational products, "Large corporations are looking for innovative and cheap ways to boost employees demoralized by ma.s.sive layoffs." reported in a 1994 article on motivational products, "Large corporations are looking for innovative and cheap ways to boost employees demoralized by ma.s.sive layoffs." 33 33 According to a "history of coaching" on the Internet, the coaching industry owed its huge growth in the 1990s to "the loss of "careers for life." " According to a "history of coaching" on the Internet, the coaching industry owed its huge growth in the 1990s to "the loss of "careers for life." " 34 34 AT&T sent its San Francisco staff to a big-tent motivational event called "Success 1994" on the same day the company announced that it would lay off fifteen thousand workers in the coming two years. As AT&T sent its San Francisco staff to a big-tent motivational event called "Success 1994" on the same day the company announced that it would lay off fifteen thousand workers in the coming two years. As Time Time"s Richard Reeves reported, the message of the featured speaker-the frenetic Christian motivator Zig Ziglar-was, "It"s your own fault; don"t blame the system; don"t blame the boss-work harder and pray more." 35 35 Products like motivational posters and calendars also owed their market to what a Successories spokeswoman described, in a tactfully abstract fashion, as "a lot of negativity in the world." "We need [Successories products] because there"s a lot of companies downsizing and companies that can"t afford to give their employees the raises they were expecting," she said, and her company"s offerings are "one of the ways to smooth that over." 36 36 As Ralph Whitehead, a University of Ma.s.sachusetts at Amherst professor of journalism, observed, "Corporate downsizers fire every third person and then put up inspirational posters in the halls to cover the psychic wounds." As Ralph Whitehead, a University of Ma.s.sachusetts at Amherst professor of journalism, observed, "Corporate downsizers fire every third person and then put up inspirational posters in the halls to cover the psychic wounds." 37 37 Think of it as a ma.s.sive experiment in mind control. "Reality sucks," a computer scientist with a master"s degree who can find only short-term, benefit-free contract jobs told me. But you can"t change reality, at least not in any easy and obvious way. You could join a social movement working to create an adequate safety net or to bring about more humane corporate policies, but those efforts might take a lifetime. For now, you can only change your perception of reality, from negative and bitter to positive and accepting. This was the corporate world"s great gift to its laid-off employees and the overworked survivors-positive thinking.
Companies brought in motivational speakers for an ever-growing number of corporate meetings. 38 38 Whatever else goes on at these meetings-the presentation of awards, the introduction of new executives-the "entertainment" is usually provided by motivational speakers. As Vicki Sullivan, who follows the market for such speakers, said at the National Speakers a.s.sociation conference in 2007, corporations are the "sugar daddies" of the motivational speaking industry. "At some point," she told me in an interview, employers realized it was not enough to expose people to familiar positive-thinking nostrums like "Don"t read newspapers or talk to negative people." Instead, she said, "What they"ve learned is that you have to go beyond that, as change happens faster and faster. You have to use motivational speakers to help people hang in there." Whatever else goes on at these meetings-the presentation of awards, the introduction of new executives-the "entertainment" is usually provided by motivational speakers. As Vicki Sullivan, who follows the market for such speakers, said at the National Speakers a.s.sociation conference in 2007, corporations are the "sugar daddies" of the motivational speaking industry. "At some point," she told me in an interview, employers realized it was not enough to expose people to familiar positive-thinking nostrums like "Don"t read newspapers or talk to negative people." Instead, she said, "What they"ve learned is that you have to go beyond that, as change happens faster and faster. You have to use motivational speakers to help people hang in there."
Motivational speakers and coaches promoted themselves as a tool for managing "change," meaning layoffs and the extra workload imposed on layoff survivors. A coaching company, for example, promised to cure the toxic atmosphere left by downsizing: "This program is perfect for organizations and corporations that are going through change such as downsizing, mergers or acquisitions. If the people in your organization are reacting with resistance to change, coffee room gossip, decreased performance, declining communication, or increased stress, this change management training teaches how to stay positively motivated and focused." 39 39 One unusually forthcoming motivational speaker expressed some discomfort with her role, telling me that employers use people like her in part "to beat up employees" if they don"t achieve the goals that have been set for them. "They can say, "Didn"t you listen to the speaker we brought in?" " One unusually forthcoming motivational speaker expressed some discomfort with her role, telling me that employers use people like her in part "to beat up employees" if they don"t achieve the goals that have been set for them. "They can say, "Didn"t you listen to the speaker we brought in?" "
The burgeoning genre of business self-help books provided another way to get white-collar workers to adapt to downsizing. Of these, the cla.s.sic of downsizing propaganda was Who Moved My Cheese? Who Moved My Cheese?, which has sold ten million copies, in no small part due to companies that bought it in bulk for their employees. Perhaps in recognition of the fact that it would fall into the hands of many reluctant readers, it"s a tiny volume, only ninety-four pages of large print, offering the kind of fable appropriate to a children"s book. Two little maze-dwelling, cheese-eating people named Hem and Haw-for the human tendency to think and reflect-arrive at their "Cheese Station" one day to find that the cheese is gone. The "Littlepeople" waste time ranting and raving "at the injustice of it all," as the book"s t.i.tle suggests. But there are also two mice in the maze, who scurry off without hesitation to locate an alternative cheese source, because, being rodents, they "kept life simple. They didn"t overa.n.a.lyze or overcomplicate things." 40 40 Finally the little humans learn from the mice that they may have to adapt to a new new cheese. Haw uses what amounts to the law of attraction to find it: he starts to "paint a picture in his mind . . . in great realistic detail, [of himself] sitting in the middle of a pile of all his favorite cheeses-from Cheddar to Brie!" cheese. Haw uses what amounts to the law of attraction to find it: he starts to "paint a picture in his mind . . . in great realistic detail, [of himself] sitting in the middle of a pile of all his favorite cheeses-from Cheddar to Brie!" 41 41 Instead of resenting the loss of his old cheese, he realizes, more positively, that "change could lead to something better" and is soon snacking on a "delicious" new cheese. Lesson for victims of layoffs: the dangerous human tendencies to "overa.n.a.lyze" and complain must be overcome for a more rodentlike approach to life. When you lose a job, just shut up and scamper along to the next one. Instead of resenting the loss of his old cheese, he realizes, more positively, that "change could lead to something better" and is soon snacking on a "delicious" new cheese. Lesson for victims of layoffs: the dangerous human tendencies to "overa.n.a.lyze" and complain must be overcome for a more rodentlike approach to life. When you lose a job, just shut up and scamper along to the next one.
Companies employed a variety of positive-sounding euphemisms for layoffs, describing them as "releases of resources" or "career-change opportunities," but the actual process was swift and brutal. 42 42 By the 1990s, managing the actual layoffs had become a specialized art in itself, often practiced by restructuring experts brought in from outside. For one thing, the layoffs had to be announced suddenly and all at once, so there would be no time for the grumblings of the victims to infect the surviving work-force. Typically it was the company"s security force that managed the actual people-removing process and ensured that the discarded workers left without making a fuss. In the usual scenario, a person would be told of his or her layoff and quickly escorted by a security guard to the door. Sometimes discarded employees would be given a chance to pack up any personal effects they had in their offices-family photographs, for example-and sometimes these things would just be shipped to them later. By the 1990s, managing the actual layoffs had become a specialized art in itself, often practiced by restructuring experts brought in from outside. For one thing, the layoffs had to be announced suddenly and all at once, so there would be no time for the grumblings of the victims to infect the surviving work-force. Typically it was the company"s security force that managed the actual people-removing process and ensured that the discarded workers left without making a fuss. In the usual scenario, a person would be told of his or her layoff and quickly escorted by a security guard to the door. Sometimes discarded employees would be given a chance to pack up any personal effects they had in their offices-family photographs, for example-and sometimes these things would just be shipped to them later.
To limit ill will, if only to head off wrongful-termination suits and bad-mouthing by former employees, employers turned to outplacement firms, which, in addition to training in resume writing, offered to console the laid-off with motivational services. The owner of an outplacement company in Portland, Oregon, a.s.serted in 1994 that, with his help, people came to see "that losing a job was a step forward in their lives, . . . a growth experience, self-retreat, a needed time out." The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times reported on the case of Primalde Lodhia, an Indian-born MBA, computer scientist, and mechanical engineer who was laid off in 1991 with no explanation other than "We are very happy with your work, but we have to let you go. You don"t fit in our management." The company offered him outplacement services; he asked for cash instead, but the company insisted. In the motivational halfway house of outplacement, Lodhia was advised not to talk to anyone about his job loss for a month. He complied, later telling the reported on the case of Primalde Lodhia, an Indian-born MBA, computer scientist, and mechanical engineer who was laid off in 1991 with no explanation other than "We are very happy with your work, but we have to let you go. You don"t fit in our management." The company offered him outplacement services; he asked for cash instead, but the company insisted. In the motivational halfway house of outplacement, Lodhia was advised not to talk to anyone about his job loss for a month. He complied, later telling the Times, Times, "It was good advice. I was so bitter, I would have said things that would have been bad for me." "It was good advice. I was so bitter, I would have said things that would have been bad for me." 43 43 Not all companies rely on outplacement firms, which often charge over $10,000 per layoff victim, instead expecting their discarded employees to seek out and pay for their own motivational services. I attended about a dozen of these networking events and "boot camps" for white-collar job seekers in 2005 and found that the core message was positive thinking: whatever happens to you is a result of your att.i.tude; by overcoming bitterness and converting to a positive or "winning" att.i.tude, you could attract the job of your dreams. In her research on laid-off tech workers in the early 2000s, Carrie Lane, a professor of American studies, found the same thing. Events targeting laid-off workers "subtly urged [them] to snap out of it and start acting like a good (optimistic and industrious) jobseeker." 44 44 After the layoff victims had been winnowed out and perhaps further isolated, like Lodhia, with advice not to communicate with others, there were the shocked and anxious survivors to deal with, and here again management turned to the motivation industry. Business journalist Jill Andresky Fraser calls the motivational effort "internal public relations," used to create "pumped-up, motivated converts who would be ready to thrive under the most grueling and even hostile of business conditions." For example, in the midst of downsizing in the mid-1990s, NYNEX subjected its employees to mandatory exercises, such as one in which you had to show how many ways you could jump around a room: "So [the employees] jumped-on one leg, on both legs, with their hands in the air, with one hand covering an eye. They jumped and they jumped and they jumped some more. . . . Then the leaders would say things like, " "Look at how creative you are, how many different ways you can manage to jump around the room." " 45 45 But the most popular technique for motivating the survivors of downsizing was "team building"-an effort so ma.s.sive that it has sp.a.w.ned a "team-building industry" overlapping the motivation industry. Just as layoffs were making a mockery of the team concept, employees were urged to find camaraderie and a sense of collective purpose at the microlevel of the "team." And the less teamlike the overall organization became with the threat of continued downsizing, the more management insisted on individual devotion to these largely fictional units. "Rather than eliminate or postpone teams, organizations should consider the benefits teams can offer in a downsizing phase," a management consultant and "organizational change" expert wrote. "The team system offers a form of camaraderie that helps promote teamwork around getting the job done and enables people to feel connected to something smaller and safer than a large organization. People generally have an innate need to feel connected to a small group of people. . . . Teams offer this in the work environment." 46 46 In search of team spirit, team-building companies offered dozens of "fun" bonding exercises, indoor and outdoor-simple ones involving balloons, blindfolds, or buckets of water and more intensive ones such as weeklong wilderness excursions. The idea was to whip up a fervent devotion to the firm even as it threatened to eliminate you. As a downsized AT&T worker told the PBS Evening News Hour PBS Evening News Hour in 1996: "We went to Outward Bound, the phone center people, for a week, and you bonded with everybody in the country. It was the most incredible thing I"ve ever been through. You were a family. You were the most dedicated people in the world. I mean, if your kids didn"t stand up and do the Pledge of Allegiance to an AT&T commercial, you know-" in 1996: "We went to Outward Bound, the phone center people, for a week, and you bonded with everybody in the country. It was the most incredible thing I"ve ever been through. You were a family. You were the most dedicated people in the world. I mean, if your kids didn"t stand up and do the Pledge of Allegiance to an AT&T commercial, you know-" 47 47 Team building is, in other words, another form of motivation, with the difference being that, in the desolate environment of the downsized corporation, this motivation was supposed to be generated from within the work group or "team." One group offering both motivational and team-building services makes this clear on its Web site-though not too clear, given the garbled English that is another characteristic of the postrational corporate world: "In this team building workshop, you will learn both the team building skills and motivation skills guaranteed to make your team more cohesive, increase employee morale, and motivated. You"ll learn how to build a team that grumbles less and works more, discipline less and reward more, create more focused and productive meetings and get recognized by the organization." 48 48 As for the connection to old-fashioned, Peale-style positive thinking, the literature and coaches emphasize that a good "team player" is by definition a "positive person." He or she smiles frequently, does not complain, is not overly critical, and gracefully submits to whatever the boss demands.
Sometimes the motivational effort backfired, especially when combined with ongoing layoffs. In the mid-1990s, while shedding 20 percent of its workforce, NYNEX initiated a "Winning Ways" program aimed at instilling employees with "the mentality of a winner," but the employees sneeringly relabeled it "Whining Ways." 49 49 When E. L. Kersten was working for a Dallas Internet service provider, he took note of the motivational products the company president favored and got the brilliant idea of going into business selling parodies of them. One of the "demotivational" posters available at Kersten"s [ despair.com site shows a bear about to snap up a salmon swimming upstream. The caption reads: "The journey of a thousand miles sometimes ends very, very badly." Another one shows a beautiful sh.o.r.eline at sunset, with the caption "If a pretty poster and a cute saying are all it takes to motivate you, you probably have a very easy job. The kind robots will be doing soon." When E. L. Kersten was working for a Dallas Internet service provider, he took note of the motivational products the company president favored and got the brilliant idea of going into business selling parodies of them. One of the "demotivational" posters available at Kersten"s [ despair.com site shows a bear about to snap up a salmon swimming upstream. The caption reads: "The journey of a thousand miles sometimes ends very, very badly." Another one shows a beautiful sh.o.r.eline at sunset, with the caption "If a pretty poster and a cute saying are all it takes to motivate you, you probably have a very easy job. The kind robots will be doing soon."
But such creative cynicism was rare. By and large, America"s white-collar corporate workforce drank the Kool-Aid, as the expression goes, and accepted positive thinking as a subst.i.tute for their former affluence and security. They did not take to the streets, shift their political allegiance in large numbers, or show up at work with automatic weapons in hand. As one laid-off executive told me with quiet pride, "I"ve gotten over my negative feelings, which were so dysfunctional." Positive thinking promised them a sense of control in a world where the "cheese" was always moving. They may have had less and less power to chart their own futures, but they had been given a worldview-a belief system, almost a religion-that claimed they were in fact infinitely powerful, if only they could master their own minds.
* Marketdata Enterprises estimates that in 2005 the total U.S. market for "self-improvement products"-including tapes, books, and coaches on business, diet, and relationships-amounted to $9.6 billion, but with the caveat that "information about the market and its privately owned compet.i.tors is still very difficult to obtain. Most companies or organizations are very reluctant to give out any information regarding their revenues, enrollments at their programs, or how they are doing/how fast they are growing." In 2004, Marketdata Enterprises estimates that in 2005 the total U.S. market for "self-improvement products"-including tapes, books, and coaches on business, diet, and relationships-amounted to $9.6 billion, but with the caveat that "information about the market and its privately owned compet.i.tors is still very difficult to obtain. Most companies or organizations are very reluctant to give out any information regarding their revenues, enrollments at their programs, or how they are doing/how fast they are growing." In 2004, Potentials Potentials magazine gave an estimate of $21 billion a year for the market in all "motivational products" (Steven Winn, "Overcome That Gnawing Fear of Success," magazine gave an estimate of $21 billion a year for the market in all "motivational products" (Steven Winn, "Overcome That Gnawing Fear of Success," San Francisco Chronicle San Francisco Chronicle, May 24, 2004). The International Coach Federation estimates that coaches worldwide garnered $1.5 billion in 2007 and that most of them were business coaches (Executive Summary, ICF Global Coaching Study, revised Feb. 2008).
FIVE
G.o.d Wants You to Be Rich
The most eye-catching religious development of the late twentieth century was the revival of fire-and-brimstone Calvinism known as the Christian right. But while its foremost representatives, televangelists Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, hurled denunciations at "sinners" like gays and feminists and predicted the imminent end of the world, a friendlier approach was steadily gaining ground-positive thinking, disguised now as Christianity. Calvinism and positive thinking had last squared off in the nineteenth century, when positive thinking was still known as New Thought, and they did so again near the turn of the twenty-first century, not in public clashes but in a quiet fight for market share-television audiences, book sales, and ever-growing congregations. Promulgated from the pulpit, the message of positive thinking reached white-collar suburbanites who had so far encountered it only at work, as well as millions of low-wage and blue-collar people who had not yet encountered it at all.
By any quant.i.tative measure, the most successful preachers today are the positive thinkers, who no longer mention sin and usually have little to say about those standard whipping boys of the Christian right, abortion and h.o.m.os.e.xuality. Gone is the threat of h.e.l.l and the promise of salvation, along with the grim story of Jesus"s torment on the cross; in fact, the cross has been all but banished from the largest and most popular temples of the new evangelism, the megachurches. Between 2001 and 2006, the number of megachurches-defined as having a weekly attendance of two thousand or more-doubled to 1,210, giving them a combined congregation of nearly 4.4 million. 1 1 Instead of harsh judgments and harrowing tales of suffering and redemption, the new positive theology offered at megachurches (and many smaller churches) offers promises of wealth, success, and health in this life now, or at least very soon. You can can have that new car or house or necklace, because G.o.d wants to "prosper you." In a 2006 have that new car or house or necklace, because G.o.d wants to "prosper you." In a 2006 Time Time poll, 17 percent of all American Christians, of whatever denomination or church size, said they consider themselves to be part of a "prosperity gospel" movement and a full 61 percent agreed with the statement that "G.o.d wants people to be prosperous." poll, 17 percent of all American Christians, of whatever denomination or church size, said they consider themselves to be part of a "prosperity gospel" movement and a full 61 percent agreed with the statement that "G.o.d wants people to be prosperous." 2 2 How do you get prosperity to "manifest" in your life? Not through the ancient technique of prayer but through positive thinking. As one reporter observes of the megachurch message: How do you get prosperity to "manifest" in your life? Not through the ancient technique of prayer but through positive thinking. As one reporter observes of the megachurch message: Often resembling motivational speeches, the sermons are generally about how to live a successful life-or, "Jesus meets the power of positive thinking." They are encouraging, upbeat and usually follow on the heels of a music and video presentation. (After this, the last thing those in attendance want to hear is a sermon about "doom and gloom.") One will often hear phrases such as "Keep a good att.i.tude," "Don"t get negative or bitter," "Be determined" and "Shake it off and step up." 3 3 Televangelist Joyce Meyer writes that "I believe that more than any other thing, our att.i.tude is what determines the kind of life we are going to have"-not our piety or faith but our att.i.tude att.i.tude. "It"s especially important to maintain a positive att.i.tude," she explains on her Web site, "because G.o.d is positive."
Like many other proponents of the new theology, Meyer has good reason to be "positive." Her ministries-which extend to weight loss and self-esteem-have made her the centimillionaire owner of a private jet and a $23,000 antique marble toilet. So egregious is the wealth of top positive-thinking evangelists-much of it, of course, tax-deductible-that in 2007 Senator Chuck Gra.s.sley (R-IA) launched an investigation, not only of Meyer but of televangelists Creflo Dollar, Benny Hinn, and Kenneth and Gloria Copeland. If these pastors have been incautious about displaying their wealth, it"s because, like secular motivational speakers, they hold themselves up as role models for success. Follow me, is the message-send money, t.i.the to my church, employ the methods outlined in my books-and you will become like me.
Joel Osteen of Houston"s Lakewood Church is hardly a high roller among the positive evangelists. He flies in commercial planes and owns only one home, but he has been dubbed the "rock star" of the new gospel and called "America"s most influential Christian" by the Church Report Church Report magazine. magazine. 4 4 Unlike many others who make their money by motivating people, Osteen has no history of painful obstacles overcome through sheer grit and determination. He inherited his church from his father, a.s.suming the pulpit with no theological training after dropping out of Oral Roberts University. Once ensconced, he "grew" the church at a furious rate, till today it boasts a weekly attendance of forty thousand people and a weekly income of a million dollars. Osteen doesn"t collect a salary from his church-there are already three hundred people on its payroll-because he is apparently content to live off his royalties. His first book, Unlike many others who make their money by motivating people, Osteen has no history of painful obstacles overcome through sheer grit and determination. He inherited his church from his father, a.s.suming the pulpit with no theological training after dropping out of Oral Roberts University. Once ensconced, he "grew" the church at a furious rate, till today it boasts a weekly attendance of forty thousand people and a weekly income of a million dollars. Osteen doesn"t collect a salary from his church-there are already three hundred people on its payroll-because he is apparently content to live off his royalties. His first book, Your Best Life Now Your Best Life Now, has sold about four million copies, leading to what was said to be an advance of $13 million for the sequel, Become a Better You. Become a Better You.
Osteen"s books are easy to read, too easy-like wallowing in marshmallows. There is no argument, no narrative arc, just one anecdote following another, starring Osteen and his family members, various biblical figures, and a host of people identified by first name only. A criticism directed at Norman Vincent Peale in the 1950s applies just as well to Osteen"s oeuvre: "The chapters of his books could easily be transposed from the beginning to the middle, or from the end to the beginning, or from one book to another. The paragraphs could be shuffled and rearranged in any order." 5 5 One of the best of Osteen"s anecdotes involves a man who goes on a cruise ship carrying a suitcase full of crackers and cheese because he doesn"t realize that meals are included with the price of his ticket. In other words, there"s plenty for everyone-wealth, delightful buffet meals-if only we are prepared to demonstrate our faith by t.i.thing generously to the church. His worst anecdotes, however, make the eyes glaze over, if not actually close, like the one that begins: "Growing up, my family had a dog named Scooter. He was a great big German shepherd, and he was the king of the neighborhood. Scooter was strong and fast, always chasing squirrels here and there, always on the go. Everybody knew not to mess with Scooter. One day my dad was out riding his bicycle. . . ." One of the best of Osteen"s anecdotes involves a man who goes on a cruise ship carrying a suitcase full of crackers and cheese because he doesn"t realize that meals are included with the price of his ticket. In other words, there"s plenty for everyone-wealth, delightful buffet meals-if only we are prepared to demonstrate our faith by t.i.thing generously to the church. His worst anecdotes, however, make the eyes glaze over, if not actually close, like the one that begins: "Growing up, my family had a dog named Scooter. He was a great big German shepherd, and he was the king of the neighborhood. Scooter was strong and fast, always chasing squirrels here and there, always on the go. Everybody knew not to mess with Scooter. One day my dad was out riding his bicycle. . . ." 6 6 How to achieve the success, health, and happiness G.o.d wants you to have? Osteen"s proffered technique is lifted directly from the secular positive thinkers-visualization. Other positive evangelists often emphasize the spoken word as well, and the need to speak your dream into existence through "positive confessions of faith and victory over your life." As Kenneth Hagin, one of the first positive preachers and a role model for Osteen, puts it: "Instead of speaking according to natural circ.u.mstances out of your head, learn to speak G.o.d"s Word from your spirit. Begin to confess G.o.d"s promises of life and health and victory into your situation. Then you can begin to enjoy G.o.d"s abundant life as you have what you say!" 7 7 For Osteen and Hagin, as for Napoleon Hill and Norman Vincent Peale before them, success comes mainly through "reprogramming" your mind into positive mental images, based on what amounts to the law of attraction: "You will produce what you"re continually seeing in your mind," Osteen promises. "Almost like a magnet," he writes, echoing Hill, "we draw in what we constantly think about." As evidence, Osteen offers many small "victories" in his life, like getting