First off, if you’re reading this blog with any level of interest this news likely doesn’t apply to you, but let it be known that it has recently become more expensive to not file taxes due to new penalties that take effect this year. So if you happen to be browsing around for advice on just whether or not you should file, you should.

In the business and financial worlds, there is lots of room for debate on many different issues, but that is not one of them. I do, however, want to write a little here on how to look at some of those inevitable debates. Whether you are a business owner or an employee, I want to give a possible framework for how to look at your work, how you go about doing it, and why you do it the way you do.

Have you ever felt like you were in a business that refused to try anything new? Have you ever felt like you were part of a company that overlooked poor indicators and thought the next great thing was always right around the corner?

These are both easily understood scenarios, but how we react to them varies. In fact, whether or not we have one of those thoughts or the other may come down to the type of person we are. A lot of the difference between those ideas is based on whether you are a promotion-focused or prevention-focused person.

Those who are promotion-focused tend to come off as more optimistic for they are always oriented toward positive outcomes; these people are always looking for their next victory and are convinced it is coming. Those who are prevention-focused seem more pessimistic for they spend time worrying about negative outcomes; they may not be aimed toward the next victory, but they ensure that they are not pointed toward the next loss.

We all tend to fall to one side of the other of this divide, and if you want to delve deeper into what it means and how it can affect one’s life, read this piece from Psychology Today. If there is one thing to take away from the concept, however, I believe it is that we need to realize that everyone, even those who come at problems from an opposite focus as ours, are oriented toward achieving positive outcomes.

There is good in both cases, whether you win or don’t lose. It is just a matter of framing and how much risk one is willing to take.

If you’re an employee where those in charge are making choices that make you feel leery or unsafe, that can be difficult because you feel far away from the large decisions. If you are a business owner, it could do you well to take this into account when hiring people. You may want employees who carry out your same aims in the same way, or you could prefer those with different viewpoints to keep you from moving too far in one direction.

Again, it is one of those issues where there is lots of room for discussion and no real correct answer. Wherever you fall, however, assume positive intent for those working with you. They don’t want the company to fail either.

I will close there for this week, but over the next couple of blog posts I will be returning to the places where these two viewpoints overlap and speak of some things businesses can do to rally everyone and continue moving in positive directions.