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> The idea people want to convey is a certain attitude they
> want employees
> to have, an attitude of seeking out opportunities (for new
> sales, to use
> new technologies, to innovate), and then following through on those
> opportunities (make the sale, apply the new technology to our
> product or
> processes, implement the innovation).
>
> In a way, "opportunistic" seems like exactly the right word,
> except that
> the connotation is so negative.
In this case, "opportunistic," may be the best word. In a tight market,
like we have now, being fair to the competition is not the best practice.
Have you ever heard of "cut-throat" sales practices? How about "slaying"
the competition? "Murdering" the other guys?
The term, "opportunistic," is negative, but usage of a negative term may be
intentional. In your description, it seems like employees must seek
opportunities before the competition gets them and they must not be fair
about it.
The current market downturn is the result of opportunism. Investors and
lenders were opportunistic to the disadvantage of naïve people who did not
realize that they were being used and who failed to see the greed behind
negative amortization. This was pure opportunism. Shaking-off the
negativity of the term may not be possible.
If your employers want to convey the negative tone that "opportunism" holds,
then they should be prepared for both internal and external inevitable
negative repercussions from using that term and having that attitude.
Try to encourage "opportunity-seeking" types of terms, rather than unfair
"opportunistic" types of terms. Even if your company does not take a
negative route, it could still develop a negative image for itself that is
counter-productive to being competitive in a tight market.
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