Positive Intelligence

Shirzad Chamine, a former CEO and executive coach to hundreds of CEOs, argues that most attempts to improve success or happiness fail because of self-sabotage. Drawing on neuroscience, positive psychology, and cognitive psychology, he presents a framework called Positive Intelligence, which measures and improves the percentage of time the mind acts as one's ally rather than one's enemy. He claims that only 20 percent of individuals and teams achieve their true potential, and that his framework can close this gap.

Chamine introduces the concept of PQ, or Positive Intelligence Quotient, a score from 0 to 100 representing how often the mind serves a person versus sabotages them. He identifies 75 as a critical tipping point: Above it, the mind's internal dynamics tend to uplift a person, while below it, they drag a person down. He cites extensive research, including studies showing that higher-PQ salespeople sell 37 percent more, higher-PQ doctors diagnose 19 percent faster, and higher-PQ teams significantly outperform lower-scoring ones. Health research further shows that higher PQ correlates with enhanced immune function, lower blood pressure, and even a nearly 10-year increase in longevity. Chamine also inverts the common assumption that success leads to happiness, arguing instead that raising PQ increases both happiness and performance, which in turn produce greater success.

Chamine roots the framework in his own biography. He grew up in poverty in an abusive environment, and his family changed his name after deciding he had brought bad luck to his father's failed business. He developed depression and carried resentment and anger into adulthood. Academic study in psychology and neuroscience failed to provide answers, so he pursued engineering and then an MBA at Stanford. The turning point came in a Stanford class called Interpersonal Dynamics, where multiple classmates told him they felt judged by him. He initially dismissed their feedback, but when a classmate he admired moved away from him in disgust, his protective shell cracked. He recognized for the first time his "Judge," the habitual mental voice that categorizes everything as good or bad, and traced it to a defense mechanism formed in childhood. This discovery revived his investigation into the mental mechanisms behind happiness and failure.

From this investigation, Chamine identifies two opposing forces in the mind. The first consists of "Saboteurs," automatic habitual mental patterns that work against one's best interest. These are fueled by what he calls the Survivor Brain, the primitive brain regions focused on physical and emotional survival. The second force is the "Sage," the deeper, wiser part of the self, fueled by different brain regions he calls the PQ Brain, which are associated with thriving rather than mere survival. The tension between these two forces determines a person's PQ. Chamine presents this relationship as a formula: Achievement equals Potential multiplied by PQ, arguing that the fastest route to better performance is to raise PQ rather than invest further in skills and knowledge alone.

Chamine outlines three interrelated strategies for raising PQ. The first is to weaken one's Saboteurs. He identifies 10 Saboteur types: the Judge, which is the master Saboteur everyone possesses, and nine "accomplice" Saboteurs that pair with the Judge based on the intersection of one's primary motivation (independence, acceptance, or security) and one's primary style (assert, earn, or avoid). The nine accomplices are the Controller, Hyper-Achiever, Restless, Stickler, Pleaser, Hyper-Vigilant, Avoider, Victim, and Hyper-Rational. Each Saboteur tells self-justifying lies to maintain its power: The Controller insists it is the only way to get results, while the Hyper-Achiever claims self-worth should depend on constant performance. Chamine argues that Saboteurs form in childhood as survival strategies but become harmful when retained into adulthood. He devotes particular attention to the Judge, which sabotages through three modes: judging oneself, judging others, and judging circumstances. He distinguishes judging from discerning, noting that discernment calmly observes what is not working in order to move forward, while judging adds unnecessary negative emotions such as anger, blame, and resentment. To weaken Saboteurs, he prescribes not fighting them but observing and labeling their thoughts, noting the difference between thinking "I can't make it" and "my Judge says I can't make it." This act of separation reduces the Saboteur's credibility.

The second strategy is to strengthen the Sage. The Sage perspective holds that every outcome is either already a gift or can be turned into one. Chamine illustrates this with a Chinese parable about a farmer who responds to every event with the question "Who knows what is good and what is bad?" He clarifies that the Sage is not passive but uses five powers to create opportunities from difficult situations. To help access this perspective during crises, he offers the Three-Gifts technique, which requires generating at least three scenarios in which a bad situation could become an opportunity. The Sage's five powers are Empathize, Explore, Innovate, Navigate, and Activate, each paired with a "power game." Empathize generates compassion through Visualize the Child, which involves picturing oneself or another as a young child. Explore cultivates curiosity through Fascinated Anthropologist, which requires observing without judging. Innovate generates ideas without evaluation through "Yes... and...," which appreciates each idea before building on it. Navigate guides choices based on deeply held values through Flash Forward, which asks a person to imagine looking back on the current choice from the end of life. Activate enables decisive action through Preempt the Saboteurs, which involves anticipating interference and preparing responses.

The third strategy is to build PQ Brain muscles through PQ reps: shifting attention to one's body and any of the five senses for at least 10 seconds, roughly three breaths. Chamine prescribes 100 reps per day, integrated into existing routines. Each Saboteur sighting also serves as a reminder to do a rep, turning persistent Saboteurs into their own fitness trainers. He recommends committing to the practice for at least 21 consecutive days, citing research that this is the time required to form new neural pathways.

Chamine introduces the concept of the PQ vortex, a self-reinforcing mental dynamic that operates differently above and below the 75 tipping point. Below 75, the brain's survival bias amplifies negatives and discounts positives, creating a downward spiral. Above 75, a positive vortex uplifts individuals and teams. In group settings, the brain's mirror neuron system, which causes people to automatically mimic one another's emotional states, creates a contagion effect. Chamine also distinguishes the "Data Channel," which carries facts and details, from the "PQ Channel," which carries energy, emotions, and tone, arguing that the PQ Channel is often more important for leadership and relationships.

The book applies these principles through extended case studies. Frank, the CEO of a publicly traded company whose stock lost two-thirds of its value during the 2008 Great Recession, uses all five Sage powers with his executive team. They conduct "blameless autopsies" of past mistakes, generate nearly 200 ideas in a Judge-free session, and align on doubling down on the company's original mission. Frank's PQ rises from 43 to 79, and the stock fully recovers within 18 months. In a second case study, Patrick, the CEO of a financial services company, and Susan, his wife, use the Sage's Explore and Empathize powers in a structured retreat to break through years of circular arguments. Patrick learns to listen on the PQ Channel rather than just the Data Channel, and their relationship PQ rises from 30 to 77 within three months. A third case study follows a software company's sales team that reframes rejection as a gift, accesses authentic empathy for buyers, and connects work to personal meaning. Their average PQ rises from 59 to 79, and they revise their sales projection upward by 28 percent.

Chamine concludes by warning that Saboteurs will use every tactic to convince readers to abandon the practice. He frames the book's ultimate aspiration as helping readers see past their own and others' Saboteurs to the Sage essence present since birth.