During a recent read of John Maxwell’s Attitude 101, I discovered a great story on attitude:
There is a story of two shoe salesmen who were sent to an island to sell shoes. The first salesman, upon arrival, was shocked to realize that no one wore shoes. Immediately he sent a telegram to his home office in Chicago saying, “Will return home tomorrow. No one wears shoes.” The second salesman was thrilled by the same realization. Immediately he wired the home office in Chicago saying, “Please send me 10,000 shoes. Everyone here needs them.”
Are you the first or the second salesman? Do you see the glass as half empty or half full? If you wake with a “can do” attitude, you will likely have a far better day than if you wake with a negative attitude. Your attitude can make you or break you – especially in any sales career. You must believe in what you are selling. You must also believe that others will benefit from what you are bringing to the table. You must persevere and maintain that positive attitude even on a day that you don’t sell a thing.
Maxwell defines attitude as, “an inward feeling expressed by behavior.” My translation is “If you don’t have a great attitude on the inside, you will only be able to fake it for so long. Your true feelings will eventually come out. You may be smiling and making it happen on the outside but if you are miserable on the inside, you will eventually have to start to listen to that inner voice.” You will never find true happiness or success if you don’t follow your “inside,” your gut, or your passion. This realization sometimes requires a very difficult review of where you truly want to go in life. Finding the right path is not easy but once you find it, you won’t be able to stifle your positive attitude. You will catch the vision and will need to surround yourself with others that will also have that contagious attitude.
We all know that a bad attitude is far more contagious than a good attitude. So building a team with a great attitude is a continuous job. Maxwell says, “if you leave a bad apple in a barrel of good apples, you will always end up with a barrel of rotten apples.” Encouraging a change in your own attitude is far easier than changing those around you. You can’t force someone to change their attitude. It will only happen if the person wants to change. If they are not willing to conduct an attitude check, you may need to ask them to move on to a different position. Maxwell suggests that “bad attitudes must be addressed. You can be sure that they will always cause dissension, resentment, combativeness and division on a team. And they will never go away on their own if they are left unaddressed. They will simply fester and ruin a team – along with its chances of reaching its potential.” Addressing this issue is difficult, especially if it requires a decision to terminate. I recently experienced this first hand, and it was one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make. I had to ask a solid, long-term employee to move on because they were a negative influence on the team. I had to come to the realization that bad attitudes lead to rotten results. I was more uncomfortable with the thought of rotten results than I was with terminating an employee. I can honestly tell you that WE are much happier as a result.
You have likely heard the quote, “Your attitude determines your altitude.” It also determines your team’s altitude. I believe that our attitude, probably more than any other thing, will determine whether we succeed or fail. It will determine the action we take in our lives. It can be the difference maker in everything you set out to do. Frequent attitude checks should become part of your normal course of business – you won’t regret the review. If you or your team would like to focus on attitude and mindset, check out the Sisterhood of Success!
I hope you reach great altitudes and find success,
-Juli McNeely