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Welcome to Your Achievement Ezine
Issue 244 - January 19, 2006

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A Positive Attitude Definitely Increases Productivity and Employability by Connie Podesta

While employers can teach people to do a job and provide in-service training so employees can update their skills, they can't mentor, teach, or coach employees to have a positive attitude. That's why working on your attitude daily and having a positive impact on your organization, customers, and colleagues is so important to your future employability.

Unfortunately, when asked to define a positive attitude, many employers find it difficult to put into words what they mean. Instead, they use words like "happy" and "enjoyable to be around" when describing a person with a positive attitude. Since our attitude affects our behavior, which in turn is demonstrated by our performance, it's no wonder that attitude is so important in the business world. It determines how we do our jobs.

Some employees may resist this notion, believing that no one has the right to tell them how to think. This is correct. Employers do not have the right to evaluate our inner thoughts and feelings. However, they do have the right to evaluate how we behave as a result of those thoughts and feelings.

Employers and organizations also have the right to expect that an employee's behavior and performance will have a positive impact upon their organization. Why? All would agree that an organization comprised of employees who have a negative influence on their customers and co-workers will not be in business for very long. But organizations whose employees have a positive impact on their co-workers, their customers, and their company will enjoy many years of success.

Separate Attitudes from Actions

Is it possible to display a positive attitude even if you're feeling sad, depressed, or angry? Of course. Employees constantly find themselves in situations where they simply cannot let their internal feelings influence their actions. Put yourself in these situations. Would you like your surgeon to be all thumbs because he was upset with his wife? Or a fireman to drive slowly when you called in an alarm because he was tired? Or your lawyer to argue your case poorly because she didn't feel like talking today? Or the lifeguard to daydream about getting a new job instead of paying attention while your child was swimming? These people are required to behave in a certain, prescribed way regardless of their attitude. And we certainly expect them to do that-no matter what.

But how do you stay enthusiastic and excited about your job if you've been at it for a while and things at work or at home are not going perfectly? Remember, when actors are on stage, they know they must be so good at what they do that their performance will set them apart from the rest of the cast and make them memorable. No matter how famous and successful an actor may be, he or she is always aware of an understudy waiting in the wings, eager to take over the role the moment that actor begins to deliver a performance that is less than top quality.
In today's world of downsizing and layoffs, we all have understudies-people who would love to take our place and play the part the job requires. To remain employable, you must make sure you are one of your organization's "star performers." Your customers also have the right to a star performance because they are your audience. After all, that's really what your paycheck is: a reward for playing your part well. Can your organization count on you, as a professional, to be a star performer?

Now, this doesn't mean you should be phony or just go through the mechanical motions of acting out your part. No employer wants an office full of robots, but they also don't want people who bring their negative feelings to work every day. Think of what a different workplace we could create if everyone came to work and focused on the job at hand instead of allowing our internal attitudes to affect our performance.

To Stay Positive, Avoid Negative People

Is attitude, whether positive or negative, contagious? You bet! From your own experience, think about how you feel when you have to work with a negative person. Do you remember times when someone else's negativity influenced your own performance that day? Even though you may love your job and you're proud of the products and services you deliver, you probably felt that you and your organization weren't doing their best. And if you had to work with a negative person for a long period of time, their poor attitude may have even made you want to quit your job. That's the power a negative attitude can have on us.

If you have to work with negative people, try to limit additional interactions. You are not obligated to carpool with them, go to lunch with them, or spend time with them after work. Part of your responsibility as a professional is to be the kind of employee that others are not trying to get away from, but rather, to be a positive person with whom they enjoy working and seek out.

With two thousand to three thousand people losing their jobs every day, now is not the best time to be perceived as having a negative attitude, so avoid those people who can cast that shadow on you. If you're going to become a positive influence on your co-workers and customers, you must take time to evaluate your interactions with others and their effects on your organization as a whole.

Your Positive Attitude is Your Best Motivation

You may not realize it, but your performance has the power to make or break your organization. Your attitude can be your greatest asset or your greatest liability. Unaware of that, employees often say, "My job is hard work. And my organization doesn't even try to motivate me to do my best." Today's organizations realize that it is not their responsibility to motivate employees because motivation cannot come from the outside. Motivation is "an inside job." This means that employees should not have to be coddled or coerced into working hard and doing an excellent job. A valuable employee, the kind an organization would work hard to hire and retain, is self-motivated.

The bottom line is that today's employers are looking for employees who:
-- Want to work;
-- Enjoy what they do;
-- Take pride in their organization, their products, and their services;
-- Care about their customers and their co-workers;
-- Are the kind of team player others like to be around;
-- Make work a better place by their good humor, dependability, integrity, and their ability to be a positive influence through their words and actions.

And finally, consider this: employers from all over the country believe that attitude is contagious. If that's so, is yours worth catching?

To stay employed, analyze your attitude and determine whether or not you're helping to create a healthy work environment. Do whatever possible to stand out from the rest and be easily recognized as an employee who has a positive influence on your customers, your colleagues, and your organization. By loving your job and playing your part well, your efforts will be rewarded with years of steady employment.


Connie Podesta is an author, counselor, educator, humorist, playwright, consultant, songwriter, actress and trainer. She radiates a super-charged, high-energy presence that immediately involves people and has them responding to her exciting challenge to reach for the best in themselves! This week, we have the good fortune to offer you 4 of Connie's best-selling CD and DVD products (buy individually or as a package and SAVE!). Take advantage of Connie's straight forward, yet entertaining message that will have a profound effect not only on you, but on your loved ones, your company and your staff. For more information or to place your order online, scroll down to #4 below or go to http://conniepodesta.yoursuccessstore.com or call 877-929-0439.


 

"Anger is one letter short of danger!" Denis Waitley

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2. Your Achievement Quotes

LISTENING

"Many people may listen, but few people actually hear." -- Harvey Mackay

"Hear your customer out completely, no matter how many times you've heard the same things before." -- Brian Tracy

"If you wish to appear agreeable in society, you must consent to be taught many things which you already know." -- Johann Caspar Lavater

"Most of us tend to suffer from ‘agenda anxiety', the feeling that what we want to say to others is more important than what we think they might want to say to us." -- Nido Qubein
 

LOVE

"You need to feel love inside yourself before you can offer it to anyone else." -- Denis Waitley

"We need someone to believe in us -- if we do well, we want our work commended, our faith corroborated. The individual who thinks well of you, who keeps his mind on your good qualities, and does not look for your flaws, is your friend. Who is my brother? I'll tell you: he is the one who recognizes the good in me." -- Elbert Hubbard

"Put love first. Entertain thoughts that give life And when a thought or resentment, or hurt, or fear comes your way, have another thought that is more powerful -- a thought that is love." -- Mary Manin Morrissey

"Age does not protect you from love. But love, to some extent, protects you from age." -- Jeanne Moreau
 

MANAGEMENT

"Keep people informed. Everyone wants to know what's really going on." -- Brian Tracy

"Good people are found not changed. Recently I read a headline that said, 'We don't teach people to be nice. We simply hire nice people.' Wow! What a clever short cut." -- Jim Rohn

"Tell me, and I'll forget. Show me, and I'll remember. Involve me, and I'll learn." -- Marla Jones

"Without involvement, there is no commitment. Mark it down, asterisk it, circle it, underline it. No involvement, no commitment." -- Stephen Covey
 

"If you can keep your head when all around you are losing theirs and blaming it on you, then the world is yours and all that's in it."  Rudyard Kipling

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"One ought to hold on to one's heart; for if one lets go, one soon loses control of the head too."  Nietzsche

3. Your Achievement Tips -

Help! I'm Slumping, and I Can't Get a Sale! by Jeffrey Gitomer

In a slump? Not making enough (or any) sales? Feel like you're unable to get out of the rut? Maybe you're not in a big slump, but just can't seem to hit the quota numbers. Let's be kind and call it "sales under-achievement."

Don't panic.
Don't press too hard.
Don't get down on yourself.
Don't get mad.
And above all -- don't quit.

What causes a slump? You do. Therefore, you are the best (only) person to fix it.

Here are the prime causes of sales slumps:

-- Poor belief system - I don't believe that my company or product is the best. I don't think that I'm the best.

-- Poor work habits - Getting to work late, or barely "on time," Not spending your time productively.

-- Misperceptions that lead to sour grapes - I think my prices are too high, or my territory is bad.

-- Outside pressure - Caused by money problems, family problems, or personal problems.

-- Poor personal habits - Too much drink, too much food, or too much after hours play.

-- Boss giving crap instead of support - Someone who says, "You better do it," instead of, "I know you can do it."

-- Events that go against you - New sales person passes you, someone else gets promoted and you knew it should have been you.

-- Customer cancels a big order - Weakening your personal belief or causing severe money problems or both.

-- Getting depressed - From any of the above.

When you're in a slump, you begin to press for orders instead of working your best game-plan (which is sell to help the other person and let your sincerity of purpose shine through). When you have the pressure to sell, the prospect senses it, and backs off.

Then things get worse. You can't seem to sell at all, and begin to panic. Oh my gosh, I can't sell a thing, I'll get fired, miss my house payment, can't pay my bills -- Aaaahhhhhh! False fear. Relax, you're better than that.

Here's a prescription to help cure sick sales:

-- Get back to basics - Usually what's wrong is not complicated. In fact, you probably know what's wrong. Your problem is that you think it's someone else's fault. Wrong. List two or three areas that need immediate care. Have the guts to take action.

-- Revisit your (or make a new) plan for success - Today.

-- List 5 things you could be doing to work smarter/harder - Make a plan to work as smart as you think (or say) you are.

-- Change your presentation - Try a different approach. Take the customer's perspective.

-- Talk to your five best customers - Ask them to evaluate your situation.

-- Get someone you respect to evaluate you presentation - take them with you on sales calls. Get a coach.

-- Visit your mentor - And have a new plan when you get there.

-- Get to work an hour before everyone - Put in more productive time.

-- Stay away from pity parties - Don't make a slump worse by whining or hanging around a bunch of negits and underachievers.

-- Hang around positive, successful people - The best way to get to success.

-- Have some fun -- Go to the comedy club, do a little extra of what you like to do best (unless too much fun is the cause of your slump).

-- Spend 30 minutes a day (in the morning is best) reading about your positive attitude -- Then listen to attitude tapes and sales tapes in the car all day.

-- Listen to your favorite song just before the presentation - Go in to your next call singing.

-- Take a few days off - Chill out, take stock, make a plan, re-group, re-energize, and return with renewed determination and better energy.

-- Rearrange your office - Shake things up a little, make them look new.

-- Audio tape your presentations live - Then listen in the car immediately afterwards. Take notes. Act to correct.

-- Video tape your presentation - Watch it with others who can give you constructive feedback.

-- Take the best salesperson you know out on calls with you for a day - Get a written evaluation after each call.

-- Take your boss with you on calls for a week - You'll get more feedback than you can handle, but it will help.

-- Avoid negative talk and negative people like the plague - Find people who will encourage you, not puke on you.

When a baseball player is in a batting slump he will do anything to "change his luck." Things from superstition (rabbits foot, not shaving, wearing the same underwear) to changing batting stance, to video watching, to extra coaching. But the one thing that usually breaks the slump is extra batting practice -- to regain the groove. Fundamentals.

They, like you, have the professional ability, but temporarily lost it. They, like you, went back to the raw fundamentals to regain lost talent.

Other random notes on the truth about slumps:

The best way to get out of the rut is keep the slump in perspective. Once you accept the fact that it's no one's fault but your own, you can begin to recover. Be cool --- you're the greatest, if you think you are. -- believe in the most important person in the world -- you.

In a sales slump?
Get fired up
or get fired.


Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Knock Your Socks off Selling and Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless. To order Jeffrey Gitomer's "How Not to Suck at Sales" as an Individual Set (contains one DVD and one CD of the speakers' 'live' performance) at a special discount of only $39, or to view and learn more about The Complete Ultimate Collection for Entrepreneurs and Sales Professionals -- including Jim Rohn, Jeffrey Gitomer, Brian Tracy, Connie Podesta and More! (10 DVD/CD package) go to http://dvdset.yoursuccessstore.com or call 877-929-0439. (c) 1999, 2006 All Rights Reserved - Don't even think about reproducing this document without written permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer 704/333-1112.
 

"Calmness is the cradle of power." Josiah Gilbert Holland

4. Create Successful, Happy and Healthy Relationships  

Make it a Great Week!

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