My thoughts on attitude

In our lifetime, there are individuals and experiences which leave a permanent mark in our memories. My days with Selecta Walls Inc. were interesting times when “ The impossible dream” was my song. Indeed, those times were stressful times and yet, however brief,  the  discourses and the boldness of our enterprise  have  molded my perception as a Sales Executive and broadened my horizons as a Sales Manager.  Those  were  times  I  read  to  myself  Invictus so many  times  to  keep me   strong  against the challenges  that pounded on me week after week. I went through a rigorous field training that sharpened my perception of the industry and the department I was tasked to manage. I literally walked the floods of Pasig, rode the June rains at the back of a motorcycle booking salesman, felt thirst in the hot May routes in the lonely roads of Rizal. There was nothing to keep me from my determination to survive my initiation into the world of Corporate Sales. The daily pounding in our mobile phones of our relentless management team, it was a hunt for Moby Dick only that our Captain Ahab was not  sailing into the unknown, he had an ambitious plan to hit the numbers. I had faith in my manager as I had faith in my father. A conservative and a student of Sun Tzu, I believed in my heart that “to obey” is the primary duty of a soldier.  And so I did.

            Of attitude, aptitude and structure, success starts with a “Winner’s Attitude”. Attitude sharpens the senses and directs a man’s energy into his appointed pursuit. It is an offensive and a defensive position wherein it will bring fortune to the deprived and promote further fortune to those with existing wealth. Attitude is the success story of every determined  man. It is a force that has driven the poor man in the streets of Mandaluyong pushing a “kariton” to persevere and labor until his emancipation – great fortune beyond his expectations. For attitude is counted by multiples. Your good attitude towards one person will be spoken to at least  5 persons and to another 5. These other people would desire to transact with you as you are a man to be relied on, never to falter against overwhelming odds. Attitude is man’s choice to constantly confront  any situation –  may it be actively opposed or not.

Much is to be said of Attitude. It defines our perception, the way we look and define our environment. It must be noted by every man with an ambitious plan, “ Fortune favors the bold. “ Virgil ( 70BC – 19BC).  If we have to master the world, we must master first ourselves, our body, our hearts and our mind. To be bold as to master our  world and to create every entrapment towards this pursuit is a manifestation of a Positive Attitude. Regardless of what beast that awaits me in the dark, I will pursue my destination and fight on.

It was Alexander’s attitude that broke the riddle of the Gordian knot - The Lives of Noble Grecians and Romans, Plutarch. It was attitude that led the Greeks to the far ends of the earth when no western army has set foot. It is attitude that continuously defines our human actions today. It leads sales people to persist in mind and means to pursue a 30% growth in sales versus previous year. It sustains a salesman from offering a product to the 24th store despite an initial rejection from the first 23 stores.

Read William Earnest Henley’s Invictus, Longfellow’s The Psalm of Life, Housman’s The Immortal Part and legends of great men in our time and before;  and you will be educated in the power that lies in our humanity. In their spirit you will be taught the competence of courage, faith, hope, persistence, resilience, fortitude,  and decisiveness– “child of God; no less than the moon and the stars”

PLOC – Leading – Leadership Orientation – A Winner’s Attitude

Definition: Attitude – is a person hypothetical construct of his degree of like or dislike for an object.

“if you have a faith as small a mustard seed, you can command this mountain to move and it will” - Holy Bible

 In developing a team with a champion’s heart and mind, we start with attitude – organizational and individual. We create an organizational mindset of how the organization and the individuals in it think and feel about organizational and personal situation.  The effectiveness of a team is simply the sum of the individual amount of commitment to a project. 

“if in your mind and your heart your are lost, then you are”

Attitude on Failure. We should treat Failure as a setback; An experience to learn from. Most importantly, Failure is not fatal as long as you have given your best – you have given your all, with all your might; with all your thoughts; with all your heart. “Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage” – Channing

Attitude on Life. We should commit ourselves to excellence and to victory in work in as much as we commit ourselves to excellence in our lives – for life is a gift to treasure and appreciate. We thank the Lord for the opportunity to live and the talents he graced us.  Let us value our word and give no less than 100% in our different roles in life – an employee, an officer, a father, a mother, a son and a brother. "Audacity is the first requirement” Winston Churchill

Attitude on Change. Change is part of life. As human beings, a product of millions of years of evolution, made in the image and likeness of God, we are equipped with intellect and soul to define the universe. We have not reached the moon and the abyss for nothing. I am natures greatest Miracle. “Rooms for improvement is the largest room in the world.”

Attitude for Performance. Ang taong gusto maraming paraan, ang taong ayaw maraming dahilan. It all starts with a positive attitude. Let us remember the day we accepted a gift from our company – the day we were hired. Let us count our blessing and wish our company well for the benevolence of providing for our family our daily sustenance. Let us be reminded that the food we eat is not from theft nor ill doings – there is integrity in our work. We feed our families with hard earned money. In recognition of this fact, we work with excellence in our hearts. Let us give back a small amount of consolation to the benevolence of our employer. Amidst, life’s uncertainty we are certain that we have food for our children tomorrow. “Great people are just ordinary people with an extra ordinary amount of determination"

Attitude for obstacles. We are born into this world crying and bathed in blood. The Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross. Problems as ordinary as breathing. Let us be professionals. Let us not bring our problems to our work areas. Let us treat our colleagues and company with the proper respect and save them from the ills of our personal problems as they have their own cross to carry. Lest we put our company at risk and risk the job security of all our friends. “The School of adversity graduates the ablest of pupils” 

Attitude of  Officers. As officers, let us promote the mission and vision of the company. Let us promote loyalty and the virtue of attitude among our subordinates. Let us demand excellence from our work place and colleagues. Let us exemplify professionalism in its purest form. Let us be deserving of the title – officer and supervisors – hired for competence of management. As officers, let us be reminded that, our loyalty is foremost with the management and to our organization. “Winning is not everything but making the effort to win is”

Attitude for Effectiveness. Management is simply common sense with a lot of attitude. “Seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you” as a saying in the Bible goes. If we want to be effectiveness, we simply have to put our work into heart and mind and we will find the solution to it. Let us be persistent in our hearts, mind and actions and solutions will reveal itself. Finding the right answers can be as simple as taking initiative to ask the right questions. Learning is a matter of attitude. “A man is but a product of his thoughts, what he thinks he becomes” – Mahatma Gandhi

Attitude for Results. Ultimately, if the operation losses, it is the moral obligation of the company to pay our wages. In pursuing this moral thought, let us make it our personal responsibility to work for results – increase sales and save on operational cost. Let us put into heart our sincerity for the organization. Starting the day you accepted this challenge until the day when you gracefully leave its grounds, commit yourself only to excellence and loyalty to the organization. You owe it to yourself to be honorable. If you cannot stand by your commitment, be gracious enough to speak with your employer and leave honorably. Results is not so much about talent and skill – is more of the competence of will and commitment. “We tend to realize in the life what we persistently hold in the thought and vigorously struggle toward”  – Dr. Marden

Rene Bitara, Prometheus Consultants