Want to Start Making an Attitude Change? Take Attitude Actions.

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I define attitude as, “The way you dedicate yourself to the way you think.” Think negative or think positive is a choice and a process. Negative is (unfortunately) an instinctive process. Positive is a learned self-discipline that must be studied and practiced every day.

To achieve a POSITIVE attitude, or as I have named it, a “YES! Attitude,” you must take physical, verbal, and mental ACTIONS. Here are a few short chunks of attitude “awareness and actions” that will help put you (or keep you) on the positive path.

1. Admit that attitude is no one’s fault but yours. The more you blame others, the less chance you have to think positive thoughts, see a positive solution, or take positive action towards solution. The opposite of blame is responsibility. Your first responsibility is to control your inner thoughts and thought directions.

2. Understand you always have (had) a choice. Attitude is a choice, and most people select from the negative column. Reason? Negative is more pervasive in society and media. It’s more natural to blame and defend than it is to admit and take responsibility. Ask any politician.

3. If you think it’s ok, it is…if you think it’s not ok, it’s not. Your thoughts direct your attitude to a path. If you think “this is crappy, why does this always happen to me?” You have chosen a negative path. If you think “WOW, this may not be the greatest, but look what I’m learning. And learning what NOT to do again.” You have chosen a positive path.

4. Invest time, don’t spend it. Ignore the media you cannot control – find a project, or make a plan to sell something, or meet with someone who buys (or teaches) instead. You will become a world-class expert in five years – the only question is: at what? Spend (invest) an hour a day working at or studying anything, and in five years you will be a world-class expert. Most people will become world-class experts at some kind of local TV news program and some kind of TV rerun. Me? I read and write while you watch TV. Business news is IMPORTANT. Who got killed or what burned down, unimportant.

5. Study the thoughts and writings of positive people. Read Napoleon Hill classic Think and Grow Rich, TWICE. Read The Power of Positive Thinking. They are priceless, timeless gems of wisdom that you can convert to your own success thoughts. The secret is to read a little each morning.

6. Attend seminars and take courses. The hardest part of taking an attitude course is FINDING one. Look at any school or university in the world and try to find ONE course in ANY of them. I’ll save you the time. The answer is (and has always been) ZERO. Find a Gitomer Certified Advisor in your city (call my friendly office for recommendations – (704) 333-1112) and take YOUR attitude course TODAY.

7. Check your language. It’s just words, but they are a reflection of how your mind sees things, and an indication of how you process thoughts.

8. Avoid confrontational and negative words. The worst ones are ‘why,’ ‘can’t,’ and ‘won’t.’

9. Say why you LIKE things and people, not why you don’t. I like my job because… I love my family because… Say things from the positive side enough and it becomes a habit you will revel in for life.

10. Help others without expectation or measuring. If you think someone ‘owes you one,’ you are counting or measuring. If you give it away freely, you don’t ever have to worry about the measurement. The world will reward you ten times over.

11. Think about your winning and losing words. Be aware of ‘loser’ phrases and expressions. Lose with: “They don’t pay me enough to…” or “That’s not my job.” If you say, “I’m not ’cause he’s not,” who loses? If you say, “Why should I…” who loses? Think ‘learn,’ ‘lessons,’ ‘experience,’ ‘help,’ and ‘solutions’ before you make a statement.

12. Think about your mood, and your mood swings. How long do you stay in a bad mood? If it’s more than 5 minutes, something’s wrong. And your attitude (and your relationships, and your results, and your success) will suffer.

13. Are you the head of the complaint department, AND the chief complainer? Many people slip into cynicism day-by-day. They become bitter because of their jealousy or envy of other people or their own misfortune. BIG MISTAKE. List the lessons you can learn from those you have bitterness for and the results will turn your thinking towards your own success and away from theirs.

14. Celebrate victory AND defeat. In my early days of selling I would go to a department store and buy myself something every time I made a sale. It made me feel GREAT! When someone told me to celebrate victory AND defeat, I started to buy myself something after I lost a sale, too. It felt GREAT. After a while I was feeling GREAT all the time. Winning and losing are part of life and apart from attitude.

15. Visit a children’s hospital. Get comfortable with the plight of others, and feel good about the minuteness of your problems compared to theirs.

15.5 Count your blessings every day. Make the list as long as you can. Start with health if you are fortunate enough to have it. Add the love of children and family. From there it’s easy to build the list.

Oh, and then there are the ‘Attitude Aha’s.’ Many (many) years ago I was riding down the road listening to a tape by Earl Nightingale (one of the founding fathers of personal development). On tape four of his legendary, but unavailable, series “Direct Line,” the topic was enthusiasm. “Enthusiasm” Earl said, “Comes from the Greek “entheos” meaning the God within.” AHA! All of a sudden all the other quotes and advice made sense. The strength of self-belief is within your own spirit, if you hunger for the feeling.

And these words are food for yours. In the words of the Jefferson Airplane rock anthem White Rabbit, “Feed your head.”

Want an instant lesson? Go out and buy a copy of “The Little Engine That Could.” Or go to your kid’s room and get the copy full of crayon marks. Read it regularly. It’s not a book for kids, it’s a philosophy for a lifetime.

Positive attitude is a self-imposed blessing. And it is my greatest hope that you discover that truth and bless yourself forever.

About the Author

Jeffrey GitomerJeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at salesman@gitomer.com.

What Box? How to Turn Problems into Opportunities

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Albert Einstein once said, “The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” Put another way look in the mirror the next time you have a problem. Maybe it is actually a blessing in disguise. Maybe it is a lesson you need to learn. Maybe you have something to do with it. Take ownership and use these tips to guide you in finding creative solutions when others are trapped by paranoia, resistance, drama and disempowering paradigms.

Tip #1: Ask “What if?” Use this question to open your mind and brainstorm multiple alternatives. There are more ways than one to solve a problem. Beware of getting trapped in the ‘Option A’ versus ‘Option B’ dispute. Seek options C and D. Chances are your best option might just be Option E or F – a combination of creative ideas.

Tip #2: Ask “Why?” Use this question to contemplate all of the reasons why this is an optimal solution. Keep an open mind as you explore all of the forces ‘for’ the idea. Challenge your own assumptions and suspend judgement as you play with the rationale.

Tip #3: Ask “Why Not?” This question allows us to consider the obstacles and risks that are likely to come with any solution. Specify any forces ‘against’ the idea and weigh the risks. Now consider countermeasures. What can you do to mitigate or eliminate the risks?

Tip #4: Ask “Who” can help me? Remember you may be part of the problem. Surround yourself with capable and knowledgeable people. Get the facts. Solicit feedback. Think teamwork. Collaborate. Consult with experts, directly and indirectly. Involving people from a variety of levels and functionalities, including customers, will help you challenge assumptions and think outside the box.

Tip #5: Ask “How?” Use this question to consider the practicality, cost and ease of implementation and sustainability. This is where the rubber meets the road. The world is full of good ideas but many change agents fail when it comes to successfully turning good ideas into great results. Use the ‘How’ question to uncover critical success factors necessary to develop an effective strategic plan.

Tip #6: Ask “When?” Timing will be one of your critical success factors. Remember, timing can be everything. Use this question to exercise wisdom, patience, discernment and caution when building and executing your plan. Be sure you are well prepared. Make sure you also recognize that time is money. Set aggressive goals to challenge limiting assumptions and stimulate creative thinking. Consider “What would it take to have this completed by the end of the week, or perhaps even the end of the day?”

Tip #7: Prepare for the “Yeah, buts!” Every successful entrepreneur and change agent knows that resistance is part of the transformation equation. We are always being challenged with comments like “Yeah, but this really isn’t a good time,” or “Yeah, but someone else is already doing it,” or “Yeah, but you can’t make any money doing that.” The ‘Yeah, buts’ are countless and often come from well-intentioned people very close to us – including ourselves! Be ready for this resistance by identifying potential ‘Yeah, buts’ ahead of time. Some of these may have been identified in the “Why Not?” exercise. Others may have been addressed in the ‘How’ questioning. A wise problem solver will anticipate resistance and be prepared for it. As a result, wise solutions are designed for success.

Tip #8: Consider “So What!” What difference does your idea or solution really make? Clever innovators and creative change agents recognize that solving problems ‘inside’ a box, when the box itself is the problem, is like moving chairs around on the Titanic. So what if we made small, incremental improvement. What if the competition is doing it in half the time or at half the cost? So what if we have achieved six sigma (near perfect) performance on our floppy disks or fax machines. No one wants them anymore! Remember, a paradigm shift can send everyone else back to zero.

Tip #9: Ask “Now What?” Creative thinkers recognize that we never really ‘get it right’ and we never really ‘get it done.’ Life is a continuous journey and as we evolve we uncover more and more opportunity for growth. We may achieve near perfection on a temporary product or process but resting on our laurels or becoming arrogant and resistant is a recipe for disaster. Use these tips to keep an open, contemplative mind. Learn to make change, not just manage it. There is less traffic on the leading edge.

About the Author

John MurphyJohn J. Murphy is an award-winning author, speaker, business consultant, whose most recent book is Zentrepreneur: Get Out of the Way and Lead. Drawing on a diverse collection of experiences as a corporate director, collegiate quarterback, spiritual mystic, and management coach, John has appeared on more than four hundred radio and television stations and his work has been featured in more than fifty newspapers nationwide. In 1988 he left corporate management to start his consulting company. He has now trained tens of thousands of people from dozens of countries. His clients include some of the world’s leading organizations. John lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Visit him online at www.venturemanagementconsultants.com.

How to Handle a Blitz: 4 Key Strategies for Successfully Negotiating During a Company Transition

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It happens. We rock and roll along in our career and then – wham! A blitz. The company announces a major organizational change. It could be a merger, acquisition, downsizing, rightsizing or some other sort of organizational change. As a result, the company requests you assume new, additional or high-risk responsibilities, or, potentially, work for a different company.

When a blitz occurs, employees stand stunned, and don’t always recognize or value their level of influence relative to compensation. Even when employers call a blitz, employees retain power and the ability to negotiate.

Next time a company hurtles a blitz, follow these 4 critical strategies for successfully negotiating any compensation.

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About the Author

Stacey HawleyStacey Hawley founded Credo, a compensation and talent management firm, in 2011. A recognized speaker, writer, and expert in compensation and talent management, Stacey is author of Rise to the Top: How Woman Leverage Their Professional Persona to Earn More and Rise to the Top and is a frequent contributor to Forbes, BusinessInsider.com, LearnVest, Working Mother, and The Glass Hammer. Her expertise has been cited in publications and resources such as Money magazine, MSN Careers, CareerBuilder, the Chicago Tribune, and LinkedIn.

Don’t just drink the water, eat it!

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Ask anyone in New York City why their bagels are the BEST in the world and they’ll say, “It’s the water!”

Ask anyone in Philadelphia why their cheesesteaks are the BEST in the world, and they will say, “It’s the bread.” Further questioning one will ask, “Why is the bread so different?” and they will say, “It’s the water!”

Water? Really?
Yes, water!

The unique water that’s ADDED to the standard ingredients makes the food BEST.

So I’m going to ask you two questions:
What’s in your water?
What makes your water different, better, than anyone else’s water?

There are 7.5 elements of your water that I will challenge you make you no different than anybody else’s water on the planet, and further challenge you that if you decide to improve those elements (your water), you can become the best in the world. Or at least the best in your marketplace.

1. Your attitude water. If you know and understand the classic definition of a positive attitude is, “The way you dedicate yourself to the way you think,” then it’s obvious that you can change and improve your attitude water by changing your morning routine. Wake up and start reading instead of watching TV. Reading a positive attitude book for ten minutes, highlighting, and taking notes about your thoughts, can begin a whole new attitude mindset that will separate and differentiate you from all of your peers, prospects, and customers.
2. Your belief water. While I have talked about belief for years, I’ve never said what it would take to build and strengthen your existing belief process. Invest thirty minutes of your time and make a list of the five parts of belief. You must believe you are the BEST person for the job, have the BEST business and products, that you can differentiate FROM your competitors, and that the customer is better off having purchased from you. If you don’t believe that your water is the best, how will you be able to transfer that message to anyone else?
3. Your compelling message and enthusiasm’s water. Present a compelling message and you will immediately differentiate yourself from 99.9% of all the salespeople on the planet. These are people who communicate poorly, or simply talk in terms of themselves. By becoming a prepared and enthusiastic presenter, you will be perceived as sparkling water. The opposite of sparkling water is flat water. In France it’s, “with gas” or “without gas.” Starting to get the message?
4. Your innovative ideas water. When you bring an idea to a customer it shows that you have prepared in terms of them. Your idea is about them and how they win, or how they profit. Once you get in the groove of innovation in creating ideas it will spill over to everything that you do. That’s hot water.
5. Your follow-through water. This water is the fulcrum point in the sale. Even if you have already made the sale, your customers expect both delivery and service in order to complete the sale in their mind. You will solve nothing until the customer receives your product or service, loves your product or service, and is completely impressed by the way you stay in touch and follow through.
6. Your relationship building water. Solid value-based relationships lead to repeat business and referrals. Do I need to say anything else about the importance and the value of this water?
7. Your trustworthiness water. This is slowly aged water. Trustworthiness comes from positive, favorable, consistent, truthful actions taken over time. Trust is not built in a day, it’s built day-by-day.
7.5 Your reputation water. Reputation water is the most valuable of them all. It means the rest of your water has all been given and received positively. It means that you have consistently performed to the delight of your customer. And it means that anyone can find you on the Internet and see your positive postings and results. It means that you have proven yourself to your customers and in your marketplace. You can never have too much reputation water. It’s my hope that your cup of reputation water runneth over.

BEST PART: When someone asks you why your sales are better that anyone else’s, your response can now be, “It’s the water!” – Keep ‘em guessing, baby. Keep ‘em guessing.

My water? I’m a Volvic water guy myself – switched from Fiji to France.

About the Author

Jeffrey GitomerJeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at salesman@gitomer.com.

Meetings: The Purpose, The Pain, The Possibility

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As business folk, we hold meetings regularly. Yet often we don’t accomplish what we set out to achieve. Why?

The Purpose

Meetings are held to accomplish a specific, beneficial outcome requiring the attendance of the right people with the right agenda.

The Problem/Pain

Often we end up with miscommunication, wasted time, incomplete outcomes, misunderstanding, lack of ownership and ongoing personnel issues – sometimes an indication of internal power and faulty communications issues.

The Possibility

With greater success we can: stimulate thinking; achieve team building, innovation, and clear communication; and efficiently complete target issues. Here are some problem areas and solutions:

People. When outcomes aren’t being met effectively it’s a people- and management problem including: fall-out, sabotage, and resistance; long execution times; exclusion of peripheral people; restricted creativity and communication; exacerbated power and status issues. Are the most appropriate people (users, decision makers, influencers) invited? All who have good data or necessary questions?

  • Rule: unless all – all – relevant people show up for the meeting, cancel it. It’s impossible to catch people up or have them collaborate, add creative thoughts, or discuss annoyances. Once it’s known that meetings aren’t held unless all are present, the frequency, responsibility, and motives shift.
  • Rule: unless all – all – of the people who will touch the outcome from the meeting’s goals are in some way represented, the outcome will not reflect the needs of all causing fallout later, with resistance, sabotage or a diminished outcome.

Agenda. No hidden agendas! Recipients of potential outcomes must be allowed to add agenda items prior to the meeting.

  • Rule: unless all – all – of the items of ultimate concern are on the agenda, the meeting will be restricted to meet the needs of a few with unknown consequence (resistance and sabotage).

Action. Too often, action items don’t get completed effectively. How do action items get assigned or followed up? What happens if stuff’s not done when agreed? How can additional meetings be avoided?

  • Rule: put a specific, consensual, and supervised method in place to ensure action items get accomplished as promised.
  • Rule: as meeting begins, get consensus on what must be accomplished for a successful outcome. This initial discussion may change agenda items or prioritize them, detect problems, assumptions, resistance before action items are assigned.

Discussion. How long do people speak? How do conversations progress? How do the proceedings get recorded? What is the format for discussions? How is bias avoided?

  • Rule: record (audio) each meeting so everyone who attends can have it available later. Folks who didn’t attend are not privy to this audio. (See People above).
  • Rule: design a time limit for speaking, and rules for topics, presentations, discussions, cross talk.
  • Rule: include periods of silence for thought, notes, reflection.

Understanding. Does everyone take away the same interpretation of what happened? How do you know when there have been miscommunications or misunderstandings?

  • Rule: unless everyone has the same perception of what happened for each topic, there is a tendency for biased interpretation that will influence a successful outcome.
  • Rule: one person (on rotation) should take notes, and repeat the understanding of what was said to get agreement for each item before the next item is tackled. This is vital, as people listen with biased filters and make flawed assumptions of what’s been said/agreed.

Transparency. Agendas should be placed online, to be read, signed-off, and added to.

  • Rule: whomever is coming to the meeting must know the full agenda.
  • Rule: everyone responsible for an action item must be listed with time lines, names of those assisting, and outcomes.

Accomplishments. Are items accomplished in a suitable time frame? What happens when they aren’t?

  • Rule: for each action item, participants must sign off on an agreeable execution. A list of the tasks, time frames, and people responsible must accompany each item, and each completed task must be checked off online so progress is accountable.
  • Rule: a senior manager must be responsible for each agenda item. If items are not completed in a timely way, the manager must write a note on the online communication explaining the problem, the resolution, and new time frame.

Meetings can be an important activity for collaboration and creativity if they are managed properly and taken as a serious utilization of time and output. Ask yourself: Do you want to meet? Or get work accomplished collaboratively?

About the Author

Sharon Drew Morgen is founder of Morgen Facilitations, Inc. (www.newsalesparadigm.com). She is the visionary behind Buying Facilitation®, the decision facilitation model that enables people to change with integrity. A pioneer who has spoken about, written about, and taught the skills to help buyers buy, she is the author of the acclaimed New York Times Business Bestseller Selling with Integrity and Dirty Little Secrets: Why buyers can’t buy and sellers can’t sell and what you can do about it.

To contact Sharon Drew at sharondrew@sharondrewmorgen.com or go to www.didihearyou.com to choose your favorite digital site to download your free book.