Do you know how airplane pilots define the term, ‘attitude’?
My friends over at SBR consulting here in London once explained this to me : To a pilot ‘Attitude’ is the way the plane is leaning with respect to the horizon. Sometimes the plane takes an attitude caused by external events – turbulence, wind shear, weather. These external events are outside the pilot’s control, and happen to some extent during almost every flight. In almost every case, the pilot is able to take corrective measures which restore the plane to the position he or she wants it to be in. If a pilot does not have the belief and confidence he or she can right the situation, they should not be a pilot.
Like pilots, everyone – both our clients and prospects, and we as "sales professionals" – have many things happen during the day that are beyond our control. Some are potentially good, that they didn’t do anything to deserve. They just happened.
Some are potentially bad, that they ALSO didn’t do anything to deserve. They just happened as well.
What counts more than anything is the direction we choose to LEAN, with respect to the things that happen to us.
Many people say it all depends upon whether a person is positive or negative in their outlook.
It is far more effective to speak about optimism than about being positive. As Professor Martin Seligman has determined and reported on in his book, Learned Optimism¸optimism goes well beyond ‘being positive.’ A person with a positive attitude just believes a situation will turn out all right.
The person with an optimistic attitude believes a situation will turn out all right because he or she can personally influence the outcome. Because there are specific things a person can do – even in the face of immense obstacles and challenges – the optimist feels a far greater sense of control and effectiveness. Dr. Seligman and other researchers have proven that optimistic "salespeople" stay with their firms longer, and are more successful in selling.
Is such, an attitude something with which one is born, which some people have and some people do not?
Without question, disposition, upbringing, and environment all influence whether people are fundamentally optimistic or pessimistic. But as Dr. Seligman and many others have proven, optimism can be learnt...... It can be developed in people.
It makes an organisation wishing to develop business far more effective.
My friends over at SBR consulting here in London once explained this to me : To a pilot ‘Attitude’ is the way the plane is leaning with respect to the horizon. Sometimes the plane takes an attitude caused by external events – turbulence, wind shear, weather. These external events are outside the pilot’s control, and happen to some extent during almost every flight. In almost every case, the pilot is able to take corrective measures which restore the plane to the position he or she wants it to be in. If a pilot does not have the belief and confidence he or she can right the situation, they should not be a pilot.
Like pilots, everyone – both our clients and prospects, and we as "sales professionals" – have many things happen during the day that are beyond our control. Some are potentially good, that they didn’t do anything to deserve. They just happened.
Some are potentially bad, that they ALSO didn’t do anything to deserve. They just happened as well.
What counts more than anything is the direction we choose to LEAN, with respect to the things that happen to us.
Many people say it all depends upon whether a person is positive or negative in their outlook.
It is far more effective to speak about optimism than about being positive. As Professor Martin Seligman has determined and reported on in his book, Learned Optimism¸optimism goes well beyond ‘being positive.’ A person with a positive attitude just believes a situation will turn out all right.
The person with an optimistic attitude believes a situation will turn out all right because he or she can personally influence the outcome. Because there are specific things a person can do – even in the face of immense obstacles and challenges – the optimist feels a far greater sense of control and effectiveness. Dr. Seligman and other researchers have proven that optimistic "salespeople" stay with their firms longer, and are more successful in selling.
Is such, an attitude something with which one is born, which some people have and some people do not?
Without question, disposition, upbringing, and environment all influence whether people are fundamentally optimistic or pessimistic. But as Dr. Seligman and many others have proven, optimism can be learnt...... It can be developed in people.
It makes an organisation wishing to develop business far more effective.