The only true disability in life is a bad attitude.
Take a look at the recent Olympics. Take a look at all the Olympics that have ever been held. You may notice one outstanding characteristic of the winners. Very few of them were “natural-born” athletes. But almost all of them had a totally awesome attitude.
In fact, many of the winners would have seemed the least likely to win, considering all the obstacles they had to overcome. Some of the winners were handicapped, injured, or disabled at one or more points in their lives, but that didn’t stop them. They had an attitude that more than made up for any lack of aptitude.
That being the case, let me make a few suggestions. If you’re ever in the position to interview or hire anyone, HIRE FOR ATTITUDE. TRAIN FOR SKILLS. Yes you can turn negative people around. You can teach people how to build a positive attitude. I do it all the time in my seminars, but quite honestly, it’s a lot easier for someone to learn communication skills than change an entire mindset.
And how do you know if someone has the right attitude? Look at how the person responds to difficulty. A PERSON WITH THE RIGHT ATTITUDE MOVES FROM FAILURE TO FAILURE WITH UNDIMINISHED ENTHUSIASM. Instead of getting overly upset by the failure, instead of putting himself down, he focuses on how he can do better the next time, and as a result, he is eventually and inevitably a winner.
Second, look at how the person feels about customer problems and complaints. A PERSON WITH THE RIGHT ATTITUDE WELCOMES PROBLEMS. I know, it sounds strange, but I often ask my audiences how many of them like problems. Very few people raise their hands. Then I tell them you’d better like problems unless you like unemployment — because customers hire you to solve problems. Suddenly, a few light bulbs go on, and people get it.
We’re in the midst of a changing labor market. There simply aren’t enough people with enough skills and enough experience to fill all the positions. But there’s no need to be in total despair. Look for people with the right attitude and you’ll do quite well.
Action: This week, study two people that have a terrific attitude, and come up with five characteristics of their attitude. The next time you need to add someone to your team, see how your potential candidate stacks up against those five characteristics.