You can win | Page 5

brothers and asked, "Why don't you stand up and fight the giant?" The brothers were
terrified and they replied, "Don't you see he is too big to hit?" But David said, "No, he is
not too big to hit, he is too big to miss." The rest is history. We all know what happened.
David killed the giant with a sling. Same giant, different perception.

Our attitude determines how we look at a setback. To a positive thinker, it can be a
stepping stone to success. To a negative thinker, it can be a stumbling block.
Great organizations are not measured by wages and working conditions, they are
measured by feelings, attitudes and relationships.
When employees say, "I can't do it," there are two possible meanings. Are they saying
they don't know how to or they don't want to? If they don't know how to, that is a training
issue. If they are saying they don't want to,
it may be an attitude issue (they don't care) or a values issue (they believe they should
not do it).

A HOLISTIC APPROACH

I believe in the holistic approach. We are not an arm and a leg, but a complete human
being. The whole person goes to work and the whole person comes home. We take
family problems to work and work problems to the family. What happens when we take
family problems to work? Our stress level goes up and productivity comes down.
Similarly, work and social problems have an impact on every aspect of our lives.
Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it
to your family life or your work or your government or your world and it holds true and
clear and firm.

FACTORS THAT DETERMINE OUR ATTITUDE

Are we born with attitudes or do we develop them as we mature? What are the factors
that form our attitudes?
If you have a negative outlook on life because of your environment, can you change your
attitude? Most of our attitude is shaped during our formative years.
There are primarily three factors that determine our attitude. They are: 1. environment

11 of 11 2. experience 3. education
These are called the triple Es of attitude. Let's evaluate each of the factors individually.

1. Environment

Environment consists of the following:

¨ Home: positive or negative influences
¨ School: peer pressure
¨ Work: supportive or over critical supervisor
¨ Media: television, newspapers, magazines, radio, movies
¨ Cultural background
¨ Religious background
¨ Traditions and beliefs
¨ Social environment
¨ Political environment

All of these environments create a culture. Every place be it a home, organization or a
country has a culture.
Have you noticed that sometimes you go to a store and you find the salesperson polite,
the supervisor, manager and owner polite as well? Yet you go to another shop and you
find everyone rude and discourteous.
You go to a home and you find the kids and parents well-behaved, courteous and
considerate. You go to another home where everyone is fighting like cats and dogs.
In countries where the government and political environment is honest, generally you will
find that the people are honest, law abiding and helpful. And the reverse is true too. In a
corrupt environment, an honest person has a tough time. Whereas in an honest
environment, the corrupt one has a tough time.
In a positive environment, a marginal performer's output goes up. In a negative
environment, a good performer's output goes down.
Culture in any place always goes top down, never bottom up. We need to step back and
look at what kind of environment we have created for ourselves and those around us. It is
tough to expect positive behavior in a negative environment. Where lawlessness
becomes the law, honest citizens become cheats, crooks and thieves.
Isn't it time to evaluate the environment that we are in or we have created for others?

2. Experiences

Our behavior changes according to our experiences with people and events in our life. If
we have a positive experience with a person, our attitude toward him becomes positive
and vice versa.

3. Education

I refer to both formal and informal education, not just academic qualifications. Knowledge
strategically applied translates into wisdom, ensuring success. I talk of education in the
broader sense. It makes the role of the ; educator vital. A teacher affects eternity. The
ripple effect is immeasurable.

12 of 12 We are drowning in information but starving for knowledge and wisdom. Education ought
to teach us not only how to make a living but also how to live.

HOW DO YOU RECOGNIZE PEOPLE WITH A POSITIVE ATTITUDE?

Just