Positive Attitude Essential in Business
By Ann Smith - Special to The Telegraph

I was talking with a neighbor recently about the importance of attitude. He’s a physician, and has seen a person’s attitude make a difference in their recovery from illness or surgery. He suggested that I write about it, so I thank Dr. Alrick Brooks for this topic.

Attitude is important, and our attitude can make a difference in our ability to weather the economic storms in which we find ourselves, just as it makes a difference in all areas of our lives.

I used to be a member of an organization of business owners. When I first joined the organization, I learned things that helped me in my business and returned from meetings enthusiastic and ready to face the challenges of entrepreneurship. We encouraged each other, celebrated the successes of our members and helped each other solve problems. At some point in the life of the organization, conversation at meetings became predominantly negative and defeatist. Instead of returning to my office ready to face the challenges of business, I focused more on the pitfalls. I realized how I was being affected by the attitudes of others, and I resigned from the organization.

Attitude cannot make me a professional football player, because I don’t possess the ability that is needed to be successful in that field. However, if I have the ability to do something, attitude can hold the key to my success or failure. Henry Ford said, "Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right." I’ve seen highly capable business owners fall on the stumbling block of self-doubt because their attitude was negative. I’ve seen others who took a never say die attitude and succeeded despite the odds.

Fear is one of the worst symptoms of a negative attitude. While a poor assessment of your situation can be disastrous, too much caution can be just as bad. Fear stymies change, and change is a given in our world, especially in business. Keeping up with technologies, laws, environmental issues and customer service can be overwhelming. Those who allow fear to govern their behavior will likely bury their heads in the sand and hope it will all go away.

Instead, view fear as a challenge to overcome. There will always be issues to deal with in business. Acknowledging them while remaining positive gives you the energy to tackle them and keeps your business moving in the right direction. If the business owner’s attitude is positive, employees are more likely to remain positive. If the owner is negative and fearful, you can bet that employees also will allow fear to stifle their ability to meet the challenges of business.

I know some of you reading this will defend your fear by saying you are being realistic. Think for a minute of some of the most successful entrepreneurs you know or know about. Are they dreamers or are they realistic? Great innovators must be dreamers. I imagine that many people thought Bill Gates was making a bad decision when he dropped out of Harvard. I suppose his dream was considered unrealistic by many.

Attitude may be the difference between success and failure, but even if you do fail, a positive attitude improves your resiliency and you are more likely to succeed in future endeavors. And you’ll have more friends while you are bouncing back.