Attitude: It Makes All the Difference

"Having a positive attitude can motivate you and those around you. People with high self-esteem and a positive outlook are more enthusiastic and productive-qualities that senior management are likely to note when opportunities for advancement arise. On the other hand, negative people deplete energy, de-motivate others and push people away."

• Accept that attitude is a matter of choice. In work and life, we often don't have control of situations, but we can choose how to respond to them. It's your choice to see the glass as half empty or half full.

• Consciously decide how to respond to a situation. By doing this, you take responsibility for your actions and the impact on your productivity. Remember that bad stuff happens to everyone, even to good people. So it's not what happens to you in life, but how you respond to it that matters.

• Develop a "no problem" attitude. It doesn't take much for a person to handle life-or a job-when everything is going right. It takes a special kind of person to successfully handle a situation when things go wrong. The most valuable members of a team are ones who can look at problems and come up with solutions.

• See yourself as having positive qualities. Unsuccessful people don't see or visualize their own capabilities. They don't have a clear, positive self-image. Successful people do.

• If a setback occurs, acknowledge it and move on. Learn whatever lessons you can, and then let go of the negative emotions. Move forward.

• Acknowledge your negative emotional response-but to yourself. Disappointment is normal, healthy and necessary. But try to keep this self-talk short. The key is to pass through it as fast as possible and not get stuck in it.

• Demonstrate your resilience. An unwanted event can get you down but try not to let it influence your behavior. Choose a positive, empowering mindset and take action to overcome the problem. By addressing situations that are stressful, you become proactive and will handle them more professionally.

• Be aware of the impact your attitude can have on others. Positive attitudes are contagious. People will be more responsive to you and consequently you'll feel more motivated and productive. If you expect your staff to be upbeat, you have to be upbeat.

• Hear what you're saying. Are you putting down others' ideas or otherwise de-motivating the team? Rather, encourage a free flow of ideas. If you have reservations about the team's plan, raise them, but once the direction is set, follow it.

• Address others who are negative. If you want to talk to a colleague or staff member about a negative attitude, focus on the behavior and how it impacts your work and the productivity of the team.

• Be a positive role model. When employees witness your willingness to contribute extraordinary effort, they are much more willing to go that extra mile.

PASS

• Leadership with passion. Net Worth's project manager Tana demonstrated very charismatic leadership. She was an enthusiastic, passionate and energetic leader. These traits are contagious and can inspire a team to peak performance .  Tana also provided her team with a clear mission statement, "We're going to destroy them!" How's that for inspiration!
   

• Understanding your team's weaknesses. Bren wisely articulated his team's shortcomings to Trump -- specifically its creative abilities when compared with Net Worth. This was a brave statement to make and demonstrated an understanding of his team and what he believed would be required for it to succeed in the future.
   

• When the going gets tough, the team gets going.  Net Worth was at a potentially disastrous impasse when members could not initially attract a casting agent. Instead of spending their valuable energy attacking each other, they collaborated and worked the problem out together. A positive team environment allows creativity and team synergy to work through problems and generate results.
   

• Managing difficult or disruptive team members.  Stephanie complained to Bren about his request for her to deliver the team cheeseburgers. Bren responded by getting her to acknowledge that she needed to be accountable and responsible for resolving issues herself.  Effective leaders challenge teams to figure out problems themselves. Delivering cheeseburgers does not rank on the top 10 problem list of "Oh my God, can I figure this out?"
   

• Don't tolerate insincerity.  Trump called Michael on his insincere gesture when leaving the boardroom of patting Bren on the back and telling him he did a good job. "Don't kiss his ass, I can't stand that" barked Trump, "I hate that phony stuff. Being disingenuous is merely telling a lie with a different wrapping. We can all recognize a "kiss-ass" in the workplace. These people rarely inspire trust or credibility.

FAIL

• La la land.  Michael needed a serious reality check on his own skills and abilities. He was delusional, asserting that he was much like Trump. "The only thing separating me from Trump is a few billion dollars. I think we're the same people." At the same time, his teammates labeled him as "the laziest man in show business" with "no integrity or commitment to the team." Trump declared him, "just plain stupid."  Michael displayed only one of the "three B's" required to be successful in business. While he has plenty of "bravado," he has shown he lacks the "brains" and is certainly missing the "balance" between the two. To wit: his parting comment to Trump was "Here's my card, look me up when you are in Boston." Trump was probably thinking, "Yeah, maybe when the Yankees move to Fenway Park."
   
• It's all about attitude.  Success is an attitude, and Magna needs a serious adjustment. Both Stephanie and Michael were pessimistic, and their attitude was a determinant to the performance of the entire team. The less than 10 percent difference between winning and losing this episode could most likely be attributed to attitude.
   
• Marketing goes beyond street fliers.  Both teams continue to show a dismal grasp of basic marketing. Their strategies are limited to street fliers. Creative promotion of their products and services is woefully inadequate. For example, Net Worth should have parked its trailer in front of one of the nationally known drama or acting schools and academies. "The Apprentice" takes place in New York City, the world's capital of marketing and promotion, and the best they could come up with is handing out fliers on the street?
   
• No fire in the belly.  Michael whined again and again that it was difficult to "sell massages to a man" and that it was beneath him to hand out fliers. Did Michael forget that half of the people living in New York City are women? Of course, he probably couldn't sell to women either (despite his bravado about his sex appeal).  You can't sell what you don't believe in. Michael was dumb enough to express his disdain and negative attitude to George, Trump's senior adviser. Not too savvy.  Trump has shown us again and again that he has no tolerance for whining. Do these candidates actually watch this show before they're cast?

The Report Card

Net Worth: Effort -- Performance -- Creativity --   B B B+	WEEK FIVE BOOK SMARTS Magna STREET SMARTS Net Worth
Magna: Effort -- Performance -- Creativity --   C+ C+ C-