The “Seat” of your Attitude

The “Seat” of your Attitude

I have spoken to groups of twelve and once to a throng of 60,000.  I have consistently noted one tendency in all audiences, but especially in sales organizations and leadership/management conferences.  Almost without exception the top salespeople are seated at or very close to the front, depending on their vision and the angle of the seats they have chosen. Those people who already “know it all” or feel that they do, or those people who consider this a waste of their time or “I’ve heard it all before,” will invariably arrive late or at the last moment, unprepared. They are also the ones most likely to squirm in their seats, leave early or talk to the person next to them. I’ve also observed that when these same people go to an athletic or entertainment event, they want the best seat in the house.  They generally arrive in plenty of time and are irritated when there are distractions from anyone else. All of this to say that front-row people by and large come to educational or inspirational meetings with great expectations.  They come prepared to learn and take good notes.  A study at Harvard University revealed that people get the most out of meetings who (a) come with the expectation of getting great ideas, (b) take good notes, and (c) talk with colleagues about what they learned and compare notes.  This way they reinforce what they learned and pick up points they missed from the other person.  In short, these people are winners because they plan to win, prepare to win and expect to win.  That’s a good approach to life.