Attitudes Count

I just finished my 2009 travel with a two-day trip to Los Angeles. As is often the case, the trip included an unscheduled hotel night in Atlanta due to a late arriving return flight. When you have a fully booked 767 that gets delayed at LAX for six hours, you’re sure to create some pretty testy reactions. This was certainly the case on this trip. Despite being told that the delay was necessary in order to fix the airplane so it wouldn’t fall out of the sky, some folks seemed to take it personal. They griped, they argued, they insisted, they called for supervisors, and all too often, they shouted and screamed at the gate agents. None of which did squat to change the situation. Meanwhile, scattered throughout the gate area were individuals who seemed calm and contained. They had the right attitude—Zen, que sera sera, roll with the punches, don’t sweat the small stuff—whatever. The importance of attitude cannot be overstated. I wonder if those folks who were screaming and swearing would want to hire, associate with, or date somebody who consistently behaved like they were behaving? QP columnist Deb Thompson preaches that we should hire attitude and teach skills. I don’t care how skilled those obnoxious passengers might be, I wouldn’t hire them. I would, however, look for the kind of attitude displayed by those who kept their cool in a bad situation. This is my last blog for 2009, so I’ll leave you and the year with a quote from Carlos Castaneda: “The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same.” Best wishes for the New Year from all of us at Quick Printing.