attitude - One Less Dog In The Hunt

“Attitude reflects leadership.”

Wood Harris and Ryan Hurst in *Remember the Titans*, 2000.Everett Collection / Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

Remember that statement by Julius in Disney’s Remember The Titans? Only three words but it’s one of the most powerful reflections of effective leadership ever stated. Yeah, it’s just a line from a movie, but there’s a depth to it that today’s leaders need to hear. People respond, and perhaps mimic, the examples of their leaders.

Whether it is the leadership of a football team, the leadership of a company, or the leadership of a nation — attitude, posture, outlook, and direction are exemplified through leadership. If leadership does not present itself well, the attitude of those who follow will fail to achieve the right results.

One of the hardest parts of business is getting and keeping good people. And what makes good people anyway? I used to think that people were just born with a good work ethic; something that came natural, but as time went by I realized that just isn’t the case. Some are instilled with a good work ethic when they are young and some have to learn it along the way.

Each of my kids began working when they were in junior high or high school. In fact, you might say they started earlier than that by doing odd jobs for relatives as early as second or third grade. They were taught by their parents; they were expected to put in their best effort no matter what they did. And we were fortunate that the people they worked for – farmers, ranchers, small business owners – expected the same thing from them. In most cases, they are still close to their former employers and, though three out of four (one still being in college and working) of them have moved on to become pretty successful at what they are doing, if they had need to return to their former places of employment they would be accepted with open arms.

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A Titan of a Statement

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