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Attitude can help achieve success even amid chaos

We all make people happy.

Some people do it by entering a room. Others do it by leaving a room. You probably know both kinds of people.

Which kind are you?

The difference is attitude. We all have friends we like to be around. They make us feel good when we are with them. Maybe they make us smile or encourage us to believe in ourselves. They look for the good and find it even in the middle of chaos. They see opportunity when others see disaster. One of the keys of leadership is a great attitude. Our attitude is a choice. We decide whether the glass is half full or half empty for us. Our attitude requires constant work to stay positive.

Here are three suggestions that have helped others to develop great attitudes and may help you:

∫ Start every day with gratitude. Think of at least three things you are grateful for. As this becomes a habit you will see how blessed you really are. You will begin to develop an attitude of abundance rather than an attitude of lack.

∫ Treat everyone you come in contact with as important. You do this because this is how we should treat people. We will begin to see the good that is in everyone. We may learn what we have in common with others which is the basis for relationships. Important for any leader, is developing the ability to see people and situations not as they currently are but as they can be.

∫ Surround yourself with people who have positive attitudes. Avoid negatives like constantly hearing the daily news.

Keeping a good attitude can be difficult. My wife, Lynnda and I did a short getaway to our timeshare in the Shenandoah Valley since we postponed our Florida vacation. Getting into our unit was a struggle. The first unit we were given was under repair. When we opened the door, the range was disconnected and in the middle of the kitchen. We drove the half mile back to registration. They apologized and gave us keys to another unit on the third floor. They knew upper floors wouldn’t work because of Lynnda’s knee but accidentally gave us the wrong keys.

We drove back to registration exchanged keys and searched for the unit in the dark and rain. By the time we unloaded the car my attitude was moving into the red zone.

Then I thought about Lynnda. None of this was her fault. She deserves my best. I refocused on our reason for the trip and found I could laugh about the incident.

Shale Crescent USA was severely impacted by COVID-19. Our main source of leads and prospects are conferences and trade shows. Conferences are also where we do face to face meetings with our current prospects from around the world. We were going to be a presenter at the World Petrochemical Conference in New Orleans in March. It was canceled as were all live events so far for 2020. We haven’t had a new lead or prospect since COVID started. We started looking for opportunity instead of complaining and doing nothing.

It helps to work with a team of leaders at Shale Crescent USA who have great attitudes. We had plenty of time since we were in lockdown and had the ability to reach out to the media. COVID-19 is the big topic everyone is concerned about. The virus showed us why manufacturing in the USA is so important when we couldn’t get ventilators for COVID-19 patients and PPE for our frontline healthcare workers because they are made primarily in China. Bringing manufacturing to our Region is what Shale Crescent USA does. It is our area of expertise. We have hard data to show companies why manufacturing in the USA isn’t just the right thing to do, it is the most profitable thing to do in most cases.

Shows were looking for good guests with a unique take on the COVID-19 topic. Our perspective is, The Pandemic Proved “Made in the USA” a must for the Economy. Our bookings took off. We started getting nationally syndicated and big market shows like New York City, Boston, Miami, Charlotte, St. Louis, Chicago, Denver, San Diego, Los Angeles and Seattle. Also, Regional Shows in Cleveland and Pittsburgh. We learned everyone no matter where they were and what their political affiliation was wants to bring manufacturing and jobs back to the USA. We can tell audiences why that makes sense now and more important how to do it.

Since March, we have been guests on 47 radio shows, 20 of them nationally syndicated on networks like Westwood One. Also Shows like Supply Chain Brain, PCMA (money people), BIZ Talk Radio and Jim Blasingame, the Small Business Advocate. They have audiences that can make decisions to bring jobs here. All of this radio and additional print media gave us the opportunity to tell our region’s story to the entire country.

Our attitude, according to our prospects, has helped some projects continue to move forward despite the pandemic. Several projects have settled on or are in the process of selecting sites in our Region. Jobs are being created. At the Global Plastics Summit in October we have a virtual lunch presentation giving us the opportunity to reach potential leads and prospects for the first time since COVID-19.

Our personal attitude is contagious. People we lead and even our families will reflect our attitude good or bad. People are drawn to a positive attitude. We choose our attitude. At Shale Crescent USA, we chose to look for opportunity in this chaos and found it. You can choose to develop a positive attitude and take the actions to make it a reality.

The late Earl Nightingale said, “Success is when preparedness meets opportunity and opportunity is there all the time.” A positive attitude helps us to see it.

Greg Kozera, gkozera@shalecrescentusa.com, is the director of marketing and sales for Shale Crescent USA. He is a professional engineer with a master’s in environmental engineering who has over 40 years’ experience in the energy industry. He is the author of four books and numerous published articles.

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