The document discusses the importance of attitudes and how they impact behavior. It defines attitudes as a mental position regarding facts or states that influence how objects and events are classified and reacted to consistently. Attitudes are inferred from responses rather than directly observed. Several studies highlighted in the document show that attitudes were a stronger determinant of success, customer retention, and job performance than other factors like skills, education, or appearance. The document advocates focusing on changing behaviors, as behaviors shape attitudes over time, rather than directly trying to change underlying attitudes which can be difficult to control. Repeatedly choosing new behaviors in different situations can help reshape attitudes in a positive direction.

1. Attitudes P sychology defines it as, ‘ a mental position with regard to a fact or state’ Attitudes reflect a tendency to classify objects and events and to react to them with some consistency. It could be negative, neutral or positive attitude Attitudes are not directly observable but rather are inferred from the responses ( reactions) a person makes. Thus, investigators depend heavily on behavioral indicators of attitudes—what people say, how they respond to questionnaires, or physiological signs

2. Write a name of a friend that you greatly admire Write one thing that you admire most about that friend

3. Lets see what you have written Lets list them on the board 1 2 3 4 5 Mark them A if it is about attitude Mark them S if it is about a skill Mark them L if it is about looks of that person

4. Most of the characteristics that you have said are about Attitude of that person Therefore the attitude is more important than level of education, amount of money, successes and failures, appearance, giftedness, skill, status in the society etc. Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. Your reaction is based on your attitude. Therefore, right attitude is one of the most important things for success

5. The attitudes are our most important assets Many studies have revealed that Top Class company executives say that their success was attributed to attitude than any other matter A study done on “ Reasons for terminating services of employees” by Robert Half International, a US Management Consulting firm demonstrates this very well.

6. Why terminate people According to the survey of Robert Half International – USA 30% - incompetence 17% -Inability to get along with others 12% -Dishonesty & Lying 10% -Negative attitude 7% -Lack of motivation 7% - Failure or refusal to follow instructions 8% -All other reasons

7. Why customers quit Dr. Anthony J. Alessandra- Author of Non Manipulative Selling 68% - Indifference and apparent lack of interest on the part of front line employees 14% - Unadjusted complaints 9% - Lower prices elsewhere 5% -Buy from friends/relatives 3% - Moved to another area 1% - Died

8. Our attitude determines what we see and how we handle our feelings A wood craftsman unable to locate his hammer suspected his neighbors son who is always around his woodworking area would have stolen it. During the next few days everything the young teenager did looked suspicious, the way he looked, walked, his gestures, the way he talked all were suspicious to woodworker However, when found the hammer fallen between his workbench and cabinet nothing of the neighbors sons actions became suspicious. Now lets ponder about the soothsayer/fortune tellers revelations about a suspected person. You will see that person in some one known or around you, as you will form an attitude in the manner that the sootsayer has revealed.

9. Another fine study done on attitude will illustrates the importance of our attitudes on our behavior A double blind experiment – A principal of a school called three teachers together and told them that they are the best teachers in the school and they will get a selected lot of best students from the new batch of students. The students were also told that they are getting the best teachers. Since teachers were told they were the best and they took extra effort to teach what they taught. At the end of the year these students have done 20% to 30% better than the average students.

10. The principal called the teachers and said that he has to make a confession. “ I never gave you the best lot of students. They were selected randomly from all the students and gave them to you. Then the teachers said “ The good results would have been attributed to our better teaching skills as we are the best “ Then the principal told them that he has to make another confession “ You are not the best teachers. Your names were also selected at random” Then what make the difference. The difference was created in teachers expectation. It determined their attitudes and attitudes determined their behavior.

11. We are responsible for our attitudes The greatest day in our life would be when we take total responsibility for our attitudes We cannot control the beauty of our face but we can control the expression on it. We cannot control the life’s difficult moments, but we can choose to make life less difficult Too often we try to control things that we cannot. Too seldom, we choose to control what we can… that is attitude.

12. It is not what happen to me that matters but what happen in me. There is a philosophy : God chooses what we go through. We humans choose how we go through 10% of the life is what happens to you and 90% of the life is how you react to it. Your reaction is based on your attitude One thing anybody cannot take from you is how you are going to respond ( react) to what one does for you.

13. Incidents could change attitudes greatly Remember the four minute mile ? People have been trying to run it under four minutes for more than thousand years. Experts said that bone structure, inadequate lung power, wind resistance will not allow humans to run a mile below 4 minutes However in 1959 Roger Bannister ran the mile below four minutes. The human mental barrier( attitude) was broken.

14. In 1960 just after one year, 37 others ran the mile in less than 4 minutes and 1962, 300 hundred runners ran it in less than 4 minutes. Now the mile records stands at 3.43 minutes( 1999 El Guerroj – Morocco) and almost all runners of Olympics run it in less than 4 minutes . How does it happen ? 1000 year barrier was broken and attitudes changed and no other thing to bone structure or lung power or wind resistance changed. An incident will have a great influence on your attitudes. You will form an attitude, if someone can do it why cant I do it.

15. How to change your attitudes ( a general plan) Meditate and make a self criticism of yourself Identify problem feelings Identify problem behavior Identify right thinking Right thinking will lead to right feelings Right feelings will lead to right behaviour Make a public commitment for right behavior Develop a plan for right thinking

16. Motivation for change cannot be obtained from participating in a workshop or listening to a talk. In my opinion, whole idea of motivation is a trap. Forget about motivation Just do it. Action is the most important thing. Discussions of positive attitudes has no value in absence of action. (There are so many discussions on TV now) Once you do a thing, that’s where the motivation comes and makes it easy for you to keep on doing it. Many say change your negative attitudes and develop positive attitudes. But few succeed, because they can’t control attitudes

17. So do not try to change attitudes but try and change the behavior that springs from attitudes. That is a better approach if you cant change the root cause “attitude”. If behaviors are controlled that will also reverse the attitudes Repeated changed behavior will not let the attitude lead you to do the negative in the subsequent situations.

18. Good analogy The weeds in a paddy field may grow due to the roots or seeds that has left in the ground The best way to stop them growing is to eliminate the roots and seeds before they grow But you practically cannot do that. So what you can do practically is to weed them as soon as they grow. After some time, when you weed all that grow, there will not be any roots or seeds of weeds to grow. Seeds and roots are like our negative attitudes, weeds are like our behaviors and reactions You can prevent them growing in two ways. Select the best way possible.

19. You have one more task ! This is a presentation done by Maxwell Ranasinghe to Students of the Final Year in the Department of Marketing at the University of Kelaniya. Please develop it further with your own insight, knowledge and experience, share with your friends and members of your staff. The knowledge is universal we need to share for the common benefit. We, Sri Lankans need a big change in this attitudes more than any other thing.