Wayne Gretsky, the famous hockey player coined the original phrase; “Skate to where the puck’s going to be.” I suppose he was trying to say that you have to anticipate the action. You must know your competition, trust your teammates and be aggressively proactive in your approach. “Arrive with an attitude” simply means doing all those things well and doing them with the confidence that you are the best at what you do. Success breeds success and attitude is one of the primary ingredients necessary to be a leader in the distribution business.

You and you alone are responsible for your attitude and the attitude your company reflects. You must will yourself to seek improvement in everything you do or time will catch up to you and you simply wont be able to compete. It was Mark Twain who said:

“DON’T GO AROUND SAYING THE WORLD OWES YOU A LIVING; THE WORLD OWES YOU NOTHING; IT WAS HERE FIRST.”

Be a risk taker, be a maverick; avoid making a career out of procrastination and cautiousness. Those who succeed believe in themselves. They aren’t satisfied with the status quo and they are willing to take calculated risk.

Successful leaders encourage their employees to think outside the box. They empower them to act on their own initiative. Believe in yourself; believe in your employees and their right to self-determination. Suspend disbelief and act as if your company’s success is imminent.

Recognize the power of your people, especially those employees closest to the action. Encourage them to be proactive and “Skate to where the puck’s going to be.” Create a cultural environment that allows them to “Arrive with an attitude.” An attitude of confidence, competence and the ability to demonstrate the transfer of authority that the culture you have created has provided them.

“It’s an attitude of winning.”

Dr. Rick Johnson (rick@ceostrategist.com) is the founder of CEO Strategist LLC. an experienced based firm specializing in leadership. CEO Strategist LLC. works in an advisory capacity with company executives in board representation, executive coaching, team coaching and education and training to make the changes necessary to create or maintain competitive advantage. You can contact them by calling 352-750-0868, or visit http://www.ceostrategist.com for more information.

Rick received an MBA from Keller Graduate School in Chicago, Illinois and a Bachelor's degree in Operations Management from Capital University, Columbus Ohio. Rick recently completed his dissertation on Strategic Leadership and received his Ph.D. He’s also a published book author with four titles to his credit: “The Toolkit for Improved Business Performance in Wholesale Distribution,” the NWFA & NAFCD “Roadmap”, Lone Wolf-Lead Wolf—The Evolution of Sales” and a fiction novel - “Shattered Innocence.” Rick’s next book due to be published in November is titled; Lone Wolf – Lead Wolf, The Evolution of Leadership.

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