Two completely unrelated and yet thought-provoking incidences happened to me last week. And both made me realize that ultimately most of our decisions are influenced by our perceptions.
The first incident occurred on my usual weekend shopping spree. I entered a store with no intention of buying anything and just wanted to exchange a few things I had bought earlier. Though I had been to the shop just once before, the owner recognized me and also remembered what I was interested in, but resisted buying, on my previous visit. In the course of conversation, he showed me some newer models of things I liked earlier, and before I knew it I ended up buying the stuff, even though I really had no use for it. Good salesmanship on his part. Weak willpower on mine.
The next incident happened a few days later. I had fixed an appointment, but had to cancel at the last minute, due to some extremely unforeseen circumstances. However, the person I spoke to was not just impolite, but demanded that I make it for the meeting, no matter what the circumstances. Prior to this rather exasperating encounter, I had every intention of keeping the appointment, but the indifferent attitude of the other person negated all good intentions. Needless to say, it was a no-win situation on both sides.
Thinking about this later, I realized that it was just the attitude of both these people that I reacted too. In both cases I did what I did not set out to do.
As business people, it is really important to develop the right attitude when dealing with other people. Humans like to be treated as humans. Yelling at juniors, bullying unsuspecting customers, making unrealistic demands to principles or over-estimating our skills to all and sundry, takes us only to a certain point. Beyond that, the cracks begin to show and we actually end up losing more ground than we gained.
The right attitude is like a good armour; it does not just protect you from the enemy. It ensures your survival.