What management behavior breeds success and impacts the bottom line more effectively than any other?

What’s the one management ingredient you can do something about today (even before finishing this blogpost) to generate instant results?

What motivates employees, shareholders, customers and suppliers more than incentive programs, perks and bonuses?

     If you answered Attitude to all three questions, you’re probably already practicing “Theory A” and you’re definitely tuned in.  If you answered something different, you may be partly correct, but you’ve overlooked the one back-to-basics management attribute that makes things happen, everywhere, all of the time.

     How complicated is this theory of management?  Negative behavior produces negative responses.  Negative responses produce losses!  Positive behavior produces positive responses.  Positive responses produce profits!  That’s it!  Simple, huh?  Well, maybe on paper (or your monitor), but not much is simple in a complex organization (which is, by the way, part of the rationale for corporate investments in leadership training and team-building)!

Theory A

When an organization’s leaders make a commitment to continuously exemplify and cultivate positive attitudes—for management, employees, their individual companies, and entire industries—increased levels of sales, productivity, customer relations, and overall job satisfaction and performance will follow.*

     For Theory A to succeed, business managers need to initiate an ongoing educational process to both learn and and teach some practical “how to” approaches for positive attitude development.  Being able to promote a positive image and positive industry posture drives consumer and client sales, and (for healthcare) patient volume.

     More on Theory A in upcoming posts.  While you’re waiting, take a look at some archive posts (Click on Archives in the righthand column) that deal with “choice” and viewing “problems as opportunities” and being focused on the “here and now.”

     If turning your business interests around (or strengthening from within) are on your front burner, check out my archive back burners for some important prompts and reminders.  or just pick up the phone and call me: 302.933.0116          halalpiar   

              * . . . Excerpted from “Theory A –The Future of Management” in the Prentice-Hall Executive Action Report, July 23, 1987 by Hal Alpiar