Can our attitudes sometimes force companies to contain our enthusiasm? Sometimes, enthusiasm can outrun the companies we work for. Maybe the company is not ready to absorb our ideas. Or, it may not have the means to implement them. Maybe the timing isn’t right. Our ideas may be great; they may even be needed; but again, the timing may be off. It’s not so much that the company wants us to check our brains at the door, rather they want us to work within the company’s current plans. But we may not be privy to all the big-picture ideas.
Everyone needs plan. Every company needs a plan. The company’s goal is to keep its initiative moving forward and within the plan that has been designed. Hopefully, the company you work for has a plan of some kind, and that plan may not include your ideas as of this moment. That does not mean your ideas are not of value. They may not be on the agenda, for now. This is where your attitude has to stay in check. You have to be patient.
Ambition can actually be our worst enemy if it’s not harnessed correctly. Ambitious people are often the ones whose attitudes are affected the most as most often the clock ticks slowest for them. Frequently with ambitious people, self-expectation is the highest. But, the one thing that rarely wavers in those with ambition is a more positive attitude than those around them. This combination of attitude and ambition often translates into an innate ability to control their attitudes and achieve their ambitions by developing and honing their abilities.
Some people call ambitious people lucky. I don’t think of it that way. “Luck” gets cited as the reason many things happen in life. But learning, studying, sacrificing and being patient are how most ambitious people make things happen.
When all is said and done, the company may not be asking you to check your brain at the door; just to let it rest for a bit until the appropriate time comes when Attitude, Ambition, Ability and Accountability meet.
Gerald Wheelus is general manager of Edgewood Auto Parts, Edgewood, Texas.
