Triple A

Often times, the response I get from the teachers we interact with, about what's really an important element they look out for in a high potential candidate; one common answer is "attitude".

According to the Princeton definition of "attitude", it is a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and disposition to act in certain ways.

While attitude is important, if not critical, I believe that there are also other factors involved. Because one can have a positive attitude towards certain things and still get it very wrong. For instance, I was once asked, why is it that there are people who have the right attitude but we still do not entrust them with certain tasks? I'm sure if you have been a manager before, you would have had a similar experience.

This, I believe, is because in any endeavor, we must adopt a Triple A approach, which is Attitude, Ability, and Actions. While attitude tops the list, because we need to have the right values, the right mindset, right habits; we'd also need to have the right ability and take the right actions.

To illustrate, identifying the right abilities is crucial as otherwise, we will always be using the same technique or tool for every problem. Additionally, the right actions are also just as critical. It doesn't matter what your attitude and/or abilities are, but if you take the wrong actions (running east looking for a sunset) it will never allow you to reach your goal.

So, how do we identify the right attitude, ability, and actions?