"Success Thinking"--It's All About Attitude

As a small business owner, you're not just "the boss." You're also the leader, the person employees, vendors, customers, and prospects look to for guidance, support, and confidence. And being a leader is easier than you think. It begins with a positive, "can-do" attitude that your business delivers what it promises, and can achieve any goal.

"Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions." - Harold Geneen

Entrepreneurs today love to carry a red marker...

This is called "success thinking," and it's found across all successful enterprises because entrepreneurs made it contagious among their teams. They emphasize long-term potential over short-term thinking. They learn to innovate rather than hesitate, and shun the status quo as they seek to spark new interest and enthusiasm inside the business.

When you focus on the collective success of your business as a whole--not an individual person, project or product--you can accelerate success by identifying a few profitable activities and making them happen ever more flawlessly and quickly.

One way to spread success thinking is by encouraging communication across your team. Generally, those around you need more information in order to feel successful. Let them know where you think the business needs to go, the problems it faces and what keeps you up at night. Ask their advice about what you are doing right, what hurts and what needs fixing. That way, everyone has a bigger stake in your success, even more important, they become more inspired to find new, better ways of doing things well and growing your business.

Positive thinking breeds confidence, which should always be encouraged. Just don't become blinded by it. It is well documented that everyday small business owners across the globe often set goals, then fail to adjust them when the dynamics of the environment change because they see their thinking as infallible.

Being positive isn't a bad thing, it is simply being overdone. Being negative isn't bad either; its' value is just being ignored. So start getting a little more negative in business. It will positively help you.

Get Focused. Get Busy. Sprout and Grow.

P. Simon Mahler, a recipient of the Nation Builder Award from the SCORE Organization for startups launched and jobs created, and nominated as both an 'Expert' and 'Leader' in North America for small business development, currently runs a virtual incubator committed to building stronger communities in rural America.

Simon, a frequent traveler to the next small town, is always available to take calls for action and is willing to work with any small business, or small town out there, across the globe. Follow him on the journey of his next endeavor, by starting a business of your own. His virtual incubator program has transformed ideas into sustainable small businesses and yours could be next. His daily blog of activities will be posted on LinkedIn for you to enjoy. Find him on social media and connect to get some great ideas to get your business growing!

Follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and of course Twitter