There are moments of epiphany (relevant essence of something) in a continuous learning process. I went through something like this at the last course of project management.

A simple sentence has triggered a complex process: Strategy is the way in which you reach your objectives. When I heard it my past experiences and knowledge have become pieces on a chessboard in a game where I know beforehand what moves my opponent will do.

Regardless of how much information and experience you accumulate the engine that will move you ahead depend on how you create connections between them.

Strategy remains a word said with reverence in business. Until now I have met 3 types of people who assume an expertise in what is called business strategy:

1. Unknowers – those who use the word strategy in contexts like “I do PR strategy”, etc. without understanding how much experience involves the assumption of such expertise. Usually these people gather with similar to them people and feed their vanity listening to each other speaking.
2. Conservators – those managers and business owners that apply with perseverance things applied 10 years ago without understanding that the terms used no longer exist or have a completely different meaning. Formal authority given by the assertion “I am the boss and I know best” spreads terror among subordinates who will bend over to do things as they should be done without upsetting the boss. Eventually profits will come and he / she will be proud of his strategic abilities and will be generous with kicking the lower backside of the slaves that worked for it.
3. I-want-to-be-like-him-when-I-grow-up People – those who aggregate intelligence, experience, common sense and care about those around them and which do not even bother to use the word strategy. They know that their experience is a foundation which can be build upon only if they have an attitude open to new and the consciousness that they are not always right.

Except those who are truly exceptional, for the rest of us to get success requires a lot of work and continuous learning. These are some minimum requirements. If success means not only money and social position, you need to be a genuine human being with real values for others to look at you like as to a model to follow.

The ability to understand the concept of strategy as well as its applicability in professional and personal life and in building your personal brand is obtained while gathering experience and continuous learning.

A norm is a  team shared concept and exists as a behavior expectation that the members of a team have regarding the other team members. A norm is created as a reflection of the need for security manifested through a sense of predictability and regularity in a work environment.

When a new team is created, people share their beliefs and values which lead to attitudes that reflect the opinions of the majority.

When a new member enters a team, he goes through an induction process which could include communication of norms. In most cases, the new employee will ask around or observe what the others are doing.

Various norms classifications:

1. Prescriptive – define the behavior that should be performed
2. Proscriptive – define the behavior that should be avoided

or

1. Appearance norms – what you were becomes what you are
2. Informal social arrangements norms – the informal groups
3. Allocation of resources norms – who gets what
4. Reward allocation norms – the rewards are granted according to different principles:
   • Equity – you get what you deserve
   • Equality – everybody gets the same
   • Reciprocity – you give me, I will give you
   • Social responsibility – you get something because you need it
5. Performance norms – you do what the others do in order to be perceived as a high performer or “one of us”

Why are norms useful?

1. They ensure the team existence – the members will support the norms as a way to survive
2. They increase predictability which can lead to increased efficiency
3. They satisfy the need of belonging to a group. The norms are a differentiation factor next to other teams.

The management of a company has an interest in changing the attitudes mostly towards ethics, change management processes, safety practices, and workforce diversity.

A 1+1=2 process says that if you change beliefs or values you consequently will change attitudes and influence behaviors. It is fairly difficult especially nowadays when people are aware that there is life beyond work.

Cognitive dissonance theory suggests that the change in attitude can be influenced by exercising the desired behavior. You create an example of the desired behavior, use trainings for role-playing, and give positive feedback to reinforce it.

Only that … the moment in which the management decide to take interest in changing attitudes is when a crisis happen. In the panic that comes with incompetent managers, capable to ask the CEO not why they have to jump, but how high they have to, the rest of the employees have only one choice:

You have to change your attitude or else … .

Just defining the concept of attitude is nice.

I care mostly about the answer to one question: What’s in it for me?

The functions you achieve by understating attitudes relates to:

• Expressing values – your attitude allows you to express who you are and what you believe in.
• Ego-defensive – you project your internally-held conflicts on external subjects through you attitude.
• Knowledge – you “touch” the world
• Utilitarian function – it enables you to gain a reward and to avoid possible or perceived punishment

Your attitude next to a subject (thing or person) is an evaluation process. The components are your feelings, beliefs and your predisposition to act towards the subject in a certain manner.

Your values are always editing your attitudes. When a value combines with information from the environment about the subject they will have a positive output if they fit or a negative output if they are in contradiction.

This combination of values and beliefs is your attitude. And your attitude will dictate your behavior, except the case in which you are forced or in need to behave against your values or beliefs.

In organizational behavior the most obvious application is the reaction to your boss. A manager is always assimilated with the most accessible image of the company.

1. Belief – I do not like my boss.
2. Value – My boss is my connection with the company.
3. Attitude – I do not like this company and my job here.

Guess what the materialization of this process will be?

Behavior – I will find another job.