Check Your Attitude at the Door

The most disgruntled employees in today's companies are usually the twenty-somethings. Why? I think it's because the people running the corporate world are of a different generation. Parents in the late twentieth century were instructed to tell their children they could be anything they wanted, consuming a steady diet of “how to raise a happy, confident, socially skilled, psychologically stable, intellectually stimulated child” books. As a result, today's twenty-somethings feel like they are the most special people in the universe. Educated on computers and the Internet, you learned rapidly or were left behind, and now that you're in the corporate world, you're innovative, entrepreneurial, and devoted to changing business for the better.

Although most managers would like to believe otherwise, corporate business doesn't always operate according to these values. In fact, the generation in power tends to believe that twenty-something employees would do the world a favor if you settled down, did your jobs, and resigned yourselves to living in the real world of corporate bureaucracy. Naturally, this is frustrating, and it's only too common for companies to become a battleground of “us vs. them.” Only guess what? They are in the driver's seat for the time being. When you're running the show, perhaps you'll do things differently, but you'll never get there unless you learn to work with the system and serve with a smile.

Because this can be more challenging than any skill we've discussed so far, I'm devoting an entire chapter to strategies for combating negativity, maintaining a positive attitude, and staying motivated in the face of difficult circumstances. By the time you move on to the next chapter, you will be armed with the most powerful weapon a twenty-something can possess in corporate business: the ability to harness the power of your own thinking and create a pleasant situation out of a maddening one.