Since the earliest origins of civilization, much has been written about attitudes and continues to be written about attitudes. Philosophers such as Aristotle to scientists such as Einstein to business icons including Zig Ziglar and Jack Welsh, understood the affect that attitudes have upon the daily performance of each individual.

In the mid to late 20th century, educational psychologists, training and development consultants and learning specialists all identified that Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes (K.S.A.) are critical to performance improvement from the classroom to the boardroom. However, the emphasis on knowledge and skills always seemed to override attitudes.

Several years ago at a national conference, a colleague, David Herdlinger, made a new connection with the K.S.A. by constructing a quadrant and placing the letters K and A on the top followed by S and H (Habits) on the bottom. His efforts created the K.A.S.H. Box which I expanded to the K.A.S.H. Box for Sustainable Change. I added a Change Drawer or box under the quadrant because the purpose of a cash box is to hold change.

When individuals or organizations are facing change in performance from learning something new to adopting a new program, the emphasis is on the left side of the box -- the Knowledge and Skills. Yet, when analyzing why change was resisted or why there was performance failure, the answer is more often than not due to poor attitudes and habits -- the right side of the box.

Growth in the change drawer is directly tied to the attitudes within the individual and the organization. Great attitudes when married with Knowledge and Skills create additional revenues or interest within the change drawer. Conversely, poor, negative attitudes drain the change drawer and have a negative affect on the bottom line.

Attitudes are the hidden interest factor for any individual or business. Successful individuals know this to be true and leverage their positive attitudes toward building their own personal and professional development. For the question at the end of the day is not whether I know it, but do I want to do it? And as always, the choice is yours to have an attitude of joy or one of misery.

Leanne Hoagland-Smith

Good Day. Thanks for visiting. I hope that you have enjoyed my articles. In 1999, I founded ADVANCED SYSTEMS because I saw that performance could and should be doubled in warp time. Individuals, small and large businesses could not afford expensive solutions that may or may not deliver improved results in 12 months.

From my corporate, small business and education experiences, I recognized the individuals must have opportunities for connecting their passion to their purpose to secure the desired performance results, but many lacked the necessary skills, strategies and tools.

With over 20 years in sales management and 10 years in education, I understand how to unite productivity with profitability by developing a proactive working culture. My previous experiences resulted in cost savings through one of the first implementations of a computer software in a wholesaler distributor to the creation of a vendor performance assessment.

Since facilitating over 500 sessions, developing and editing over 25 training programs and writing numerous articles focusing on performance improvement, I bring a results focused approach to my clients. Also, I am proud to be one of the first five nationally certified facilitators of America’s Rising Stars (a Student Leadership developmental curriculum).

My passion is to help others connect their passion to their purpose to double performance. As The small business coach in Chicago, my clients have easily doubled their performance. Since our greatest resource is our young people, I am now working with large urban schools to generate the same results.

Education Background

• Graduated with honors from Purdue University with a B.A. in Education
• Earned M.S. from Purdue University in Instructional Design and Curriculum
• Published in the national trade journal, The Supply House Times, and numerous national newsletters
• Developed seminars and training on diversity, communication, leadership, sales, effective trade show behavior, networking, knowledge management, goal setting and improved educational outcomes
• Co-authored M.A.G.I.C.A.L. Potential: 7 Capicities for Living an Amazing Life Beyond Purpose to Achievement, to be available in 2006
• Working a another book focusing on performance in public education
• Speaker in a national bureau - Resource Associates Corporation