How Attitudes Influence Behavior

At one time Challis M. Lowe was one of only two African-American women among the five highest-paid executives in U.S. companies surveyed by the woman's advocacy and research organization Catalyst.²⁶ She became executive vice president at Ryder System after a 25-year career that included several changes of employers and lots of stressors—working-mother guilt, a failed marriage, gender bias on the job, and an MBA degree earned part-time. Through it all she says: “I've never let being scared stop me from doing something. Just because you haven't done it before doesn't mean you shouldn't try.” That, simply put, is what we would call a can-do “attitude!”