By Kevin L. Baker, MBA
Click here to sign up for Kevin’s free “Peak of Potential” Newsletter
Last Monday, I was working with a retail chain’s store management team on how to achieve exponential results in their business. I was picking up that the team were operating out of a “play to not lose” rather than a “play to win” mentality. So I mentioned the term, “abundance mindset,” and drew blank looks. This outlook on life and business is so fundamental to my basic life operating system, that without understanding this, they will never understand me or what I teach about producing results in a business. So we backed up to talk about mindsets in life and business.
What is an abundance mindset? This article in Inc. does a pretty good job of introducing it.
I often try to challenge business leaders to live out of abundance rather than scarcity by reminding them about Ebenezer Scrooge.
Remember Ebenezer Scrooge? Charles Dickens tells us in his allegory about:
SCROOGE–a money lender, who represents people driven by miserly greed and selfish mistreatment of others. On Christmas Eve, we see him counting his money, complaining that Christmas takes a day of doing business away.
BOB CRATCHIT–Represents all those who suffer as employees of the Scrooges of the world, working in horrible work conditions in winter without heat when most workers have time off to be with family.
MARLEY–The dead partner of Scrooge realised too late his evil ways and wanders the earth bound in locks of cashboxes, ledgers, and steel purses. NONE OF US SHOULD WANT TO BE LIKE SCROOGE–saying “bah humbug” to Christmas, which is the symbol of life, love, family, friends, and charity toward others.
As most people know, Scrooge experiences a conversion of his life by discovering the true meaning of Christmas–love, hope, family, friendship, and giving. HE DISCOVERED A NEW MINDSET WHICH TRANSFORMED HIS LIFE AND BUSINESS.
Are you a Scrooge? If so, your business will never truly become all it can possibly be because people will never give their whole heart and commitment to it, until you give your heart and commitment to them. Until employees love and trust a company, its customers never will either.