I was in a sales performance coaching session with a client last week and was stunned when I heard him say that he had been too successful this summer and it cost him two key members of his staff. He went on to explain that when three large customers responded favorably to his marketing efforts it created a tremendous surge in business activity for about 90 days.
Since he did not know if he could replicate that level of business again, over the coming months, he neglected to hire more help. . Additionally, he did not want to outsource any of the work (a viable option) due to cost concerns, resulting in the need for his current staff to shoulder the entire burden. Within three weeks of completing the project, two key members quit their jobs claiming undue stress and burnout from being over worked.
There are two ways to look at life: the expectation of abundance or the expectation of scarcity. I believe that you will get exactly what you expect. The abundance mentality is always looking to expand and grow. The scarcity mentality remains in a mode of shrinking back from risk and seeking the safety of the known comfort zone.
High performers operate from the abundance mentality and continually look for opportunities to enlarge their territory. By example I have two friends, both self employed; one expects abundance and the other scarcity. When gasoline prices topped $3.00 per gallon one year, one of them started to immediately find ways to cut costs and the other looked for ways to make more money and cover the additional expenses. Both got what they were looking for, but my abundance-minded friend actually grew his business in the process.
The great Earl Nightingale proclaimed that “we become what we think about”. He compared the mind to a garden, explaining that we will reap a harvest on whatever seeds we sow. if you are expecting things to work in your favor, they ultimately will. Likewise, if you expect things to work against you, expect a return on that seed as well.
Abundance minded people ultimately perform at a much higher level because they are constantly in search of ways to improve revenue as opposed to cutting back. Please understand that I am not suggesting that you throw caution to the wind and ignore responsible cost controls. But when the chips are down and you have a choice between retreating and charging forward, the abundance mentality always urges you to move forward.
What if my client had hired more staff or outsourced some of the work? For one thing he would not be short-handed today, looking forward to hiring and training new staff. But beyond that, he might have created an atmosphere where he could handle more business going forward, attract new customers to fill the void and come out on top. In all fairness to my client, it is easy to play Monday morning quarterback when you don’t have to live with the results. I do, however, believe that if he had it all to do over again, he would likely consider other options. We all have a choice to make each and every day. I choose abundance.
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