In the previous blog in this series, I defined the difference between a Me Inc! or Me Stink! Mindset. As an employer, business owner, employee or team member you will usually demonstrate either one of these in the way you consistently serve your customers and clients. With a Me Stink! Mindset you react below the line nearly always blaming rather than taking responsibility for your thinking, feelings attitudes and behaviours.
By contrast, when you respond to your environment with a Me Inc! Mindset, you proactively respond above the line, assuming responsibility and acting as if you were the owner or manager of the organisation. You see yourself as having a business within the business.
In this blog I would like to explore further the characteristics of a Think Inc! or Me Inc! Mindset.
If you get this, you get life! There are no losers here and it’s more than a win – win.
Here are a few hints and check points for you to ponder and hopefully action.
When you have a ME Inc! or Think Inc! Mindset you:
1. Take Responsibility for Your Thinking, Feelings, Attitudes and Behaviour
Wow, that’s pretty big and pretty hard to do with so much negativity and “blaming” going on around us. Consider how you score against these check points. Do you usually…
- Display a high degree of self-responsibility, accountability and ownership for your thinking patterns, attitudes and behaviours?
- Treat negative outcomes as learning experiences, not failures?
- Respond in an optimistic way to day-to-day challenges?
- Seek ways to help your employer or manager accomplish their goals? (You can do this by figuring out how your employer can make money, save money, grow sales, create a better working environment, improve customer service and innovate).
2. Develop a long term perspective
Do you usually …
- Take a long term perspective and think beyond the present to secure a successful future?
- Think about being successful, profitable, and sustainable long term?
- Maintain perspective through the pain and pleasure of work and life and not quit when things don’t go your way?
- Seek new opportunities to learn, develop and grow personally and professionally?
3. Seek to Add Value
Now I know you might think that this is not your business and you will get paid at the end of the week anyway. If you are just exchanging your life for a pay cheque you have a Stink Inc! not a Think Inc! Mindset. Adding value really makes the world go around and will hugely benefit you, your employer, manager and organisation.
Do you usually…
- Seek to add value by constantly looking to improve the situation, solve problems and continually seek to make a difference. You and or your team will always benefit because you just make life better. A TOP performer with a ME INC! Mindset continually looks for ways to add value to relationships and business. What can you do in your position or business to add value?
- Seek and create opportunities for yourself or your team to serve, influence and grow?
- Think as a team player and use your strengths to complement other members of your Team?
- Display an honest, passionate, open-minded, creative and committed attitude? (At the end of the day, with a ME INC! Mindset you seek to serve yourself and others in meaningful work.
4. Adopt a sales and marketing mindset
I hear so many people say that “I’m just an admin assistant” or “receptionist” or “plumber” or “a nobody” or “I just work here”. When you think like the owner of a business or if you were to pretend to come back into your role as a consultant, what would you do more of and do less of? One important characteristic of a Think Inc! Mindset is to always be on the look out to promote your business or organisation.
Do you usually…
- Treat everyone you meet as a customer, a potential customer or someone who could refer a customer?
- Think that whenever you are in the front line delivering a service to customers you are in a sales and marketing position regardless of what you do? (I heard the other day in response to this – “I’m just a plumber, it’s not my job to seek business for my employer”. That is Stinking Thinking or having a ME STINK! Mindset. Try to reframe your Mindset to one of running your own profitable business within the business. Unless the business or organisation is productive and profitable, you will soon be out of a job or your business will go broke).
- Seek to be ambassadors for your business or organisation? (Think about the way you talk about your employer, the way you dress, the language you use and the ideas you express)
Stop and take a moment to think. Is this a lot of croc or what? Who actually benefits when you have a Me Inc! or Think Inc! mindset?
- You benefit – you are excited at being engaged in meaningful work and feel fulfilled, satisfied and are more productive and able to achieve results. You are making a difference!
- The team and your co-workers benefit by being more productive, engaged, considerate and cohesive. The team is making a difference!
- Your family benefits. You don’t come home each night and kick the dog as you walk through the door. The positive ripple effect of you being happy at work and on-purose is enormous.
- The business owner, manager or CEO benefits. Financially the business is growing and being more productive and purposeful. With the business being more profitable, you, by default have greater job security. Business owners are encouraged to see staff growing, uniting and excelling. They become more confident with the success of business and can plan for future growth.
- If you have suppliers then they will benefit also. Makes sense doesn’t it? They are guaranteed continuity of their product or service.
- And of course Shareholders will benefit through great profitability, performance and productivity
So being a TOP Performer with a ME INC! mindset is transformational.
In my next blog I’ll explain how develop this in the workplace.
Bye for now and be sure to ‘watch’ and observe your thinking and decision making over the coming week.
Dr Edward Gifford
CEO (Chief Enthusiasm Office) On-Purpose Partners
0416 260 448
edward@on-purposepartners.com
PS If you are seeking to engage, motivate and change the mindset within your team, business or organisation, please give me a call to find out about our One Day Workshop.