A Scarcity Mentality. A Driver of Failure In Business and In Life.

The competition you should be concerned about is not who you think

In his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Stephen R. Covey wrote of a concept he coined as an Abundance Mentality. He described an Abundance Mentality as a notion in which a person believes there are plenty of resources and successes to go around and to be had by everyone.

He compares the Abundance Mentality to a Scarcity Mentality, which is a way of thinking and believing that views the fruits of life as limited. As though there is only one pie and if someone gets a bigger piece of the pie there would be less for everyone else. He depicts those with a Scarcity Mentality as having a zero-sum paradigm of life.

In contrast, individuals possessing an Abundance Mentality reject the notion of a zero-sum game and are willing and able to genuinely celebrate the successes of others rather than feel threatened by it.

The Destruction of Others

People who possess a Scarcity Mentality are not only jealous of those who gain or achieve more than they do (success, personal belongings, wealth, education, etc.), but they also struggle to share recognition and credit, power or profit, or genuine happiness for others who are able to achieve even the slightest amount of success.

Those possessing a Scarcity Mentality are insincere with their gestures of appreciation. They see another’s achievement as somehow taking away from their ability to gain something for themselves. They surround themselves with like-minded people. People who will not challenge their approach toward business and leading.

False Sense of Self Worth

People who possess a Scarcity mentality have a false sense of self-worth. They find it necessary to compare themselves to others, what others have accomplished or acquired, and use that comparison as a scorecard for their own successes or failures.

In their mind someone else’ success, to some degree, means that they are a failure. To offset the feeling of failure in their own life they feel it necessary to pull others down and attack them in any way they can. Sometimes these attacks are public, sometimes they are private, sometimes they are in the open, and sometimes they are behind their back.

We see these behaviors in business leaders every day. They believe that there is a limited number of customers, market share, recognition, revenue, etc. to go around. They believe that they must win at any cost. This may come in the form of negative ad campaigns, talking negatively about their "competition" to customers, making false accusations, and generally taking shots at the character of those who they view as a threat.

A More Productive Emotional State

When we recognize the destructive Scarcity Mentality behaviors in those we lead or have professional relations, we owe it to our business, family, friends, and professional organizations to work toward eradication of such behavior. Left unchecked, such behaviors can destroy a person, a business, and bring down an industry.

The Benefit of Abundance

By helping those who possess a Scarcity Mentality to see the value of possessing an Abundance Mentality we set the stage for a mutually beneficial family, business, or industry culture to be developed. This type of culture understands the value in everyone winning and works toward that result.

In this type of culture people understand that there is enough to go around, and that life is not measured by what you possess, but by what you achieve for the greater good. This culture knows that not everyone can have the same thing, nor does everyone want the same thing. However, such a culture embraces a shared goal of mutual gain and values who we are as people and organizations more than what is possessed or status.

No Room for Scarcity

As business leaders we owe it to ourselves, those we lead, our communities, and our industries to make tough decisions about our ongoing relationship with Scarcity Mentality thinkers. For they will suck the life out of our people, organizations, and industries like a vampire hell bent on sucking us dry of every drop of life-giving blood. Then, we will be left with a shell of what was and a sorry realization that we weren’t strong enough to embrace what could have been.

Randy Stepp is a principal with Renaissance Leadership Group. RLG is a full-service business development company driven by Purpose, Passion, and Strategy and the goal of helping entrepreneurs realize their vision for their business.

Visit Renaissance Leadership Group at www.renaissanceleadershipgroup.com to learn more.