We haven’t got the money, so we’ve got to think.
Ernest Rutherford
“My 401K just became a 201K.”
That was one of the bits of gallows humor I saw late last week as the stock market (and every other store of value) took a colossal plunge.
But there’s nothing funny about Trump’s Tariff decree. And as we have already witnessed, this throw-down from the White House bully pulpit will have severe economic consequences across the globe and in every market.
It got me thinking about your mindset.
How will you take on this economic challenge from where you sit?
Will you operate with a “Scarcity Mindset?” Or an “Abundance Mindset?”
A Scarcity Mindset is a way of thinking characterized by a focus on a perceived lack of resources. These resources can be tangible, like money, time, and people. Or intangible, such as opportunities, talent or recognition.
Individuals with a Scarcity Mindset tend to believe that there will never be enough, leading to feelings of anxiety, stress, and competition.
This perspective can significantly impact decisions. Often causing you to miss opportunities or make suboptimal choices due to your focus on what you lack.
An Abundance Mindset is the opposite. It’s the belief that there are ample resources, opportunities, and successes available for everyone. It’s a perspective rooted in optimism and a sense of inner worth and value. And it can lead you to approach situations with a focus on what’s possible rather than what’s not.
Unlimited potential versus severe limitation.
Now, which “operating system” will you choose?
Scarcity may indeed be the reality.
But an Abundance Mindset can truly change how you look at a situation to ultimately change the outcome.
Let’s take a look at some examples.
Scarcity Mindset:
We don’t have what we need.
Abundance Mindset:
What can we do to make what we want happen?
SM:
It’ll never work.
AM:
What can we do to make it work?
SM:
He sucks at project management.
AM:
What’s he good at?
As you can see, for every situation there is a negative view. But there is also a more hopeful one.
Oh, so you’re a Jack Welch type: “Hope is not a strategy.”
Sure, but being hopeful is the first step that can lead to a powerful, wildly effective strategy.
There is no doubt you will be challenged in this new Tariff reality. The question is: How will you approach it? How will you play the cards you are dealt?
I’ll leave you with this gem. When the “Father of Nuclear Physics,” Professor Ernest Rutherford, was forced to rally his troops at the highly resource-challenged University of Manchester, he told them this:
“We haven’t got the money, so we’ve got to think.”
Rob Schwartz is the Chair of the TBWA New York Group and an executive coach who channels his creativity, experience and wisdom into helping others get where they want to be. This was originally posted on his Substack, RobSchwartzHelps, where he covers work, life, and creativity.
Header image by Getty Images for Unsplash+.
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