We often struggle with not giving enough referrals!
We are not doing enough 121s!
We do not have enough time to meet our referral partners!
We have no time to attend Continuing Education Unit or Training Programmes!
These are the common conversation that we have. Whining about not able to do enough, or not having enough. All come from the mindset of scarcity.
Scarcity happens when the resources are limited.
The scarcity mindset is not only the result of not having enough of something, it is also the result of feeling as though one does not have enough of something.
We often complain that we are not able to give enough referrals. Complaining about giving referral is difficult, or it is hard to meet the minimum of giving 1 referral per week. Is that true?
Sometimes, we might say we do not have time to do at least one 121 session per week, or other members do not have time for us. And is that really the truth?
Read more: Never Take It For Granted!
What if we were told we have a target to achieve at least X amount of referrals and X number of 121 sessions by Y date, and we will be rewarded with something or being penalized with something (friendly), will that motivate us to achieve a different outcome? Maybe “yes”, maybe “no”.
But assuming we are committed to achieving the result we want, what will happen if we are short of time to achieve our goals? Usually, things may get fast, or we will be efficient in reaching our goals.
“Meetings are more productive toward the end of the assigned time period. Work is more efficient as a deadline approaches. This increase in productivity comes at a price as we tend to neglect everything that is not in our focused attention. Tunneling is the term suggested to denote the downside of focus, inhibiting our cognitive capacities.” – Peter A. Kindle, University of South Dakota (2015)
Even productivity maybe increase when we are at the end of the assigned period, we may be sloppy and lost focus on avoiding some other imminent harm. This phenomenon is known as tunneling. We tend to lose our ability in taking extra care of other factors that may come in the way. Things are not able to get into the tunnel. For example, we failed to note the sense of joy during the 121 session when we are just trying to get things done, or we may be forgotten about the actual ideal referrals that our referral partners would like to have. All these happen when the tunneling effect kicks in.
Actually, those situations or thoughts can be avoided. The mindset of scarcity can be handled.
It is simple.
We should focus on managing and cultivating the most precious resources. Leaving us with some extra resources, and not fully utilizes every resource that we have. Not to juggle schedule or assignment, if juggling becomes the norm, the efficiency will increase with more slack. The idea here is to do more when we can! When we have extra resources in our reserves, we will be able to make better decisions and perform better with a lesser mistake.
If we know we are able to do 121 after our weekly meeting, DO IT! not 1 day before our weekly meeting, so we have enough time to give the referral that our members want.
If we know we are able to give more referrals that week, DO IT! give all you can, so that you will not be worried about not able to give at least 1 referral per week.
Of course, be prepared when a scarcity mindset strikes us. Sometimes we will act involuntarily to neglect our priorities. Focus on the latent goals instead of the process of fear. Avoid making decisions that will sabotage our effort. Always remind ourselves about the ultimate goal that we want to achieve.
Read more: Trying new thing - set a CLEAR goal
Therefore, knowing that our goal is to have an enjoyable 121 session, do it after our weekly meeting during our breakfast session or lunch session with our referral partner. Be able to spare your precious time to exchange for a fruitful and purposeful 121 session. Knowing that our goal is to give more business to others so that we will receive more businesses in return, do all we can, and not just the minimum. Give what we want.
Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much
By Sendhil Mullainathan & Eldar Shafir
JJ Phang formally served as President (02), Network Education Coordinator (01), Mentor Coordinator (01), Membership Committee (02) and currently as Event Coordinator (04) of BNI Smart Biz, Hall of Fame Chapter.
JJ Phang is also currently the Director Consultant of BNI Extreme Chapter, Melaka Region.
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