What is the Key to Our Success? It’s Mindset.

I often reflect on what's working for our team and what's not. I was recently reflecting on our team's success, and I realized each person shares a similar quality. They all have an abundance mindset. Conversely, I also realized that team members and clients who didn't have this mindset are no longer a part of our organization. This sorting out happened naturally over time.  
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What is an abundance mindset? An abundance mindset is optimistic and sees infinite potential. It's a perspective rooted in positivity and the belief that there's plenty for all of us. As a business, we don't need another business to fail for us to grow. There isn't a finite amount of success or opportunity that we need to fight over. As an individual, I don't need someone else to have less for me to have more. This fundamental point of view affects everything we do. People with abundance mindsets offer their talents and time openly and with enthusiasm. It generates more creativity because ideas aren't penned in by transactional thinking: “I'll give you this in exchange for that.”
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The juxtaposition of the abundance mindset is a scarcity mindset. In contrast, scarcity mindsets have come and gone from our team – as team members and customers. It has happened naturally because these ways of being don't mix well. A scarcity mindset is protectionist. They guard what is theirs, whether that be their knowledge or time. It’s fear-based. It is rooted in the belief that there is only a finite amount of opportunity and success in the world, and we must hold on to it for dear life. The most damaging form of this mindset can manifest as the need to take from others in order to gain.  
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I had a conversation with a colleague about our customer service philosophy and these mindsets came into play. For our IT Services Management offering, we offer a comprehensive solution to best manage a company's IT environment. They asked, "But how to you manage scope and make sure you have guardrails around what your team is doing each month especially with the number of tickets they answer and issues they're handling is un-capped?" My response was, "We have this approach because everything that's included - even the unlimited number of tickets and issues we handle - is required to make a company's technology run smoothly and make the organization successful. We bet on ourselves to make it successful."
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Having an abundance mindset doesn't mean doing away with scopes of work or clear agreements on commitments. That's critical to forge solid working partnerships that bring success. As an individual, it doesn’t mean always working an 80-hour week and depleting yourself. We all need to take care of ourselves. But clinging too tightly and rigidly to transactions doesn't create vibrant teams or great outcomes.

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I want to work with enthusiastic givers who find joy in sharing success with their teammates. I want to work with clients who trust us to use our talents to generate value for them. I'm thankful to get to work every day with a group of people who are positive and inspiring. They help me be my best and do my best. As we all take a little time to reflect, taking stock of mindset can be a great place to start.