Put Your Mindset To Work

 

The One Asset You Really Need to Win and Keep the Job You Love

James Reed & Paul G. Stoltz

 

What did I like about this book?  It reinforced my belief that a good attitude is key.

What was useful?  It goes into some depth about how to identify the traits of and how to improve upon the behaviours necessary for a good mindset.

 

So many of the client group I am working with now let themselves down time and time again by expecting quick wins and not digging in for a longer term – I mean weeks and months here – not years, but their expectation of days is not realistic.  I find it hard to understand because many are economic migrants who have travelled thousands of miles for a new life so they are not without courage.  Many have worked extremely hard in poorly paid jobs on farms or in factories so they are not lazy.  Failure can not all be laid at the feet of alcohol or drugs.

 

The good things they could take away

It’s not all about specific skills and qualifications.  Certain people can succeed in life without these.  Skills can be taught.

Potentially they have the mindset to overcome the tough stuff that others can’t.

Mindset is defined as ‘a habitual way of thinking’ and it influences everything you see as well as everything you do.  We live in a world now where we need to think globally.

Their research shows that Employers’ top 20 Mindset Qualities are:

  1. Honesty
  2. Trustworthiness
  3. Commitment
  4. Adaptability
  5. Accountability
  6. Flexibility
  7. Determination
  8. Loyalty
  9. Relationship building
  10. Contribution
  11. Sincerity
  12. Balance
  13. Fairness
  14. Morality
  15. Drive
  16. Collaborative Focus
  17. Energy
  18. Purposefulness
  19. Openness
  20. Innovativeness

The book talks about the 3G Mindset which has 3 categories  – Global, Good and Grit.

Global ‘is about openness to new experiences and new ideas as well as the ability to make new connections and to create new combinations.  Global means – regardless of age, job level or position – that you must demonstrate unprecedented cultural agility and alacrity in order to remain viable and marketable, starting now’.

Good ‘is about seeing and approaching the world in a way that truly benefits those around you … good determines how positive (or negative) your contribution to your job, your life and the world ends up being’.

Grit is ‘the fuel cell of the 3G mindset …. Individuals with grit demonstrate  ..tenacity, resilience and relentlessness…. The quality that enables us to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and carry on, stronger for the experience’.

 

Mindset will set you apart and it endures.

 

There is a long section in the book about how you can score yourself against these qualities and work out in which areas you want to improve – the original website is now defunct, but there are a lot of summaries on the internet.

We can improve because all people have components in their brains which allow them to develop their thinking and understanding, but we have to want to and be prepared to practice.

A couple of examples the book gives of questions you can ask yourself:

On a scale of 1-10, how often do you ask questions of people beyond your immediate reality to generate new ideas?

Even if it can’t be done, if it could, how would we do it?

 

There is also a section in the book about writing a 3G CV but I think it would be a bit weird for most employers.

I need to think how we can disseminate and make an everyday reality of the valuable core messages in the book to our client group.