Why Mindset Matters
The Mindset of your people is the defining factor of whether you are changing the world, or just getting by. It doesn’t feel like it, but that’s because the mindset is a reflection of the leader. It informs how your teams address everything they do.
Carol Dweck has popularized mindset as a transformative tactic for shifting how business is done. She compellingly argues the benefits of having a growth mindset as opposed to a fixed, and tracks the difference in outcomes, especially with students.
But, this isn’t just about learning. Henry Ford famously said, “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.”, and this is a reflection of outcome that is determined by mindset.
We have all seen ‘no’ mindsets where people are hard-wired to list the reasons why things cannot be done, and generally, under those circumstances, things don’t get done.
How your teams think about work, the trajectory of the business, what you value and don’t, and many other factors, together inform the mindset of your business.
As a leader, one of the greatest levers that you have is to nurture the mindset that will deliver the business outcomes that you are targeting. This is the secret of all the great business leaders over time.
Regardless of where you are today, you can build a broad consensus about work that together will shift the mindset of your people.
Through our mindset framework, we can assess the current state and align your organization’s ways of looking at the world that will drive greater productivity and connection to great results.
One of the most famous ads of all time was simply a discussion of mindset. It was Apple’s famous ‘here’s to the crazy ones’ ad that ran in 1997, created by Chiat Day- yes, it was marketing, but mostly, it was a call to all of those out there who shared a certain world view and mindset. It also propelled Apple from the brink of bankruptcy by shifting mindset.
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”