Being Resourceful: How to Make More Out of What You Have!

I don’t remember much of what I learned during my MBA seeing as how it was more than 15 years since I graduated. But one thing that I do remember is some advice that one of my classes received from our professor at the time and my current mentor and Prime Your Pump co-conspirator Howie Gitlow.

During one class period he made all of us raise our hand and repeat the following:

“I will never suggest as vehicles for improvement to hire more people or to call IT (information technology) – any idiot can do that!”

In other words, what he was saying was that by suggesting such obvious solutions was not being resourceful!

While Howie and the rest of us could accuse many people of not being resourceful, one person we cannot accuse of being resourceful is Daniel Norris.

More on him in a bit.

This is How Many of Us View Resources…

In his fascinating book, Stretch: Unlock the Power of Less and Achieve More Than You Ever Imagined, author Scott Sonenshein discusses the problematic view many of us have toward resources by saying:

“We routinely overestimate the importance of acquiring resources but even more significantly underestimate our ability to make more out of those we have.” ¹

In short, instead of being resourceful and doing the best with what we have we are often times more focused on getting more resources.

Chasers Versus Stretchers

Before we discuss some exercises for being resourceful, we must first discuss the mindset needed and we must distinguish between chasing and stretching.

“Chasing, and those who frequently rely on it, chasers, orient themselves around acquiring resources, overlooking how to expand what’s already in hand.” ¹

Instead of doing what everyone else does, i.e. trying to get more resources via chasing, Sonenshein instead encourages us to embrace ‘stretching’.

“Stretching is a learned set of attitudes and skills that comes from a simple but powerful shift from wanting more resources to embracing and acting on the possibilities of our resources already in hand.” ¹

While chasing may provide some rewards in the short-term, it makes people less satisfied and successful in the longer-term. Those who chase blame bumps in the road on what they lack instead of being resourceful with what’s around them. They spend their energy trying to get more and end up squandering what they have while becoming complacent.

Developing a Stretching Mindset

Sonenshein suggests a few characteristics that distinguish a stretching mindset for being resourceful from a chasing mindset:

(I.)  Psychological ownership: Having a belief that we control our resources which enables us to utilize them in expansive and inventive ways.

(II.)  Embrace constraints: When we chase, we try to overcome constraints by accumulating more resources. However, when we stretch, we see constraints to help us spark creativity to come up with new uses for what we already have.

(III.)  Leverage Frugality: Frugal people are good at emphasizing long-term objectives instead of short-term rewards. They reuse what they already have rather than buying more. Finally, they are free from conventions meaning they are less prone to social comparisons than those who chase.

(IV.)  Appreciate Resources Others Overlook: As Sonenshein says ‘Stretchers find beauty and richness in places where others struggle to see anything of value. Too often, we understand, interact with and use things at face value, locking ourselves into conventions that limit possibilities.” ¹

A Dozen Exercises for Being Resourceful

Now that we have a pretty good understanding of why being resourceful is important and some characteristics of a stretching mindset let’s now look at some ways Sonenshein suggests for being resourceful.

(1)  Just Say No

Instead of asking for more resources, take the opposite approach and just say “no” to more resources. And while you are at it, take it one step further and ask for less resources. The idea is to use less resources by asking “if I didn’t have this resource, how could I…”

(2)  Find a Sleeping Beauty

A sleeping beauty is a resource that Sonenshein says is lying dormant. He suggests finding your sleeping beauties by asking: “What personal resources (skills, knowledge, connections, and so on) and organizational resources (products, routines, equipment, and so on) have been shelved for years. Better yet, have outsiders ask the same questions about your situation. Then make a list of potential ways the dormant resources can help advance an objective, followed by at least one action you can take immediately to revive it.” ¹

(3)  Go Explore

Switch things up in your life by changing where you spend your time. Some examples include reading different things, going to conferences or meeting outside your industry, or speak to new people – just to name a few.

(4)  Take a Break (and Pay Less Attention)

Rotate between focused work and mindless work to give your brain a break. This lets your mind wander and possibly come up with new connections between your existing resources.

(5)  Pick New Neighbors

This idea simply suggests spending time with new and different people. That could mean different colleagues, parents of your kids, people at your gym, someone at your favorite café etc.

(6)  Appreciate

This is one we have discussed in previous blog posts and it is all about showing gratitude for what you already have. Every day either think about or write down 5 things you are grateful for. By being grateful we are more appreciative for what we already have, both big and small.

(7)  Shop Your Closet

This can mean looking around the house for things that could be put to better use – perhaps using old newspapers to clean windows instead of wasting paper towels. At the office, it could be underutilized talents of co-workers.

(8)  Plan Backward

Instead of creating a plan for doing something, instead just do it. Take a trip, work towards a goal, or simply leaving the house and then keep a journal of what you do but only after you did it.  Then go back and compare it with what you would have done with a forward-looking plan. Did you act faster? What new stuff did you learn? Did you gain anything by not planning?

(9)  Scramble the Back Row

Change things up by putting people on different teams, conduct meetings from different rooms or different days or with different seating arrangements. Talk to people in person rather than email or text. Take new routes to work. Come earlier and leave earlier or come later and stay later at work.

(10)  Make Midyear Resolutions

Instead of waiting until the New Year to make resolutions, take stock on you did on New Year’s resolutions and then make new goals from a clearer headspace.

(11)  Break it Down

Most inventors figure out obscure features or functions by breaking down resources into its component building blocks. Sonenshein suggests 2 questions we can use to break down any resource: “(1) Can it be broken down further and (2) Does the description of the broken-down part imply a use. The trick is to break down the resources into its smallest components, something that allows us to understand lots of hidden uses.” ¹

(12)  Turn Trash into Treasure

For turning treasure into trash, the suggestion is to keep a list of activities, key events or experiences and then beside each item, come up with at least one benefit. Some examples may be starting to live healthier based on a medical checkup or learning something new from an entertaining and actionable blog post. By uncovering a hidden benefit in something we can turn it into a treasure.

Who is Daniel Norris?

Back in the introduction, we said that Howie and many of us could accuse many people of not being resourceful, but it would be hard to accuse Daniel Norris of not being resourceful.

Daniel Norris, also is affectionately known by many as the Van Man, lives in a beat-up 1978 Volkswagen Westfalia microbus camper. If his engine fails, he tries to use duct tape to repair it rather than that hassle and cost of taking it to a mechanic. To prepare his fresh and healthy meals he uses a portable stove.

Back in 2015, he spent part of the spring behind a Wal-Mart in Dunedin, Florida which was convenient in case he needed anything. He has one pair of jeans, a sleeping bag and some journals which he writes in at night when he’s not reading. Despite this unconventional living arrangement, he likes it as it lets him appreciate what he has without being distracted as others are.

Sometimes people stop by and offer him money or food and he politely refuses.

They are amazed at what they learn after talking to him for a bit.

Daniel Norris aka Van Man is a multimillionaire, he is a major league baseball player.

As he says, “When you live out of a van…you have to appreciate what you have.” ¹

Talk about being resourceful!

Until next time, keep being resourceful and as always…PYMFP!
–Rick

Use It or Lose It

A dozen exercises Sonenshein recommends for being resourceful are:

(1)  Just say no.
(2)  Find a sleeping beauty.
(3)  Go explore.
(4)  Take a break (and pay less attention).
(5)  Pick new neighbors.
(6)  Appreciate.
(7)  Shop your closet.
(8)  Plan backward.
(9)  Scramble the back row.
(10)  Make midyear resolutions.
(11)  Break it down.
(12)  Turn trash into treasure.

When to Use It?

When you need to be more resourceful at work or in your personal life.

What Do You Think?

Are you a resourceful person? Do you have any good stories about how you or someone you knew was resourceful? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

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References

1  Stretch: Unlock the Power of Less and Achieve More Than You Ever Imagined by Scott Sonenshein