Do you remember Robinson Crusoe? In the book by Daniel Defoe, the character is cast away on a deserted island with little more than the rags on his back. He is forced to become a jack-of-all-trades. Making his own tools, he hunts, fishes, plants crops, builds a house, and does everything that is needed to survive and, indeed, to prosper.
We can admire Robinson Crusoe as an exceptionally resourceful and inventive individual; much like we marvel at the characters on the TV shows “Lost” and “Survivor.”
Resourcefulness — using your brain to think outside the box and get the information you need or the project accomplished — is one of the traits that I really admire in people.
Webster’s defines resourceful as “ … able to deal promptly and effectively with problems, difficulties, etc.” Another definition I found is “able to use the means at one’s disposal to meet situations effectively.”
Resourcefulness is a real asset for anyone trying to get the edge over the competition, whether it’s finding a job, keeping a job, making customers happy, or landing a new account.
Finders Keepers
In sales a common problem is getting to know who the decision maker is and then making contact with that person. Do you know anyone who knows that person? How can you get close to the people who know and influence that person?
In doing research for a speech recently, I was talking to a sales person who said he found out who the decision maker was and waited in the lobby and followed him into the restroom. While they were washing their hands, he introduced himself and gave Mr. Decision Maker a quick commercial on their firm. He got the business. The new customer was intrigued by the determination the sales person demonstrated.
Joe Arpaio, the controversial sheriff of Arizona’s Maricopa County, used resourcefulness when he learned male jail inmates were selling the boxer shorts they were issued. The annual rip-off clipped taxpayers for $48,000. Sheriff Joe’s solution—dye the shorts a color no self-respecting thug would wear, let alone peddle. The color? Pink!
On The Ball
You have to be thinking all the time. How can I maximize what I want to do? How can I get things done? How can I get the information I need? Be resourceful.
Perhaps the best feature of resourcefulness is that it doesn’t have to cost your company any money. Using the brainpower already on the payroll is a great place to start. A company offered a reward of half of whatever savings a viable, creative cost-cutting measure would yield. Did they get any suggestions? You better believe it. And nearly all of them were fairly simple to implement. These folks had been hatching ideas for a long time, but the “We’ve always done it this way” mentality kept them quiet.
Kids are super resourceful and quite often it’s to try and put one over on their parents. One night a girl got home quite late, after her midnight curfew. The next morning at breakfast her mother said, “Didn’t I hear the clock strike two as you came in last night?”
“Yes, mother,” the daughter replied. “The clock started to strike 12, but I stopped it as soon as I could to keep it from waking you.”
Parents can return the favor though. A young mother was worried about her nine-year-old son. No matter how much she scolded him, he kept running around with his shirttail out. Her neighbor had four boys and each of them always wore his shirt neatly tucked in. Finally in desperation the young mother asked her neighbor to tell her the secret.
“Oh, it’s all very simple,” she said. “I just take all their shirts and sew an edging of lace on the bottom.”
Mackay’s Moral: One of the greatest natural resources is the human brain.
Harvey Mackay is president of Mackay Envelope Corp. and a nationally syndicated columnist.
