Overcoming Greed - Removing The Silent Killer Amongst Us

Introduction:

What comes to your mind the moment you hear the word greed? 

Did money pop up into your mind? Most of the time people associate greed with money, we will talk about that in a second, however, the point of this article is to explore a few other ways that greed shows up in our lives.

But before we go into that, let’s share a story about Tom and Jerry.

Tom is an employer and Jerry works for Tom in sales.

Jerry is having some issues lately. He’s not performing the way he is truly supposed to. Tom is not so happy with Jerry’s performance levels.

“Jerry if you do not meet your sales quota for the next quarter, we will have to let you go.”

Jerry is bewildered and stressed, what is he meant to do?

You see, it’s not as if Jerry is lazy or anything, but he simply cannot reach his quota because of several issues.

Jerry came across some objections from his clients and didn’t know how to answer them. He emailed, called, and tried several times to reach out to Tom, his boss, to clarify some key issues with their product. However, for the most part, those emails and calls went unanswered and whenever Jerry would try knocking on Tom’s door he would either be bothering Tom in the middle of something or get brushed away. On the odd occasion when Jerry would actually catch Tom in a “better time”, Tom was distracted by his phone and not paying full attention to Jerry. 

Who relates to something similar in their past or current work history? How often do we come by similar scenarios?

Let’s break this down…

Money

Jerry may have needed more training or perhaps some kind of extra support. Instead, Tom was too focused on the money - was Jerry bringing in the money (sales) or not? Nothing else seemed to have mattered to Tom.

It’s possible that Tom was going through his own issues and other things were pressing on him at the time, but if Tom would only take a few moments of his time, be fully present for Jerry (which we will unpack very shortly), Tom would possibly open himself (and Jerry) up to the possibility of making more money. 

The idea here is that if Tom would have an abundant mindset when it comes to money, he wouldn’t be too focused on making money, Tom knows that by providing the necessary support and resources to his sales team, the money will automatically follow. There will be no need to worry about it too much.

Time

In our story, it was clear that Jerry was more than willing to make the sales necessary. He was doing everything in his power. However, as with every sale, the salesperson will always face some form of objection. Jerry was trying to get something cleared up with Tom so that he could go back to the customer and solve the issue by giving better explanations. Tom didn’t seem to give Jerry the sense that he had time for him. Tom seemed to be pressured and Jerry got the feeling that it was never the right time to “bother” Tom.

If Tom would actually make the time, Jerry would be able to get his problem solved and would be able to better serve his customers. Guess what, when customers are better served, that typically would land in a sale! 

The one with the abundance mindset will have time for everyone. They believe that everyone is special and that everyone has a time and place for them to shine. The abundance mindset person gives freely of their time and they make it a priority to show everyone that they matter. Rather than giving the team member the feeling that they “just need to figure it out on their own”.  

Presence

It could be that Tom is under an immense amount of pressure and quite possibly doesn’t have so much time to spend with each salesperson one-on-one. However, if Tom would take a few moments to make the limited amount of time that he has count, get off the phone, get focused, and give attention to the person in front of him, he will not only solve the issue that is holding back the sale but will also make his salespeople feel like they matter and that he is equally invested in their success. Tom is proving that he’s not all in it just for the money, but that he actually cares about the long-term and long-lasting success of his overall business, including the people it serves. 

You see, by not giving the right amount of time and energy to his sales team, Tom isn’t only showing a lack of empathy to his team, but also showing a lack of concern for the customer. Jerry was having an issue with an objection that the client had and needed the resource of time from Tom, his boss. These few moments might have made the difference in Jerry meeting his quotas, and perhaps over the entire business as a whole. Tom's lack of abundant thinking in regard to his limited time, limited his and Jerry’s success. 

If Tom would take the time to clearly address each of these issues - Tom, Jerry, and the client could all end up as winners. 

When we are fully present in the moment and we are present for the other person, truly caring, truly listening, and making sure to give succinct, straight-to-the-point value, that is when people feel an abundance of impact and that is when they feel that you are generous not only with your time but also with who you are. 

When a person is not really there, you can right away feel that it’s a waste of time and you have no good reason to reach back out to that person. 

Conclusion

Did Jerry make his quotas? Or did he lose his job? What about his boss, Tom?

What good is a story that doesn’t have a positive ending? 

Don’t worry, we won’t leave you hanging.

Tom came to realize how dysfunctional his approach was. The moment he was made aware of the situation and what was causing his sales teams to not meet their quotas, he committed to changing the way things were running in the organization.

The very first step that Tom took was a significant mindset shift - company-wide. They started adopting an abundant mindset rather than engaging in a scarcity mindset.

This is what Tom and the rest of his company came to realize. 

Greed is not always money related, although it has some connection. The truth is that greed is really a mindset, it’s the mindset that puts the difference between how much of a scarcity mindset or how much of an abundance mindset a person has.

Tom realized that having more of a scarcity mindset can be perceived as “greedy”, meaning that a person who believes there is only a finite amount of money in the world and that there isn’t enough to go around for all of us, can potentially be considered greedy when it comes to money. 

A person that has a scarcity mindset around time believes that their “time is money” and that they are unable to give it to people freely. Which may potentially be considered greedy with their time. 

A person that has a scarcity mindset around their energy and presence, may make people around them feel that the clock is ticking and they don’t really matter that much.

It is true that we all have busy lives, but when we give time to others, it’s about them and all about them. Otherwise, that person that isn’t fully present may be considered greedy with their energy or presence. 

When Tom shifted his mindset to the abundant mindset, he came to realize that money is only a tool and an outcome of doing business well. Time that is used wisely and when given to people in the sense that they have all the time in the world will ultimately yield better results in production. By being fully present and making the most amount of impact during the valuable time provided, we get people that feel autonomous in their work as well as the sense of being valued, appreciated, and well-supported.

Tom’s company took a massive shift for the better and sales were rocketing out of the roof. All because he started adopting the abundance mindset and was generous with every area of his leadership.

Imagine a work environment that works under this type of mindset - do you not think that people would be happier at work?
 

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do you relate to Tom? Do you relate to Jerry? Did you ever experience a similar scenario? How did it play out? How would you, ideally, have liked to see it play out?   

Would love to hear your input. 

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Are you a business owner or do you work with executives?

Please reach out to learn more about our partnerships around The Work of Happiness workshop. A 3-Hour intensive, value-packed workshop that helps increase happiness levels in the work environment. Please feel welcome to check out this link. We also provide group workshops in your work environment, just reach out to learn more.  

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yermi Kurkus - is the co-founder of the Yermi Kurkus Consulting Group. With a family background in Entrepreneurship, a heart for community and philanthropy, and his love for psychology, Yermi dedicated his life to helping businesses thrive. Earned an MA in Organizational and Industrial Psychology and is in the process of attaining his Doctorate in that same field. Today, Yermi creatively partners with businesses to help them increase their value, productivity, and profit by focusing on their operations and talent. The results of this help facilitate the buying or selling of businesses as well as assist in the overall well-being of the workplace and workforce.

To learn more about Yermi Kurkus feel free to follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube. Or you can book your first 30-minute FREE consultation here.