The 3 Dominant Mindsets Among Business Professionals

Since the mid 1980’s, I have worked in marketing and sales at many levels of responsibilities and duties. Today, I am a Board Member of two rapidly-expanding MedTech companies: ROMTech and OsteoGenesys. 

Over the decades since, I have had the opportunity to meet thousands of fellow business professionals, all the way from tattoo shop owners to well-known, corporate giants you see on TV. But regardless of the size of their operations or sales numbers, every business person has a mindset which drives them either towards success, mediocrity, or even failure.

“It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.” - Mark Twain

The 3 Dominant Mindsets Among Business Professionals 

While there could be dozens, if not hundreds of mindset categories put forth, I have classified three which makes for a successful assessment model of who I want to work with, as well as who I will walk away from. 

• The Accountant Mindset
• The Entrepreneur Mindset
• The Merger Mindset 

The Accountant Mindset

From my view, this represents about 80% of the business professionals whom I have personally met.

The distinctive quality of the Accountant Mindset is that they give much more importance to costs over any tangible benefits or prospects of potential growth. Potential growth does not resonate loudly or deeply within their mind or strategies. They view marketing, employee training, and investments back in their growth as an expense. 

They ask questions along the line of, “How much will this cost me?” and most often will use the answer to that question as their sole qualification. They rapidly quip with, “That’s too expensive.” without much regard to the efficacy or ROI of what is being proposed.

They are highly risk-averse. Moreover, they do not effectively plan for the future. 

Of course, no wise and prudent Business Professional wants to waste funds or pay too much for anything - if they can find a better deal. The question at hand is what do they accentuate in their mindset: expenditure or the possibility of growth? 

The Entrepreneur Mindset

Those with the Entrepreneur Mindset are willing to take risks and invest in their future growth. They exude a higher level of personal confidence, and can envision growth in their minds and in their plans. Moreover, they see failure as a lesson to learn from versus something to lament about. They know they can make the money back with hard-won experience and new strategies.

Marketing, training, and hiring top-notch talent are not seen primarily as expenditures, but as necessary pathways to greater heights of influence and prosperity. 

They seek out knowledge, new methodologies of conducting business, and tend to be those who are much more willing to network and seek cooperation from other leaders and experts. They reiterate their plans on a rapid basis - based on what they learn and who they partner with. 

The Merger Mindset

The Merger Mindset is a hybrid of the two other minds mentioned, with one other quality added into the mix. And this quality allows them to rise to the top: Strategic Leadership. 

One with the Merger Mindset can grow many companies into one new, bigger company. They know how to expand a company’s reach, expand into new segments, or gain massive market share above their competitors. Strategic Leadership is not only highly-intelligent and proactive, it possesses these other vital qualities: 

• Thinks Big
• Genuinely Cares
• Ambitious 
• Expresses positiveness with grit and fortitude
• Takes time to study the marketplace, people, trends, finances, etc.
• Adapts rapidly with new technologies and economic landscapes
• Seeks out experts; delegates to those with specific talents & know-how

We see The Merger Mindset in contemporary business leaders such as, Sir Richard Branson, Elon Musk, Gary Vaynerchuk, Grant Cardone, and Mark Cuban. 

While no one can change your mindset for you, I believe that this gives anyone a potential new look at where one is currently at - and where one could be in the future.