Resourcefulness: The Ability to Find A Way

Knowledge they say is power, while experience is a good teacher. I recently learned a lot more about resourcefulness and 'll like to share my experience with ya'all.

Being Resourceful is the ability to think creatively, to generate ideas, and to identify alternatives. Resourcefulness is imagination, the ability to visualize how something could be achieved when there is nothing there but the vision.

To be resourceful takes self-discipline and an iron will. First, self-discipline enables the belief that there is a way to achieve the outcome. Second, it takes an iron will to ignore the naysayers, the devil’s advocates, and those who simply lack resourcefulness themselves and so have no interest in your success.

It also follows these attributes, Optimism, Competitiveness and initiative. It builds upon these attributes which reinforce each other. You need to be resourceful to take the initiative, and taking the initiative is in itself a form of resourcefulness.

Ask yourself these questions:

Is there another way to get what I want?
Is the desired result really the best result?
Who else has information that might help me?
What is something very similar to what I need that might also work?
Who is the expert in this area?
What is one more thing I can try?
What would someone I admire do in this same situation?

Don’t reinvent the wheel
Look for a solution that someone else has already created. It might be a book, a software program, or someone’s existing checklists or procedures. You can learn almost anything from a book. If there is something I need my computer to do, I immediately think that someone else may have already written a software to address it. Even if you want to re reinvent the wheel.

Leverage your network
Build and maintain a network of people you can call on for questions and support, and make sure you make yourself available to these same people when they need help from you. New networking choices like LinkedIn can be invaluable for finding more avenues and options. People from various backgrounds, fields, industries, and even age groups can provide tremendous objective insights.

Learn everything you can about how to find information
This is very important and with the aid of several search engines, this can be achieved with ease and it’s also important to know how to obtain information by narrowing down your searches.

Teach resourceful habits to your family and your team at work
If your children want to know some information, teach them how to look it up themselves, and show them reference books other than just the dictionary. When your team members come to a meeting with a problem, make it part of your company culture that they are expected to also show up with a proposed answer to that problem. Make sure that initiative is encouraged.

Resourcefulness = Necessity + Creativity + Persistence
If you’ve ever written information on a piece of paper or sold of something you really like but know that you don’t need, you can consider yourself resourceful already! We are all capable of exhibiting great creativity and persistence when something is important, so make it a point to expand and practice these skills.

The Importance of Resourcefulness

With the recession forcing us to make do with what we have, being resourceful is now a necessary skill for today's generation of leaders. It is not simply a matter of doing more with less. Rather, what's important is the realization that you can do more with less because you and your colleagues are more capable than you first believed.

Resourcefulness is not a means of coping with deprivation; it can be a virtue that opens the door to greater accomplishment. Based on my observations of what resourceful leaders do, here are some suggestions for being resourceful.

You must first start with an open mind. "Redefine the possible - Being open minded about new possibilities is critical to putting resourcefulness into action. The leader who steps up and says "yes we can do this" is one who can push colleagues to do things that some might consider impractical.

Turn innovation inward. Resourcefulness is about optimizing what you have to work with. Innovation is not just about creating something new; it also applies to making old things work better. For example, an experienced mechanic can do wonders in car repair with a combination of after-market parts and his own resourcefulness. We see this same spirit in maintenance of large facilities —  be it buildings or other specialized facilities. Those who service them may not always follow a manual; they diagnose problems and figure out what tools and materials there are at hand to fix them. Call it resourceful innovation.

Choose specifics. If you're thinking of the bigger picture in the short term, it may be tempting to consider ways to re-invent how to do things better. Adopting a realistic attitude about what you can do in the short term might be more productive. That is, think revising specific tasks as well as specific roles and responsibilities, bearing in mind simplicity and cost reduction.

Resourcefulness, while critical now, should not be reserved just for hard times. When prosperity returns, relying on one's ability to do more with existing resources and lead people to do the same will be a virtuous behavior.

Utilize your inner and outer resources, works wonders i believe.

Remember that 'The human mind is our fundamental resource'.
- John F. Kennedy

Ve a great weekend  peeps!