The Power of Plenty: Abundance in Love and Business

There are moments in life when you realize that concepts that once suited you no longer do—and with this insight, deeply held beliefs are called into question.

For me, the idea of maintaining a traditional monogamous relationship is one such concept. Currently, I neither have the time nor the energy for this type of relationship, as other areas of my life take priority.

When a partner—or in my case, a lover—is no longer exclusively yours but instead connected with others, it raises inevitable questions for most people, certainly for me: Am I interesting enough, attractive enough, fun enough to compete with others? Am I getting my fair share?

After reading several books on polyamory, I would categorize these as scarcity questions. They carry the belief that there isn’t enough to go around—not enough love to share, not enough intimacy to distribute. This mindset suggests that we must compete for both.

My thesis to finally draw the connection to the business: We operate our economic system with the same belief (“there isn’t enough!”), thereby creating the problems we fear—and in the end, there really isn’t enough for everyone…

We battle for market share, speak of disruption, and view markets as “winner-takes-all.” We’ve become familiar with mantras like “Move Fast and Break Things,” as if everything is a competitive arena where the goal is to claim the largest piece of the pie.

What if we put this mindset aside and instead assume that there is enough of everything? What if we embrace an abundance mindset and view the world through that lens?

I believe that with this shift, we would perceive the world in more nuanced ways. We’d see that resources have multiple dimensions and aren’t confined to a single point of contention. We’d recognize that what is valuable to one party may not be to another, allowing us to identify opportunities for win-win situations. Rather than focusing on dividing the pie, we’d explore ways to expand it for everyone.

And that brings us to genuine strategic work. Because if we remember that a business exists to create a unique value for the world, then strategy work is ultimately about smartly deploying multifaceted resources to create that unique value.

It’s not about claiming resources needed elsewhere to create that value. Nor is it about creating something with valuable resources that ultimately brings no value or a value that many other companies already provide. This mindset, or this lack of strategic action, has led us to where we are: in a world where there isn’t enough for everyone, and valuable resources are missing.

Ultimately, an abundance mindset must align with strategic thinking. We must be able to comprehend the world’s complexity and multifaceted nature while also taking thoughtful action within it. Only then, I predict, will we open new avenues of solutions where we no longer need to fight relentlessly but instead can enjoy a new flow for ourselves and others—aware that there is enough for everyone.