Why are we leaving resourcefulness to chance if there are ways to tap into it? Learn what resourcefulness is all about and how to develop it.
Resourcefulness is a highly-valued skill. It's becoming even more esteemed as the economy is starting to shrink. The budgets we used to have are cut left and right, and the only way out is to rely on working smarter, therefore, switch our resourceful selves on. Keep reading to learn more about resourcefulness in this short post, or download our ebook that explores this topic in detail.
By definition, resourcefulness is the ability to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties. Meaning, you are using what you have — rather than what you’d like to have — to succeed and scale. Almost like working smarter, not harder.
Part-mindset, part-strategy, resourcefulness helps ambitious leaders to innovate, surface efficiencies, and unlock previously untapped solutions.
But it isn’t the last-ditch recourse of cash-challenged companies. It is a proactive strategy to optimize resource levels and maximise ROI, so your organisation is set to scale.
Businesses - from savvy startups to global enterprises - leverage resourcefulness to:
It is an approach that challenges the old model of business growth that conflates staff numbers with success. Resourcefulness champions scaling over growth - and agility over administration - to build the leanest path to profit.
Consider this example of resourcefulness to get a better understanding of what it means:
Tony Robbins, a world-recognized speaker and coach, once said:
“It’s not the lack of resources, it’s your lack of resourcefulness that causes failure!”
And this applies to many situations at work and in personal life.
When you're resourceful, you know how to turn an old boot into a new pair of shoes.
Being resourceful is about being able to see potential in things that others might consider useless — it's about finding opportunity in a situation where there doesn't seem to be any.
In the end, it is not about how much money you spend on a project or how good it looks; it's about having good ideas that can be implemented quickly at a low cost and have a significant impact. Resourcefulness is an attitude, a way of approaching.
To be resourceful means:
Being resourceful is a great skill one can develop, and it applies both to individual and company settings. As you become more resourceful, not only do you get more done, but you're also perceived as an innovator. Resourcefulness makes you more visible and competitive.
While being resourceful is inherently risky as it involves breaking the rules and taking chances, the risk is worth it at the end of the day. Resourceful leaders (and organizations) always come out as stronger. After all, working harder is so last century. Proving you can work smarter and be more nimble is the future.
We’re all familiar with the expression “the rich get richer.”
We also know that resources can make the difference between success and failure.
But it’s not just resources that can make your projects fly, it’s also “entrepreneurial bricolage”.
In a study called “Creating Something from Nothing”, researchers from Johnson Cornell University examined 29 resource-constrained companies, where entrepreneurs managed to create and provide unique services by recombining already existing resources. Using their findings, the researchers coined the term “entrepreneurial bricolage”, which stands for a unique and, at this point, extremely valuable approach to resource environments.
In simple terms, the study concludes that it’s not always about the resources you have — it’s about the way you use them. Being resourceful is, therefore, a matter of being smarter than the rest of the market when it comes to resource management.
So what are those unique selling points of resourcefulness after all?
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But the thing is that resourcefulness shouldn’t just be reactive in response to resource constraints, it should be a proactive baked-in strategy to free up resources and revenue for growth, cultivate a culture of innovation and efficiency, and maintain a lean and responsive organization.
If you’re an ambitious business that’s looking to achieve a lot with only a little resource, it can be tempting to think well-resourced competitors are better off.
They have bigger teams and healthier budgets, which must make it easier to win custom and deliver great work - right?
But just because an organisation is well-resourced, doesn’t mean it is more competitive.
In fact, being well-resourced can be detrimental to company culture and undermine efficiency. Having plenty of resources means there’s less incentive to reduce waste and implement an efficiency agenda.
And efficiency is the name of the game if you want to maximize performance, productivity, and profit.
There's a common myth that organizations need more resources to succeed. Naturally, it exists because we think of growth in linear terms: if a company adds new resources (capital, people, or technology), the revenue increase will follow.
While it may sound true, in practice headcount growth doesn't equal success. Revenue can multiply without a substantial increase in human resources.
When people think about scaling and growing their organization, they often assume that the two are the same thing. But they're not.
Ask yourself this question: Is your organization becoming bigger or better?
At Runn, we’re obsessed with helping professional service firms and project-based businesses to thrive.
Unlike manufacturers, the knowledge economy can’t reuse offcuts to make new products (the old boots into new shoes analogy). Or find ways to sell by-products as new products. We’re looking at you Marmite…
However, you can use your HUMAN resources more efficiently - to increase productivity, agility and innovation - while also reducing costs. This can help you scale your business without increasing headcount.
You're welcome to watch our webinar on the topic of resourcefulness, or check the steps below.
Resourcefulness is a mindset and something you can learn. Make it a strategic priority. For example, embedding resilience, rewarding innovation, giving employees more autonomy for problem-solving, and reframing challenges as opportunities.
Some of your teams are going to be excelling at certain things, while others might struggle. Rather than reinvent the wheel (and often come up short) seek out best practices and share them. Research from MIT shows that re-using colleagues’ tried-and-trusted solutions speeds up innovation.
Resourcefulness means making the most of what you have - like leveraging skills that already exist in your business instead of hiring them in. Conduct a skills inventory to understand employee skills and ambitions, so you can quickly align these with future opportunities. For example, a marketer may have a secret yearning to use and develop their graphic design skills…
Audit your current operations to see if there’s fat you can trim. Ask your people what steps are wasteful and don’t add value to your final product or services. Especially the ‘boots on the ground’ who perform processes day in, day out. These savings can free resources to be used elsewhere. Read our 30+ ways to streamline operations for more tips.
Disconnects between teams can cause delays - especially if a workflow spans multiple departments. When reviewing your operations, don’t just ask teams to look at their individual processes. Have cross-functional teams that audit the entire workflow.
Business success depends on satisfying customers with innovative solutions. But you shouldn’t neglect internal innovation. Dedicate time to ingenuity within your business, as that will make you more resourceful, and lead to customer-facing benefits too.
If your people are over-utilized and exhausted, they’re not going to be innovative or resourceful. Chances are their performance is impaired and they’re in poor mental health. Keep utilization to about 85% to keep people happy, engaged, and full of bright ideas. Learn more in our guide to resource utilization for project-based businesses.
Everyone knows silos are bad for business - disconnected teams and software systems risk duplication and waste, as well as taking time to coordinate information and validate data. Breaking down organizational silos saves staff time and accelerates confident data-based decision-making.
Digital transformation is essential for operational- and cost-efficiency. Leveraging tech reduces manual tasks and accelerates collaboration. This saves time and resources you can deploy elsewhere - and makes more time for creativity, strategy and innovation.
When opportunities arise, you want to seize them quickly and with confidence. But you can’t do this if you don’t know whether you have the capacity or capabilities to deliver. Use capacity planning to understand current and future resource availability, so you can confidently say YES when opportunity knocks.
We hope you enjoyed this post! Fore more information, download the ebook here.
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