Taking on a Positive-Sum Mindset
A few weeks ago at our Mid-Campaign Report Luncheon, I had the opportunity to share with our guests. Below is the speech I gave. I hope for those of you in West Texas, you find some encouragement in it today.
Recently, I have been fascinated by a study out of 美国哈佛大学 about zero-sum thinking—the idea that one person’s gain is another’s loss. People inclined to zero-sum thinking often think this way around economic success, but it can crop up anywhere. In politics, in school, in real estate. Ask your realtor friends about our need for more starter homes in Lubbock. Ask my daughter and her about how many people can be valedictorian or top 10—and let me tell you that race is pretty tight at Talkington School for Young Women Leaders .
This study was conducted across the political divide. It found that there has been an increase in zero-sum thinking on both sides. Now that mindset is not a good or bad thing in itself. There are situations in life where the pie actually is only so big.
However, the Harvard study found evidence that this worldview is often associated with demotivating beliefs or the sense that extra effort is not rewarded. That hard work does not actually get you to the goal. In fact, they found a strong relationship between the extent of zero-sum thinking and the economic environment that someone grows up in.
If you spend your youth in abundance, growth, and upward mobility, you are more likely to have a positive-sum mindset. You believe it’s possible to grow the pie. Those growing up in tougher economic conditions (maybe today’s environment) tend to be more skeptical about that pie and whether there’s enough for everyone.
What’s interesting is that this pattern is found among people who grew up across generations and across countries with varying economic fortunes.
Now, it’s not that there isn’t a good reason for this trend. When inflation isn’t hitting our pocketbooks so hard, of course, we’re going to be more positive. Thanksgiving’s coming—break out the pumpkin pie, the sweet potato pie (not here today to have that debate), the apple pie, the pecan pie, and even the minced meat pie. I’m here for it. All of it. All the pies.
But now when the day is waning, and our belts are feeling tighter but that one last piece of pie sure looks good and you’re looking at your cousin with your fork in hand…then we might not be feeling so confident about sharing our pie.
What I really find compelling is that the study found that a pervasive zero-sum worldview is associated with lower rates of innovation at the societal level—we’re less creative. We also tend to downplay the benefits of trust and cooperation and to see others as potential rivals instead of potential collaborators.
What does this mean for us out here in West Texas?
Since coming into this role and in my previous role working with our community impact initiatives, I have had the privilege of having many fascinating conversations about economic mobility and workforce development.
I think Lubbock and the greater South Plains area are on the edge of an important junction in our history. Many of you probably think the same. New industry is coming in, our population is growing, and Texas Tech University is celebrating its centennial and booming. If the projections are right, by 2050 we’ll be teetering on the line between being a mid-sized city and a larger metropolitan area.
And that is why this moment is so important.
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ALICE stands for Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed. These are folks who live above the Federal Poverty Level but still struggle to make ends meet. Most months these families are doing okay. But the biggest challenge is there is nothing left at the end of the month for saving. So we have a summer like the one we just had and the A/C goes out. What do I do then?
Maybe I dip into my 401K if I’m lucky enough to have one. Yes, I’ve heard that’s ill-advised but so is going without A/C in 110-degree heat. Maybe I go to a payday lender. Maybe I won’t get it fixed at all.
Another situation…my kid gets sick, and I’m a single parent. There’s no one besides me to take her to the doctor, and I miss a day of work, which docks my paycheck which means I’m deciding which bill to pay first.
We’re talking about almost half of South Plains households who are making these hard decisions.
What I want to invite you to today is an opportunity—an opportunity to make becoming a big city different. We love talking about our mid-sized city with a small-town feel. But to keep that feeling, we have to be positive-sum mindset people. We have to believe that the pie is big enough and help our neighbors to access their piece of the pie.
That’s what being part of Lubbock Area United Way is—expanding the pie. Our partners expand budgets by providing high-quality services at affordable rates, like childcare, healthcare, and legal services. They help families move up the economic ladder through GED prep, job skills training, and support through college. And they work to get households back on track by helping with utilities, survivor services, and more.
Behind the scenes, United Way is working to expand the pie by pulling people around our table to attack problems at the roots. Our superpower is convening the community to create the innovative solutions we need. Businesses, nonprofits, and local government. We’re here working to create solutions because we are Better Together.
Some days we’re talking about ensuring children are ready to be in kindergarten—look out for some new and renewed efforts coming out about that in the spring through our partnership with Lubbock ISD , FRENSHIP ISD , Lubbock-Cooper ISD , Workforce Solutions South Plains , TTU Public Media, and others.
We also just piloted a project with T-Mobile to provide tablets pre-loaded with resources to our partners. The first two tablets are at the Talkington Lubbock Boys & Girls Club . Parents and caregivers can easily search for the assistance they need—food, housing, mental health support, and more. If the pilot is successful, we’ll be able to expand to more of our partners and other locations throughout the city.
Today we’re here to talk with you about how we can pool our resources to meet needs—your pledges and gifts to United Way make a significant difference. You might be interested to know that each year roughly 20-25% of the annual campaign comes from Leadership Givers – individuals and families who give $1000 or more. But what is perhaps more significant is that another 20-25% comes from people who contribute $5 or less a paycheck.
That’s not a zero-sum mindset. That is a positive-sum mindset when I can see that my $5 may not do much on its own but combined with yours, and yours, and yours—it can do a lot.
Some of you may have heard me say before that my favorite thing about Lubbock is our pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps culture. We are hardworking, never-give-up kind of people. But sometimes people’s bootstraps are frayed. Sometimes they don’t have bootstraps at all. And that’s where the innovation of a positive-sum mindset can come in to help us continue to build a better Lubbock and a better South Plains—the kind we all want to live in and the kind we all want to be.