The essence of a transaction is not whether I need you, but whether you need me.

The ones doing the criticizing are buyers; the ones cheering are spectators. If someone walks into your shop, haggles over everything, and then leaves, they were never going to buy. They’re just window shoppers.

People with a buyer mindset see a problem at work and expect the company to fix it. That’s their flaw, sure—but it’s also the very reason they’ll be employees their whole lives, never able to leave the company behind.

People with a seller mindset see a problem at work and think: the company has problems precisely because there are roles to fill. If there were no problems, would there even be a job? Would they still need me?

At the core of any transaction is one question: do they need me?