Special guest speaker Michael Bellaman, Associated Builders and Contractors National president and CEO, gave a talk in the Lundeen Hall from 6-7 p.m. on Nov. 9. The talk was initially scheduled to last from 6-7:30 p.m. However, the speaker was able to deliver his message and even hold a discussion with students in just under an hour.

Bellaman’s journey up through the corporate ladder at ABC began at a golf outing. During the outing, he connected with the treasurer of ABC and found out there was an opening on the golf committee. He started on ABC’s golf committee and moved up through the ranks until he reached the National Board.

Through his years of working in the industry, Bellaman has lived by three pieces of advice: life is made of choices, you are the author of your future and the win-win attitude takes courage, leadership and passion. 

He especially wanted to focus on the importance of the abundance mentality, which he named the “win-win” mentality. The abundance mentality is where to “get more of the pie, you make the pie bigger,” Bellaman said. 

In contrast, the world naturally works in a scarce mentality, where in order to “get more pie, I need your share,” Bellaman explained. 

His advice for when faced with people who have a scarce mentality is to decrease opportunities where they can act on their urges, to be authentic, to have strong leadership skills and to be persistent in creating a win-win situation.

When asked for examples of how he personally overcame struggles, Bellaman mentioned an instance where he had created a work environment where it had essentially been impossible for coworkers to give him feedback. In a desperate attempt, his coworkers delivered a book for self-improvement into his inbox. Bellaman had dismissed the book for six months before realizing he needed to change his ways. 

Bellaman also added that one needs to understand one’s own strengths and weaknesses to overcome struggles. He recommended taking personality quizzes to know yourself better. Bellaman continued, “If you want to make a mark in this world, help everyone around you succeed. Win-win, it’s not complicated.”