Givers Gain—Back to the Basics to Grow Your Business

One of my mentors, Jim Thompson of Midwest Consulting Group, Inc., a consultant for GoSmallBiz.com and Get Clients Now!, introduced me to a wonderful book from an incredible mind. Bob Burg wrote with John David Mann “The Go Giver” which is described as the following:

“The Go-Giver tells the story of an ambitious young man named Joe who yearns for success. Joe is a true go-getter, though sometimes he feels as if the harder and faster he works, the further away his goals seem to be. And so one day, desperate to land a key sale at the end of a bad quarter, he seeks advice from the enigmatic Pindar, a legendary consultant referred to by his many devotees simply as the Chairman.

Over the next week, Pindar introduces Joe to a series of successful “go-givers”: a restaurateur, a CEO, a financial advisor, a real estate broker and “The Connector,” who brought them all together. Pindar’s friends share with Joe the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success and teach him how to open himself up to the power of giving.
Joe learns that changing his focus from getting to giving—putting others’ interests first and continually adding value to their lives—ultimately leads to unexpected returns.
Imparted with wit and grace, The Go-Giver is a heartwarming and inspiring tale that brings new relevance to the old proverb ‘give and you shall receive.’”

I honestly put off getting the book for a while because it is essentially a novel rather than a “self-help” book. I wanted action steps, and I had little interest in a “fluff piece” that was described to me as more of a parable than something that could help my business.

However, I was highly inspired to give it a try after I attended an informal seminar held by one of my other great friends, Tony Dinon of Little Anthony’s Catering. Tony is a follower of the great referral gurus Brian Buffini and Joe Niego—internationally recognized masters at generating massive amounts of referrals.

In BNI, we are taught the “Givers Gain” philosophy, and oftentimes people think that this phrase means, “If you give me business, I’m going to give you business.” This is not at all the case.

Without giving away too much of “The Go-Giver,” the concepts about giving unconditionally are broken down into five basic laws:

The Law of Value: Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.

The Law of Compensation: Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.

The Law of Influence: Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people's interests first.

The Law of Authenticity: The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.

The Law of Receptivity: The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.

Boiled down, we need to change our mindset back to our youth when we were more apt to give without the promise of compensation. Giving of oneself without thought of reciprocation has a way of elevating a person to the next level of receivership. The absolute richest and most successful people in the world are true givers.

In closing, I encourage you to pick up the “Go-Giver,” and give the concepts a try. You have nothing to lose by giving of yourself, and you have everything to gain when especially you are not seeking anything in return. True, sometimes in business giving without expecting compensation seems paradoxical, but, as another friend was telling me, God has quite a sense of humor.

Go out and do good things.