The Art of Giving

This is the first of a three-part blog series that is my gift to you as we finish out this year and get ready for what lies ahead in 2021. These will be short, actionable things you can do to really move the needle in 2021.

In it - you’ll learn quick lessons on how giving is so closely related to receiving, finding clarity for your future, and then finally taking massive action to accomplish your goals.

So let’s start today by talking about giving. If you think back to your childhood - what’s the first thing you learned about giving? If you’re like me, my parents and grandparents drilled into me that “it’s better to give than to receive,” right? Now that’s a difficult concept for a 10-year-old to wrap his little brain around - especially this time of year. Frankly, I don’t think I really understood that concept until I was much older. And to many, it still sounds counter-intuitive.

You probably already know that I am a voracious reader. I read dozens of books each year. One of the books I read earlier this year is The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann. “Go-giver,” of course, is a play on words.

Do you know someone who is a “go-getter?” I was surprised to find a definition of “go-getter” in the dictionary. A go-getter is ‘an aggressively enterprising person’ - in other words, someone who works very hard and who very much wants to succeed. You know… someone with “hustle.” They get things done and are passionate about succeeding. Do you know someone like that? Perhaps it might be the way others might describe you?

The Go-Giver is a short book written in parable form. Think of other business classics like Ken Blanchard’s “Gung Ho ” and “Raving Fans ” or “Fish ” by Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul, and John Christensen- these are classics.

The Go-Giver tells the story of an ambitious young man named Joe who yearns for success. Joe is a true go-getter - although sometimes he feels like the harder and faster he works the further away his goals seem to be. (Sound familiar?)

As the story begins - Joe is having a bad quarter, which would be the third ‘miss’ in a row, and he’s desperate to land a key account to save the day at the last minute. Through a little hustle, he gets in front of a legendary consultant referred to as "the chairman" by his many followers.

Over the following week, the chairman introduces Joe to a series of go-givers: a restauranteur, a CEO, a financial advisor, a real estate broker, and the connector who brought them all together. These friends of the chairman teach Joe the ‘Five Laws of Stratospheric Success’ - and they help him open himself up to the power of giving.

Over the course of that week, Joe learns that changing his focus from ‘getting’ to ‘putting others' interests first and continually adding value to their lives’ ultimately leads to unexpected returns.

The Five Laws are giving value, compensation, influence, authenticity, and receptivity. By deploying the methodologies spelled out in the book, these Five Laws spell stratospheric success.

Law of Value means your true worth is determined by how much you give in value than you take in payment.

Law of Compensation says that your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.

Law of Influence states that your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first.

Law of Authenticity says that the most valuable gift that you can give anyone else is yourself.

Law of Receptivity states that the key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.

When you learn, genuinely practice and apply these five laws - you’ll begin to really understand the types of relationships you will want to have with the people you do business with. That relationship will be based on excellence, consistency, attention, empathy, and appreciation. In essence, moving from an “I” focus to an “others” focus is the most profitable thing that you can do.

If you know me, you know that I am a servant leader. My definition of servant leadership is someone who gives without any regard for receiving. I know that throughout my life and career, others have poured into me, and now I’m passionate about paying that forward. I simply can’t describe the joy I feel when I give to others without thinking about what I’ll get in return. The simple fact is that the more I pour value into others, the more I receive in return. The blessings just continue to flow. In fact, our podcast and weekly blog are all about sharing my knowledge and insights with you because I genuinely want you to learn these lessons each week and apply them to your business. And, I just can’t describe the great joy and satisfaction I get when I hear from our followers who tell me that they really get a lot of value from the lessons they learn here.

So - are you a Go-getter or a Go-giver? It’s ok to be both - so long as you focus on delivering value and genuinely focus on others!

So, stop right now, and think about the Laws of Stratospheric Success. Which ones do you use today, and which ones do you need to work on? Make a plan right now to practice these laws daily - and you’ll be amazed at the personal and business results.

Message me on LinkedIn, Facebook, or email me how you are going to put these laws to use! It can have more impact on your business value than you think! What are you going to do today - to Maximize Business Value?

And remember, we’re here to help. If we can help you in any way don’t hesitate to reach out!

WANT TO HEAR MORE? Check out the Maximize Business Value Podcast

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tom Bronson is the founder and President of Mastery Partners, a company that helps business owners maximize business value, design exit strategy, and transition their business on their terms. Mastery utilizes proven techniques and strategies that dramatically improve business value that was developed during Tom’s career 100 business transactions as either a business buyer or seller. As a business owner himself, he has been in your situation a hundred times, and he knows what it takes to craft the right strategy. Bronson is passionate about helping business owners and has the experience to do it. Want to chat more or think Tom can help you? Reach out at [email protected] or check out his book, Maximize Business Value, Begin with The Exit in Mind (2020).

Mastery Partners , where our mission is to equip business owners to Maximize Business Value so they can transition their business on their terms. Our mission was born from the lessons we’ve learned from over 100 business transactions, which fuels our desire to share our experiences and wisdom so you can succeed.