Generosity is in the niches - all of them.

They say, "the riches are in the niches".

That's terrific. By the transitive property then, we can be generous and expect plenty of riches.

This is why I believe "Generosity is Good Business."

The Transitive Property

Do you remember learning about the transitive property in school when you were younger?

The Formula

It's normally applied in a mathematical context.

Simplified, it states, if;?

a = b and?b = c then, a = c

So, if a is 7, so is b, is c.

How You Use It

There are many reasons to use math in your business:

?? Planning for Taxes

?? Projecting Revenue?

?? Calculating Expenses

?? Discounting Cash Flow

?? Valuating the Company

?? Determining Customer Value

?? Measuring Marketing Spend

You also likely use the transitive property all the time without math and don't even know it.? For example:

You might assume the cost to build one software is similar to another because of its commonalities with a third.? Although not exact, this could save you time and thought energy in a decision-making process.

Transitive Generosity

?? I have a not so well-known way to use the transitive property.?

It flies in the face of a niche focus.

Greater Than

Transitivity can also be applied in non-equal comparative situations. For example:

Johnny is taller than Billy.

Billy is taller than Sammy.

Therefore, Johnny is taller than Sammy.

How to Apply It

A generous leader has a good handle on the psyche of each of the people he or she leads.

I'm not a parent but the best parenting advice I ever heard was that you should not treat each of your kids the same but instead, treat each of them fairly.

This applies in the workplace.

Treat all of your employees fairly, not necessarily the same.

Let's say you are focused on three people; each of them performing differently.

There's only so much time in the day and your role as a leader is not to compare every combination of people you lead but you may be able to gather some information with the transitive property.

Instead of Johnny being taller than Billy, assume he's having a terrific day and Billy is just having a normal day. Assume you also notice Billy's partner on a project (Sammy) is really struggling. It's safe to say that Johnny is also doing better than Sammy.

This is an oversimplified example but it indicates the need to focus on who needs the most attention from their leader in a given moment.

?? Johnny might need you.

?? Billy needs you.

?? But Sammy needs you more.

A big part of a generous workplace culture is being aware of your people.

Know who needs you most right now and give what you can to help them be successful.

The Riches

There are plenty of leadership styles...

??? Autocratic

??? Democratic

??? Bureaucratic

??? Visionary

??? Servant

...just to name a few.

I'm a huge fan of the servant leader, but even its premises don't apply in all situations.

A niched leader is a limited leader.

You will not grow your company if you build a team of clones (of you or each other). You need diversity. And transitively (see what I did there ??), you'll need to avoid a niche style of leadership.

Practice adaptability, resilience, and poise to make sure you can help all of your team members have a joyful experience while working.

Generous leadership requires you to "niche" yourself differently in different situations.

The riches of a growing business are in the niches - every one that you need.

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