The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea by Bob Burg and John David Mann. A best seller with over 500,000 copies sold.
Being a giving person is how you achieve success.
You never find a book that teaches both principles for business and personal success. The Go-Giver is the book that breaks that tradition. It is not only being used in business, but as a textbook in high schools and colleges to teach that giving leads to success.
The Go-Givers 5 Laws of Stratospheric Success
- Value: Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.
- Compensation: Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.
- Influence: Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first.
- Authenticity: The most valuable gift you have is to offer yourself.
- Receptivity: The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.
The question is: How do I learn and practice these laws? In the Go-Giver, a mentor teaches a Go-Getter the 5 laws of success. The mentor teaches him the benefits of being a Go-Giver rather than a Go-Getter.
Having a great mentor enhances the 5 laws of success. My father was my mentor. I wrote Working with Dad: 13 Rules for Success to thank him. In my interview with Bob Burg and John Mann, I asked who their mentor was. Bob and John both answered my dad.
When the authors were asked which law was most important, they said all 5 laws were equally important to practice each day.
If I had to choose only one law to practice in my business each day, I would choose law #1: Giving more value than you take in payment.
Which of the 5 laws resonates with you and why?
This post was developed from my conversations with Bob Burg and John David Mann.
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Must congratulate you on this post Larry! My Dad was my mentor also and I believe that within reason it is better to give than receive a mantra that has worked for me in over 40 years!
Ken, Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Love them all! I tend to undersell myself so thinking about compensation brings greater value to the work I bring.
Shirley, When we are paid for what we do, it gives us a sense of our worth. Thanks for your comment. Larry
Value: Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment. I have found that to be true on consultations with customers that I relate to.
Thanks for your comment on value and payment. Larry
Great insight Larry! Early in my career I read Peter Kyne’s “The Go-Getter”, which helped me learn to take chances and be accountable, and now, years later as an Agile Coach to teams and organizations, the laws you list out are critical to partnering with people in their growth and my own. I’ve learned that coaching is all about giving, and in return I grow myself. Thanks for sharing this!
Dwight, It’s so true about giving and learning. Thanks for your comment. Larry
I’ve only recently heard of and read this book and it is a wonderful, and inspiring read; worth reading more than once. Too much of business today is focused on greed with the attitude of ‘I only win if you lose’ instead of ‘we can both win here’. All in the name of greed, unfortunately. The irony is that when you take that out of the equation, you make just as much money and you go to sleep with a clean conscience which I’d much rather do. Helping others without looking for, or expecting a reward, is a reward all of in itself.
Michael, Helping others without looking for, or expecting a reward. It is a great feeling. Thanks for commenting. Larry
Great post, Larry. None of us succeeds alone, regardless of our individual talents. Giving and receiving is like breathing. We have to breathe out to be able to breathe in. The flow of giving enables the flow of receiving. The laws you outlined here provide a great framework for that flow.
Larry, it is great think to recognize who made us and set stage for our success. The ‘Go-Giver” is a book from the heart and driving by the stories that help us to give. “To give is greater than to receive . Receiving is the outcome of giving. “
Receiving is the outcome of giving. Candida, thanks for your comment. Larry
As a Realtor with 46 years + in the business of hiring, training, teaching, along with listing and selling, I have always taught that if you take care of the customers needs first you will get paid. Do not think about your pending or maybe compensation as that will always get in the way of client first thoughts and the clients will pick up on that and then you lose. Find the problem, solve it for the client, make them happy, then you will be compensated in more ways than money.
Find the problem, solve it for the client, make them happy, then you will be compensated in more ways than money. Art, thanks for the great comment. Larry
Great philosophy!
Well done Larry :-), from time to time one needs to look back at a path traveled and reflect in order to figure out what went right, what could or should be done differently and who were our “guardians” sort of speaking, who helped us over some hurdles, to tackle insurmountable problems, to climb a corporate ladder or move ahead with our lives, etc, and why did they do that. In my case I found an interesting threat common to all of them, my guardian angels :-) whom I picked sometimes unconsciously and some other times based on first moment chemistry sparkle. For each one of them I was willing to make a sacrifice, to go an extra mile without ever asking for a higher pay check or something in return, because it looked to me so natural that this “law” of giving yields something somewhere someday and yes it feels nice as well to be a giver, which leadership is all about, isn’t it. One needs to invest one’s time in all the stakeholders, from team mates, board members, employees and partners to customers, and we should not forget the same story goes on private as well. So the line is pretty long and building one’s future only on taking, grabbing and self centrism is rather short sighted, the world has changed in a direction where the only thing that remains the same is change. In my view givers are better suited for the times ahead in the long run.
Thanks for the post Larry. Value has to be the word for me. When your #1 concern is the care of the customer and your employees, the other 4 laws will follow. Always interesting how many Dad’s were mentors for the next generation, as were your Dad & my Dad. It will be great to watch the answer to the mentor question change, as Mom will be the answer of who was your mentor for many in the next generation. I’m sure that will be the answer of my daughter, Season.
Bill, Interesting thought: Mom will be the answer of who was your mentor. When millenniums are asked who was your mentor, Mom will be sharing the spotlight with Dad. Thanks for your comment. Larry
Influence: “Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first.” We live in a “me first” society, and I see people becoming more and more selfish and self-absorbed, having a sense of entitlement. The art of listening is lost on many….You will not influence anyone by only thinking of you, what you can get, what you did, etc. You will not influence them by talking and then talking some more….Think about others. In my case, my clients, my employees, and my friends/family… What do they like, what do they need, ask questions, how can you better serve them? If you achieve that then you will be remembered, as you took the time to care, to understand, to inspire and to influence just by allowing them to find their own strength, their own desires, and their own voice. How much better we could serve others if we just kept our mouths shut and took the time to listen and understand what makes them tick!
Lis, I like listen and understand what makes them tick! Thanks for sharing. Larry
Authenticity resonates with me. If that is missing then the other four will not work for very long. You might fool some of the people some of the time but you will not foll all of the people all of the time. If you are lacking in authenticity it will catch up with you.
Stan, I agree. If you are lacking in authenticity it will catch up with you. Thanks for sharing. Larry
I give this book away all the time. It changed my life. Great idea and great posts
This is definitely a book I want to check out and perhaps share with others. I am a strong believer that investing in the people around you is more important than focusing on building the bank account…because if you do the first it will result in the later.
The Go-giver laws must be the daily attributes we exhibit. I believe it’s an attitude that needs to be developed.
Hi Larry,
Finally, a person after my own heart. Thank you, thank you, thank you for following me on Twitter so that I could discover your site. Every point in the article has great merit but #1 and #3 really resonate with me.
I’m a survivor of both child and domestic abuse. I left with the clothes on my back and a few personal items. My start up snack company, just 3 years young, is my second chance at life after my divorce. My goal is to be an inspiration/ example and mentor to others who have walked this difficult road and feel that they’re too broken to have anything to offer. Abuse does not have to define a person. I want to be that voice and make a difference for others.
Thanks for letting me share. I look forward to your tweets, articles, and business knowledge.
#Grateful in MA
Lisa, Thank you for sharing your experiences. Good Luck and keep making a difference!
Yes, too, my dear father–God Rest his Soul– was my mentor in this life, as he really personified a TRUE GIVER! He was always GIVING TO OTHERS! I can only really hope to be the Giver that he WAS!