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I totally understand the need to manage a business carefully and to know what your financial status is at all times.
But building a generous business is investing for your future. The nice thing is that you can totally decide how you want to exercise this. For example:
- Giving your employees the opportunity to contribute time/money/products to causes they’re passionate about
- Letting your customers have more leeway than is normal in your industry
- Doing high-visibility sponsorships to expand your brand image
- Working with key partners in win-win scenarios to benefit your community
But what does it mean to approach things with a spirit of generosity?
Read the rest of this entry »This time of year, it’s common to think about giving. The holiday season seems to be designed to tap our guilt and elicit generosity.
Which is fine, I suppose. But if this attitude is just limited to a custom we do once a year, then it’s really not much more important than shooting fireworks on the 4th of July.
A nice experience, but then we move back to “normal life” – whatever that is.
Read the rest of this entry »I was discussing today the importance of having friendly relationships with your neighbors. You know, those folks who live next to you who can make your life miserable.
I’ve discovered a crucial philosophy to create friends rather than enemies: Lead with generosity, friendliness, and flexibility.
But what does this have to do with business? Everything!
Read the rest of this entry »I needed the support of so many people to get through 2019! After being pronounced free of prostate cancer, I’ve had the chance to reflect on how important that was.
We don’t like to ask for help.
Especially in the business context, we want to present this image of professionalism. Having it all solved and sorted. Being in control.
Read the rest of this entry »My top priority is to protect my limited resources. And the only way I’ll win is to take some of yours.
This philosophy of scarcity is so incredibly powerful that we don’t even recognize that it’s as pervasive as the air we breathe.
But there is indeed another way. Not just for our personal lives, but for our businesses as well. The philosophy of abundance is rapidly changing our world – and for the better.
Read the rest of this entry »
GREAT FOOD IS EXPENSIVE these days, and can be totally out of reach for the struggling and homeless.
That’s why I was honored to speak with Mallory Andrews recently, the new executive director of FoCo Cafe here in our choice city.
You might have heard of the donation-based restaurant model. It’s a simple concept: eat what you want, and pay according to your ability and what you believe is fair.
WE WOULD LIKE TO THINK that we have a very generous culture. And we pretty much do, in many respects.
But we struggle with receiving gifts, especially at the personal level.
We have lots of ways to deflect compliments and praise:
WE SEEM TO MEASURE EVERYTHING in terms of money.
And that’s useful, for sure. It gives us an easy way to compare value, to exchange value, and to measure things.
Too easy.
We have to be conscious that money is not the value itself.
A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO I talked about how gratitude yields generosity. But that’s not the end of the game by any means.
Generosity also brings results, one being loyalty. When you’re generous, people think more highly of you. They want to work with you more.
Stunning insight, right?
THERE IS A SAYING in computer geekdom: “Garbage in, garbage out.” Meaning that you can’t expect great results when you’re starting with junk.
The human mind works the same way. And it explains how easy it is for people to get caught in cycles of despair and hopelessness. If you don’t have hope coming into your life, it’s hard to imagine how you can have hope for a better future.
The Values-Based Business 