To Give or not to give, that is the question… But the answer seems obvious when you listen to Adam Grant, Bob Burg and John David Mann. Adam, a Professor of Management at Wharton School, earned a Ph.D. in organizational psychology after attending Harvard. He is an expert in the field of motivation, pro-social giving and collegial behaviors. His new book, Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success, is gaining a lot of attention. His main premise is that helping others is not a time guzzling chore but rather a powerful motivator to drive productivity and creativity. This is because a sense of service to others; thinking on how we can contribute to other people’s lives has the potential to make us more productive then just focusing on helping ourselves. Over the years, he has looked inward to find the secrets of his success and overwhelmingly found that giving and helping others drives his productivity and happiness more than almost any other behavior. He routinely answers every one of his emails, tries never to say “No” to helping someone and consistently views supporting others as way to drive his success long term. Not surprisingly, he routinely advises companies such as Google to help employees achieve the most out of their jobs. If you would like to learn more, The New York Times wrote a great piece about him in March and includes a video demonstrating Adam’s ideas and examples of his ideas in a business environment.
We have all heard of “go-getters” and usually this is the stereotype associated with successful business people. They are highly ambitious individuals focused on maximizing their chances for success. But Bob Burg and John David Mann are turning that idea on its ear. Their idea is that “Go-givers”, people that help others with no strings attached, are indeed the ones who can be more successful in the long run. The most successful go-getters are go-givers too and were successful by motivating and recognizing others. The Huffington Post seeks to recognize go-givers for their contributions and plans on spotlighting a go-giver each week; highlighting someone who has a track record of generosity and collaboration. You can start your career as a go-giver by nominating someone. You’ll feel good and so will they. So Pay it Forward…