The Go-Giver: A Powerful Business Idea

The Go-Giver -- A Little Story about a Powerful Business Idea
Many people go after success in the wrong way. They are motivated by the desire to achieve fame and fortune. They believe the world owes them something. They see success as clout and leverage--something that emanates from the outside rather than from within. Such was the case with Joe, a sales consultant, before he learned the secret of he Five Laws of Stratospheric Success.
Fearing that he will fail to meet his third quarter quota, Joe seeks out an influential gentleman named Pindar the Chairman. Joe views Pindar as the person with enough pull to save him. Pindar has many eye openers for Joe. He points out that while you may not get what you want, you get what you expect. We control our own destiny. Truly, life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it. Go-givers are not self-seekers. They know if you put others first, if you empower them and appreciate them, their successes will become your own.
Many people are surprised that seemingly important people can be approachable and willing to share their secrets. It is this openness that has gotten these people where they are. Their motivation is infectious. They are so full of zest and magnetism
that you can’t help but want to be a part of whatever they are offering. This applies to your personal life as well as your professional life. Go-givers do not take credit for successes but instead lay these achievements on others. As a leader, the go-giver may have the ability to manage people and to light a fire underneath them, but his drive and desire lead him to instead light a fire within. Go-givers want others to be successful. They encourage them and believe in them. They push them out of their comfort zones and give them the opportunity to experience new things.
Pindar’s trade secret was labeled as such to make it more intriguing. He was willing to share his insight with Joe with the condition that Joe applies this new knowledge in his own life the same day it is revealed to him. Pindar stressed to Joe that he first had to give in order to receive. Trying to both give and receive at the same time is impossible. Pindar instilled value and self-worth in people. If you make people believe in themselves, they will strive to be the best that they can be. Other people cannot bring us down unless we allow them to. That in itself is a powerful concept and often one that is hard to grasp.
The first law of stratospheric success that Joe was introduced to is the Law of Value. This law states “your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.” Restaurateur Ernesto Iafrate is proof of this concept. As a hot dog vendor, his business earned the title of best outdoor dining “experience” in the city. Although Ernesto is well off and does not need to work, he continues to cook at one of his restaurants. While his food is delicious, it is more the experience of dining with Ernesto that has made his customers loyal. We all want to feel like we are the most important person in the world. If we do not treat our customers right, our competition will.
One way to show people they are valued is through appreciation. Pindar shows this by thanking Joe for coming to see him even though he is the one that seems to be doing Joe a favor. Giving without expecting anything in return is essential in achieving the Law of Value. Joe shows he understands this principle by referring a large account known as the Big Kahuna to his competitor, Ed Barnes, and by giving a referral to a client, Jim Galloway, who turned him down.
The Law of Compensation is the second law of stratospheric success Joe is introduced to. This law states “your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.” Joe was introduced to CEO and founder, Nicole Martin, who runs one of the most successful educational software companies in the country, Learning Systems for Children, Inc.
Previously Nicole was a grade school teacher. She was very involved with her students and used her creativity to develop a series of games to help them learn and grow. After becoming frustrated with the monotonous school system and having to survive on her low teacher’s salary, Nicole pulled away from the teaching field and created a software company.
One day while in a parent conference with a software engineer, Nicole mentioned one of the games she had created and asked the engineer to see if it could be programmed to run on computers. He agreed to do so. Soon after, she held another meeting with him and another student’s mom who ran a small marketing and advertising business. A few days later, the three of them formed Learning Systems for Children, Inc.
Within a few short years, this educational software company turned into a multimillion dollar firm. Nicole began doing consulting work for several organizations, school systems, and educational researchers all over the world and touching the lives of numerous children.
Nicole explained the two parts of this law to Joe. You determine your level of compensation and there are no limitations on what you can earn. Your level of compensation is completely up to you. If you desire to be more profitable then you must serve more people. There are no limitations to your success because there is always somebody that you can serve.
When Joe returns to his office, he applies this law by serving all the workers on his floor a cup of freshly brewed coffee. Some of them he knew well and some he didn’t know at all. Doing this got him no further in life or any extra income but he got the satisfaction of doing something for the benefit of others.
The Law of Influence is the third law of stratospheric success.
It states “your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first.” With this lesson Joe met Sam, Pindar’s financial advisor. Networking was a major point in the lesson. Sam said to consider the people that you are in network with as your army of personal walking ambassadors. They are the people who will help you succeed. The key to networking is to watch out for the other person’s interests. Once you place the other person’s interests first, your interests will always be taken care of. That’s how Sam’s career turned right side up for him. He started changing his focus from seeing what he could get to what he could
give.
Pindar told Joe to “watch out for what other people need, with the faith that when you do, you’ll get what you need.” This means instead of trying to just solely better yourself you should place the needs of other’s first. With your army of ambassadors you never know when you may get recommendations and it’s all from the people that you know and have helped in the past. Pindar told Joe that givers attract. With this, Joe realized that is why the Law of Influence works. It magnetizes you. Once you start looking out for others, the same will be done unto you.
Joe was unaware that he had used this law within his own marriage. After arriving home from work each day, Joe and his wife took time to talk. They were each allowed thirty minutes of complaint time. That night Joe’s wife Susan had a lot on her mind. After her thirty minutes had passed, she stopped to allow Joe his turn to talk, but instead he asked her to go on because he could tell she had a lot troubling her. While Susan told her story, Joe comforted her and she ended up falling right to sleep. Without even realizing it, Joe had done his homework for the night. He had put his wife’s needs and interests before his own. By taking the time to listen to his wife, Joe had made his marriage even better than it had been before.
The fourth law of stratospheric success is the Law of Authenticity. This law states “the most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.” In this lesson, Pindar took Joe to hear keynote speaker Debra Davenport at an annual sales symposium. Debra spoke about her previously floundering real estate career. One year, Debra accompanied a friend to a sales symposium and while there the keynote speaker delivered a striking message. He talked about the importance of adding value to what you sell. Debra asked herself what value she could add to her real estate business but drew a blank so she decided it was time to quit. On her last day of work, Debra met with a client and found herself really not caring about any of the rules she had learned about closing deals. She went in unprepared and just chose to be herself. Lo and behold, Debra sold the house. She realized the value that needed to be added was herself. Once she realized that, she became very successful meeting many new people and landing many major deals.
Back at the office later that day, Joe had the chance to speak with his colleague Gus one- on-one. He talked to Gus about the rumors he had heard about him and asked him if he already knew about the five laws that he was learning from Pindar. Indeed, Gus had learned the same lessons as Joe and explained to Joe how he had become successful by using those laws. By opening up and talking to Gus, Joe had completed his homework for that day. He had applied the Law of Authenticity by being himself and speaking with Gus about everything he had learned.
Joe anxiously waited for Friday at 12:00 p.m. because he knew he would finally be meeting the surprise mystery guest that he and Gus discussed during their conversation. As Joe waited for Pindar, he had the opportunity to get to know the marvelous coffee maker, Rachel. Rachel recounted how she met Pindar and how she had used his laws to become a coffee mogul. To Joe’s surprise, Rachel was not the Friday mystery guest he assumed she was.
Once Pindar emerged, he and Joe sat and reminisced about the first four laws Joe had learned. Although Joe had followed all the rules, he was having trouble seeing where this new way of thinking would lead him. Pindar realized Joe was struggling with the rules he learned growing up, such as, “It is better to give than to receive.” Pindar points out that it is insane to try to give and not receive and then he presented the final law to Joe. The Law of Receptivity states “the key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.” As they finished lunch, Joe was finally able to see that the Friday “mystery” guest was actually Pindar himself.
As Joe went back to work to try to meet his quota, he found Gus still at the office. He discussed the last law with Gus because he was having a hard time understanding the value of the law if it did not actually get him anywhere. Joe was open to receiving and completing the last bit of homework, but he could only receive if someone offered something to him. He decided to stay late and send Gus home. This showed Joe had changed in the past week from a go-getter to a go-giver. He was willing to stay late and to let his partner leave.
Typically Joe would not be at work at 6:15 on a Friday night, but since he was a go-giver, he found himself there when his phone rang. The laws Joe put into place throughout the week had come back to help him complete the last law of receiving. On the other end of the line was a man by the name of Neil Hansen. Neil needed a firm to spearhead a rebranding effort on hotels. The main objective was to find someone with connections to high quality, high volume, premium coffee in just a few short weeks. Joe was confused. He had never heard of Neil Hansen. When he voiced his puzzlement to Neil, it was then that he explained to Joe that he had gotten his name from Ed Barnes.
Joe made numerous connections throughout the week, and looking back he realized the connections he made and the laws he applied all led to this one shining moment. He called upon Rachel and her coffee connections to give her the opportunity to branch out with her own business. This opportunity was two-fold as it also allowed Joe to open himself up to receive rewards in return. Joe, Rachel, Neil and others were able to evolve Rachel’s Famous Coffee into a mega business that spanned international waters. Joe had himself become the Big Kahuna.
Joe did not let success change him. He continued to apply the laws he learned from Pindar and maintained his go-giver attitude. A young free-lancer named Claire approached Joe and wanted to be part of a deal with Rachel’s Famous Coffee. Joe did not give her the position she originally wanted, but he did make her an offer for an even bigger opportunity with a new outreach platform the company was working on worldwide. Claire was flattered but confused and asked Joe how he was able to offer her these opportunities. Instead of answering Claire’s question, Joe simply asks, “Have you ever been to Iafrate’s? It’s our favorite. There is someone there I would like you to meet.” It is at this moment that we see this lesson has come full circle.