By Bob Burg & John David Mann
It has been a while since I’ve read a book (other than the Bible) that has caused me to stop and re-think my life -- and made me grateful for it. The Go-Giver was that kind of book for me.
About the authors:
Bob Burg is a business thought leader and the author of Endless Referrals and Adversaries into Allies. “Bob is an advocate, supporter and defender of the Free Enterprise system, believing that the amount of money one makes is directly proportional to how many people they serve” (Amazon).
John David Mann is an entrepreneur and award-winning co-author with multiple books to his credit including Steel Fear (praised by Lee Child) and its sequel Cold Fear (lauded by Jeffrey Deaver). See other books below. John is also a concert cellist and prize-winning composer. Read his bio here, it is interesting.
The book in a sentence (or two):
The secret to success is . . . giving!
My quick take on The Go-Giver:
It has been a while since I’ve read a book (other than the Bible) that has caused me to repent. The Go-Giver is a great read – and very helpful to me. And... I have a couple of pushbacks.
Overview and Analysis:
The Go-Giver is a business parable, built around The Five Laws of Stratospheric Success. It is a The Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek Bestseller, with more than one-million copies sold. It has been translated into 21 languages.
As one can tell by the title, the focus is learning to be a giver – not just monetarily, but a giving individual. In her forward to the book, Arianna Huffington writes:
Too often people hear “be a giver” and think of charities and writing checks, of “giving back” once we have already done well for ourselves. But that’s only one very specific facet of giving. By “be a giver,” Bob and John mean be a giving person, period: one who gives thought, gives attention, gives care, gives focus, gives time and energy – gives value to others. Not as a quid pro quo, not as a strategy to get ahead, but because it is, in and of itself, a satisfying and fulfilling way to be (xiv).
When the authors use “give” and “giving,” they take it out of the realm of monetary contribution or “pay it forward,” or “giving back to the community” and instead, focus on giving as a way of life.
Since most people want to know the “secret sauce,” here are the five laws:
1. The Law of Value: Your true worth is determined by how much you give in value then you take in payment.
2. The Law of Compensation: Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.
3. The Law of Influence: your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people's interests first.
4. The Law of Authenticity: The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.
5. The Law or Reciprocity: The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.
One of the things I really appreciate about this book is that Pindar, the business executive with the “trade secret,” (Give!) tells Joe, the young and aggressive guy looking for the Trade Secret, that he will share his secret on one condition: Pindar says,
“I need you to agree that you will test every law I show you by actually trying it out. Not by thinking about it, not by talking about it, but by applying it to your life” (16).
My critique in the form of a pushback on this exceptional book is its “under the sun” approach to life. Yes, the authors offer us stratospheric success, a success on a horizontal plane – person to person! That’s a good thing. But if we reach stratospheric success and lose our souls? Have we succeeded? What does vertical success look like? And second, what’s the impetus to serve? Just to get ahead? To succeed? Could it be that desire is deep within us because we are made in the image of a God who does nothing but serve – who gives us (in the words of Paul) “life and breath and everything?” (Acts 17:25).
My Takeaways:
You have to try them out! It’s not enough to read the laws, or know the laws, you must to try them out. This hit home with my own 3-Hour Retreat Series. Immediate application is essential to learning (16).
Fifty-fifty is a losing proposition: I appreciate the win-win approach, but even more the way the authors improve on it. Sam, one of Pindar’s friends coaching Joe on “success” says, “Watch out for the other guy. Watch out for his interests. Watch his back. Forget about fifty-fifty, son. Fifty-fifty’s a losing proposition. The only winning proposition is one hundred per cent. Make your win about the other person, go after what he wants. Forget win-win—focus on the other person's win” (63).
An army of personal walk ambassadors: Joe is focused on networking, Pindar and Sam want him to see this concept in a new light. Sam says, “Now, by a network I don't necessarily mean your customers or clients. I mean a network of people who know you, like you and trust you. They might never buy a thing from you, but they've always got you in the backs of their minds.” He leaned forward and spoke with more intensity. “They’re the people who are personally invested in seeing you succeed, y’see? And of course, that's because you're the same way about them. They're your army of personal walking ambassadors” (63).
On a successful 48-year marriage: “I believe there is one reason, and only one reason, that we have stayed together so long and are as happy together today as we were forty-eight years ago – more so, in fact. That reason is this: I care more about my wife's happiness than I do about my own. And all I've ever wanted to do since the day I met her is make her happy. And here's the truly remarkable thing – she seems to want to the same thing for me... I'd call that success” (78). This is where the repentance came in for me. Do I really care more about Shannan’s happiness than I do mine own — at all times!
Bad, good, and great: Pindar introduces Joe to Ernesto, a successful restaurateur and real estate investor. Joe talks about bad, good, and great restaurants, but the principle applies beyond that. I was thinking of LBC: “A bad restaurant tries to give you just enough food and service, both in quantity and quality, to justify the money it takes from the customer. A good restaurant strives to give the most quantity and quality for the money it takes. But a great restaurant-- ahh, a great restaurant strives to defy imagination! Its goal is to provide a higher quality of food and service than any amount of money could possibly pay for” (26).
Words to ponder:
On focus: “In life, you often don’t get what you want. . . . But . . . here’s what you do get – You get what you expect. Or put another way: What you focus on is what you get” (13, 45).
On the idea of a “Secret”: Originally ‘secret’ meant something treasured—something sifted, weighted and set apart for its special value (15). Pindar’s Trade Secret (Give!) is something to be prized and shared, not guarded and withheld (15).
A bad first question: “‘Does it make money?’ Is not a bad question. It's a great question. It's just a bad first question. It starts you off pointed in the wrong direction. The first question should be, ‘Does it serve? Does it add value to others?’ If the answer to that question is yes, then you can go ahead and ask, ‘Does it make money?’” (27).
On serving: Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, “Everybody can be great because anybody can serve.” Another way to say that might be, “Everybody can be successful because anybody can give” (44).
Quaker on prayer: “When you pray, move your feet” (141).
Inward beauty: “It’s what’s inside that makes you beautiful, not the wrapping” (80).
Recommendation:
I can see why The Go-Giver has sold over a million copies and translated into so many languages. It is a delightful shift from the “me-first” mindset of the day. The story is compelling. There is mystery, interesting characters, and much wisdom sandwiched between the two cover of my paperback. The Q&A with the authors at the back of the book is very helpful for additional context. This book came highly recommended to me by the Chairman of our Board of Trustees, who is a walking, talking “go-giver.” Now, I heartily recommend it to you!
The author piqued my curiosity about these books:
Take the Lead: Motivate, Inspire, and Bring Out the Best in Yourself and Everyone Around You by Betsy Myers and John David Mann
Flash Foresight: How to See the Invisible and Do the Impossible by Daniel Burrus and John David Mann
Adversaries into Allies: Win People Over Without Manipulation or Coercion by Bob Burg
