We've all got a TBR (to be read) pile, but what about a TBRA (to be read AGAIN) pile? Here at Kenwood Management, there’s a copy of Bob Burg’s book Go-Giver on all of our bookshelves, and we end up reading it again... and again.

Want to know why?

The book, subtitled “A Little Story about a Powerful Business Idea,” disrupts the belief that the go-getters are the ones who will achieve success. Instead, it centers the idea that, in order to achieve success, leaders must give -- and it summarizes some of the core principles that we follow. 

To illustrate what it means to be a go-giver, the book outlines the following five Laws of Stratospheric Success: 

  • The Law of Value: Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment. 
  • The Law of Compensation: Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them. 
  • The Law of Influence: Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first. 
  • The Law of Authenticity: The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself. 
  • The Law of Receptivity: The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.

When talented, capable people focus on themselves, they may find some level of success, but they’ll rarely blast off into the stratosphere. 

While it’s easy to read the book and feel energized and excited about the potential, it’s also easy to feel overwhelmed by how you can implement these practices on your teams. 

To understand how these laws look in action, consider the following. 

  1. Being a go-giver means having people in your corner, and being in theirs.
    Burg emphasizes the importance of networking as the practice of building your trusting connections -- people who you know and trust and who know and trust you. With that level of reciprocal trust and affinity, you’ll find that you think of each other often and, thus, recommend each other often.

    T    eams with real go-givers will find that they are often reaching out, recommending, and connecting people from across their networks. 

  2. Being a go-giver means stepping out of your comfort zone.
    In the world of business, it’s easy to try to be what other people want you to be, especially if you’re trying to secure a sale. Burg writes, “As long as you’re trying to be someone else, or putting on some act or behavior someone else taught you, you have no possibility of truly reaching people. The most valuable thing you have to give people is yourself. No matter what you think you’re selling, what you’re really offering is you.”

    But offering up yourself can feel really scary, especially at first. If you’re living into the principles of the go-giver, you’re stepping out of your comfort zone and letting people see the real you (afterall, that’s how you find your trusting network). 

  3. Being a go-giver also means receiving.
    Burg writes that, “the key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.” Whether it’s gratefully accepting advice or enthusiastically following your curiosity (and asking questions along the way), one way to tell if you’ve got a go-giver culture on your team is to take a look at how graciously you receive.

    When you’ve got the confidence and comfort to accept the gifts of others, no matter what shape they take, you know you’re walking the go-giver talk.

These philosophies guide Kenwood everyday, and are at the core of our goals in pursuing a "Kenwood Community."

The saying goes, “Give and you shall receive.” As you move forward, recognize the ways you can transform your day-to-day activities to focus more on giving rather than getting. You will find that putting other people’s needs first will yield unexpected returns for yourself. Here at Kenwood, every day we strive to add value to the lives around us, which is why Go-Giver can be found on all our bookshelves. 

Want to know more about what it looks like to have a go-giver culture? Follow us on social media for behind-the-scenes glimpses into the Kenwood Community.