We recently received the following piece (a bit truncated for space) from reader Vince Vidoti.
A year after reading Go-Givers Sell More and participating in a Go-Givers workshop, I asked my district mates, “What does it mean to be a Go-Giver?” I wasn’t surprised by their responses.
Times are changing, and so must organizations. We speak of delivering value almost as often as we spill caramel macchiatos on our passenger seats. (Or is that just me?) And how do the authors remind us is the best way to deliver value? Excellence, consistency, attention, empathy, and appreciation. Remember that your income is a reflection of how effectively you touch people’s lives. Creating and adding value is the bullet; being a good person is the gun.
The answer to “What does it mean to be a Go-Giver?” is all around us. The authors say, “[Great salespeople] are great because they create a vast and spreading sphere of goodwill wherever they go. They enrich, enhance, and add value to people’s lives. They make people happier.”
Think of your parents, the server at your favorite eatery, the UPS guy, perhaps your local police officer or fireman. When was the last time we recognized the impact these individuals had on our lives? How many of them have read about what it means to be a go-giver? Yet people all around us are genuine. They give for the sake of giving, and are selfless. They approach people with compassion, and listen with real curiosity.
And by the way, those were the main themes within my district mates’ answers.
Maybe the reason people seem to relate to and truly embrace Go-Givers Sell More is that it delivers incredible insight into the psyche of the most successful salespeople. Or maybe it’s just because it highlights the things we already do on a daily basis, and helps us realize we had a Go-Giver inside of us all along — we just needed someone to help us makes its acquaintance.
I like Vince’s piece a lot. For one thing, it’s the first time I can recall ever hearing the go-giver philosophy being encapsulated thusly: “Creating and adding value is the bullet; being a good person is the gun.”
But seriously.
Often in interviews we say it’s for us to hear from people telling us, “Wow, those ideas in your book were so different from anything I’ve ever thought before!” — no, what we hear a lot of is, “You know, what you write in there is exactly how I always thought the world worked! I just never quite put it into words.”
And Vince’s last few sentences beautifully captures that sentiment:
“Maybe the reason people seem to relate to and truly embrace Go Givers Sell More is that it … highlights the things we already do on a daily basis, and helps us realize we had a Go-Giver inside of us all along — we just needed someone to help us makes its acquaintance.”
Nicely put, Vince!
I just finished reading “The Go-Giver” and thought to myself, “I’ve been doing this most of my life, so why hasn’t it started coming back to me?” You see, even before I was a pastor I had a heart for people. I always wanted the best for everyone around me.
Yet in my mind, I wasn’t getting much in return. But then I realized something. I HAVE been receiving it all back! I just didn’t realize it at the time. I have been blessed to see my marriage last longer than anyone else in my family, my sons grow up to be very successful on their own (which allowed me to enjoy 3 beautiful grandchildren) and being well-loved and thought of by everyone I know.
You see, I was looking at success ONLY from the viewpoint of money and possessions without realizing that it covers EVERY aspect of our lives. Even when I wrote my first book (which I promptly gave away to a couple hundred people on Amazon) I didn’t realize what I was doing until one of the persons who read it called me on the phone to tell me that she had become an ambassador for the book, telling everyone about it who would giver her an ear!
Being a Go-Giver is not a strategy; it’s a way of life! A way that if lived by everyone would create a better world! I am so grateful to have discovered this book. I have all along been applying it to my personal life, I applied it (without realizing it) to the writing of my book, but now I will apply to my business ventures. Thank you so very much for writing this book. It would make a great movie!
When I read your blog post, I suddenly remember a philosopher called Ayn Rand. She told that selfishness is virtue. And this is why Steve Job so successful. What is your comment on this?
Just read the book, took me half a day to read, brilliant book but very confused by the abrupt ending, maybe I missed the point.
Joe tells Claire that there is someone who he would like her to meet..
The End.
Don’t quite get it 😉
Hi Nigel — The person Joe wants Claire to meet is Pindar.
Kent: As with much of Ayn Rand’s writing/teacher, her definition of “selfishness” is different than the mainstream meaning. The mainstream meaning – and the way it’s often used today – is that one does whatever they feel like even if it hurts another human being.
Rand, on the other hand, saw selfishness as simply acting in alignment with one’s values. And, in that regard, when one acted “selfishly” it actually benefited everyone, since it’s not in anyone’s self-interest (selfishness) to hurt another human being.
An excellent example of her definition of selfishness would be one of her most famous sayings, Rand sayings: “A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others.” Note that this “selfishness” has nothing to do with hurting another human being; it simply focuses that person’s individual (“SELF-ish) values.
Regarding how this applies to Steve Jobs, since it seems you are using the term “Selfish” in a way that Rand did not intend it, it wouldn’t apply in the context you mean it.
However, let’s look at Jobs, how he was SELF-ish in the Randian context, and how what he did aligned totally with being a Go-Giver.”
1. He created much more in value than what he took in payment (people who have bought his products love them and feel they have received much more in value than what they paid, while Jobs’ company made a profit.
2. He provided that exceptional value to a LOT of people, thus made a lot of money
3. He put the interests of his consumers first. Understand, it’s the ONLY way people will buy, since they buy based on THEIR interests, not the sellers.
4. He was very authentic. He didn’t try to be what he wasn’t.
5. He received plenty, being a very wealthy man with a very profitable company.
I hope I was able to answer your questions in a satisfactory way.