Life Changing Insights from the Go-Giver

In a fast paced business world, I find the world focused much more on receiving than giving. As I post this near Christmas time, it might be a season in which we are able to focus on giving more naturally. However, what would our lives and businesses looked liked if we focused on it much more through the entire year as we walked forward?

Today, I would like to share my review of this book with you, and encourage you to read the entire book. It is a very quick read and a memorable one. The authors also wrote two other related books that are on my list – “Go-Givers Sell More” and “It’s Not About You”. If you are desiring to grow as a leader and/or grow as a sales/marketing professional next year, I believe they would be great reads as well for you!

Top Nuggets I Gleaned from The Go-Giver:

Though there were a lot that I took away from this book, I want to distill the highlights that stood out to me. I pray they are insightful, paradigm shifting, convicting and inspiring above all things as they were for me. As I do this review, I find them serving as wonderful reminders as well since reading this book back in the summer when I was traveling abroad. Truth be told, I didn’t even realize it was a book that so closely tied into business. It certainly speaks to relationships in all forms, however has a lot of practical wisdom for businesses!

The Secret: Chapter 2

• To reach the kind of stratospheric success we’re talking about, people need to have something on the inside, something that’s genuine. (pg. 11)
• You get what you expect. What you focus on is what you get. (pg. 15)
• Go looking for the best in people, and you’ll be amazed at how much talent, ingenuity, empathy and good will you’ll find. (pg. 16)

The Law of Value: Chapter 3

• A very useful thing to remember: appearances can be deceiving. (pg. 25)
• People will do business with and refer business to those people they know, like and trust. (pg. 27)
• Exceed people’s expectations, and they will pay you even more. Give, give, give. Because you love to. It’s not a strategy, it’s a way of life. (pg. 29)
• The Law of Value: Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment. (pg. 34)

The Law of Compensation: Chapter 5

• The Law of Compensation: Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them. (pg. 45)
• If you want more success, find a way to serve more people. (pg. 46)

The Law of Influence: Chapter 8

• In any business—you also need to know how to develop a network. 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. They’re people who are personally investing in seeing you succeed. And of course, that’s because you’re the same way about them. They’re your army of personal walking ambassadors. (pg. 65-66)
• The Law of Influence: Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first. (pg. 67)
• If you place the other person’s interests first, your interests will always be taken care of. Always. (pg. 68)
• They love to give. That’s why they’re attractive. Givers attract. (pg. 70)

The Law of Authenticity: Chapter 10

• If you need money, he said, “add value. And if you need a lot of money, add a lot of value”. (pg. 88)
• There was something else I’d learned over the years, and that was how to be a friend. How to care. How to make people feel good about themselves. And that, my friends, is something the marketplace wants very much – always has, always will. (pg. 90)
• The Law of Authenticity: The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself. (pg. 92)

Gus: Chapter 11

• You just love what you do. You love talking with people, asking them questions, learning all about them, finding ways you can help them, serve them, fill a need, share a resource… (pg. 100)

The Law of Receptivity: Chapter 12

• Receiving is the natural result of giving. (pg. 107)
• All the giving in the world won’t bring success, won’t create the results you want, unless you also make yourself willing to receive in like measure. (pg. 108)
• The Law of Receptivity: The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving. (pg. 111)

 Full Circle: Chapter 13

• The point is not what you do. Not what you accomplish. It’s who you are. (pg. 115)
  

My Life Application Takeaways from The Go-Giver:

I am challenged to focus on asking simple questions to my clients in future meetings such as: “I love to serve and connect people. How could I serve you? Whom would it be helpful for me to connect you to? I also would like to pick my top 5 clients and 5 smaller clients and ask them: “How could we exceed your expectations?” Lastly, I would love to meet with my President, Paul, and talk with him over a brainstorming session about how we could create more value for our clients. If we challenge ourselves to grow in our ability to serve and give with a deeper passion, I believe great life change will occur.

So what is one thing you can commit to now with regard to focusing more on giving in your life? If you have any questions about any of these insights or how to adapt them to your world, feel free to contact me or the authors.