Wikipedia states that Generosity (also called largess or largesse) is the habit of giving without expecting anything in return. It can involve offering time, assets or talents to aid someone in need.
Can you grow your business with generosity?
Many people think that in business you need to be ruthless: don’t make friends with your staff, you may have to sack them later; it’s a dog eat world out there, I don’t want to be the ‘mug’ left at the bottom
Remember your staff are your best customers, they know the product, they know how to make it better, they hear views directly from your clients, they have views, they have ideas. They are your most valuable resource.
What would happen if you treated them well, were generous, paid them fairly?
I spoke to a lovely lady last week, who runs a company where her team set their own wage. I am meeting more and more people with successful companies who understand that giving more means increasing productivity, loyalty and above all makes the place of work enjoyable. There are countless articles out there on how to make your company more productive that supports this view.
This is not a new concept, companies like Rowntree and Cadbury understood that businesses that takes care of their employees, thrive. Whilst they are held up as great philanthropists, they also understood it was good for business. Henry Ford understood that overworking employees made them less productive. He knew that by paying his staff well, he was creating loyalty and hard work.
From these examples we can see that if you give in the right way, you benefit. Here at Tech Talkfest, we recommend, very highly, the book Give and Take, by Adam Grant. Without being mercenary, it shows that by being a giver, you not only benefit the world around you, you are likely to make it better for yourself too.
Chatting to Amanda Davie, from Reform Digital, this week, we talked about how unusual it is to find generous and giving people out there. Reflecting on this some more with a very good friend who is a member of Tech Talkfest, we agreed that we were very fortunate to be surrounded by this rare group of people, to the point where we just assume that everyone is. I had a very different conversation with a young man that is working on his start up with the help of MSVentures Accelerator program. I hope he managed to take something away from our conversation and if nothing else appreciates that there are many out there that will give to him and if he passes that gift on to someone else, he makes the world a better place.
Hope you have a generous weekend! It is as simple as passing on a smile to someone else.
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