Go-Giver

Important goals that shape the life of a businessperson

Every company has its goals and so do individuals. For businesses, productivity and profitability are the major goals determining their modes of operation and adaptability in the industry. The most important goal however is adding value. Value addition is all about creating a difference in the business environment. It requires the adoption of new strategies that would result in improved performance and operation of a business. The question at issue is what unique factor the business is bringing into the industry as compared to the competitors. Value addition may occur on the products or services offered and the workforce available. Thought Leadership is another goal that shapes the character of businesspeople. Leadership in this context may  concern the industry and the internal organization of the business. From within, good leadership is one of the key contributors towards success. Without this, some other functions such as planning and coordination are not achievable. In the industrial context, a business aims to be the best in its environment. This applies to the production processes, employee and stakeholder relationships, customer satisfaction and social responsibility (Hofstede, 2009).

The other important goal is networking in business. For a firm to be successful there must be an interaction with other successful businesses. Networking in the business industry creates certain chances for growth and expansion. It is through this that business learns of its competitors and their successful strategies and possibly follows an example. Networking also attracts outside investments especially in cases where a business is sourcing for funds. Most businesses that network also end up forming strong and successful business partnerships that become beneficial to all the stakeholders. Establishing a competent workforce is another goal of a business that shapes the character of a businessperson. Competent and skillful workforce has always considered to be the guarantee of prosperous trade. Every businessperson realizes that adequacy of employees literally determines the influence their business has over its specific operating environment. Skillful workforce puts customer satisfaction and business performance before their personal interests. While workforce achieves this, a businessperson also has the responsibility of paying them reasonably to provide motivations. Motivation includes job promotions, rewards and professional training for improving individual skills and abilities. Quality sales are the other goal of a business that determines individual character. A majority of businesses of almost all categories aim at having high sales at the end of each financial year. To achieve greater sales, the businessperson and his entire workforce must establish the target market. Having performed it; the business is able to attain quality sales (Malihi & Aghdasi, 2014).

Summary of the theme and plot

The main mission of the “The Go-Giver” was to raise profile of the ancient proverb ‘Give and you shall receive’. The book succeeds in doing this through the story of a young businessman named Joe with desperate need for individual success. Despite his ambition and hard work, Joe still feels that his goals grow further away each time he puts in more effort. Later on he connects with Pindar, who introduces him to the five laws of stratospheric success.  Joe stumbles upon a new fact which requires him to put the interests and needs of other people before his own while continually adding value to their lives. This resulted in a shift of focus from the concept of getting to giving, which surprisingly led to the attainment of his personal success together with positive influence in the relationship and results of the associates and customers.

Before taking up this approach, Joe like any other businessperson with potential investigated all the tricks in the business world that worked with the win-at-all-costs notion.  Firstly, the new idea and given approach seemed to be outrageous and a rare path only the brave individuals like him could follow. To prove his theory, Pindar introduces Joe to a number of go-givers such as financial adviser and real-estate broker who have become successful after taking up the approach. It is from these meetings that Joe learns of the five laws of stratospheric success. Here he explores how to open up to the giving rather than taking approach and the positive and unexpected results that come with this approach (Fox, 2005).

Critical Analysis of the five laws of stratospheric success

The book is mainly criticized for the doubtful leap from “giving is better than receiving” to “stratospheric success”. As much as the message is positive to the audience, the methodology applied seems to be unclear and unsufficient. The methodology taken up by Joe to win out involves the five laws of stratospheric success as discussed below (Burg & Mann, 2014):

a) Law of value. This law states, “The true worth is measured by how much more you can give rather than take when it comes to payment”. For employees with value, there is an assurance of having secure employment opportunities. This also brings about the higher chances of rise in positions in the corporate world due to the noticeable value.

b) Law of compensation.- This law states that one’s income is determined by the number of people the individual serves and the best way to offer the service.  The main idea brought out here lies in impact and its equality to income. To create a greater impact, the employee must focus on the needs of others and establish approaches to meet them, appreciate the support of others within the workforce and thereafter use a solution-based approach to meet the needs.

c) Law of influence. This law denotes that one’s influence is determined by how abundantly they place the interests of others.

d) Law of authenticity. This law states that the most valuable gift one can offer is to be themselves. Here, the tension present when conducting a business eases out thus resulting in creation of value. The only way to be effective is by being yourself, presenting your best skills and working for yourself instead of the employer.

e) Law of receptivity. This law denotes that being effective in giving means being open to receiving.