The Go-Giver

The Go-Giver:

A Little Story about a Powerful Business Idea

| Authors: Bob Burg and John David Mann, 2007|

What's it all About?

Are you a go-getter? One that loves to drive results, making things happen all the time. However, as hard as you hustle that promotion has not come or your big break just never seems to give. A different approach may be the shift you need in your life to get to a better place. Have a read if this is something you are looking for, and no, a go-getter is not the opposite of a go-giver!

This parable was given to me by a colleague, Joe. He is in a similar place in life as myself, which is a darn good place I am grateful to say! We were discussing life and the universe, deep stuff around the concept that ‘it is better to give than it is to receive’. I have heard that since my Sunday school days, but never really understood it until the last few years. It is about providing value, and having a true belief that by giving, one can then be in a position to receive!

In this short read, Bob Burg and John David Mann, break this down into The Five Laws of Stratospheric Success:

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

Favourite Quote

‘All things being equal, people will do business with and refer business to those people they know, like and trust.’

Biggest Takeaway

Before I read this, I had already decided that the way to grow my business was to add tremendous value to the universe. To use my knowledge, passion and energy to impact the most amount of people in the best possible way. I had been practicing the first three laws and the authenticity part has been a new way of life for me over the past few years and is liberating! So, this leaves me with the concept of receptivity. They way they explain it is like breathing – to take a breath in, you must breath out. If you are always adding value, then value must come back to you in another form. It really is a law of the universe, and I never looked at ‘receiving’ that way. Interesting! This quick read elevated my energy to give, because I can. Another one for the gratitude journal!

Reviewed by: Trevor Blondeel, September 2019

Mindfulness Manufacturing

Our show is about providing listeners with real stories that come from a place of experience, transparency, and authenticity. Most importantly it’s about what we learn from these stories and applying Mindfulness in our everyday work and personal lives.
Our intention is to create an environment where people can learn through open honest discussions on how we apply Mindfulness. Although our experiences and stories come from time in a manufacturing environment hence the title “Mindfulness Manufacturing”, we still see our discussions and topics relatable to any organization or profession.

When a mistake occurs on the plant floor, your mind might jump to one question: who caused this issue, and should I write them up for their mistake? But there’s a more productive approach you could be taking—and in this episode of Mindfulness Manufacturing, guest Dr. Jake Mazulewicz breaks it all down!

With a background as a firefighter, EMT, and military paratrooper, Jake knows the challenges of high-hazard industries, and works with organizations to reduce errors and create safer, more reliable workplace environments. In this episode, Jake shares why you can’t procedularize everything, including the way you handle errors and accidents, and offers great insights and stories about how to use connection and curiosity to improve safety, address errors, and strengthen your organization.

3:35 – Procedures and policies are the work that is imagined, and on the floor is how the work actually gets done

4:19 – The work as-done is almost always radically different than the work as-imagined

5:20 – Even when you have standards and people show up wanting to do a good job, you can still see issues that need to be addressed

6:44 – There will always be areas that absolutely need to have procedures in place

8:02 – There are also adaptive jobs, which leans less into procedures and more intro troubleshooting and tacit human knowledge

10:56 – In an ideal environment, both mechanistic and adaptive models are used and respected and needed

12:11 – There are four levels, ranging from strict procedurals to looser guidelines that show what to do, but not how to do it

15:36 – Tacit knowledge gets shared through conversations

16:22 – A way to share important information is to have frontline experts record videos sharing their insights to problems, especially those that are not covered in procedures

19:44 – Through conversation and connection, more knowledge is shared

21:58 – Debriefing also plays a central role

23:45 – If you have strong discipline, you’ll find more freedom

25:31 – In most situations, errors are signals, not defects

27:07 – When an error occurs, be curious and find the deeper cause of the problem

Connect with Jake Mazulewicz

Find him on Linkedin

Visit his website