Generosity
Generosity is often equated with charity. It evokes the image of Daddy Warbucks magnanimously sharing his wealth with the destitute Little Orphan Annie. DEOs are generous, but they don’t see themselves as modern-day benefactors of the less fortunate. DEOs give because it’s creative.
We’re trained as children to share, to be generous, and to let others use our toys. This requires repeated instruction, because sharing something means we get less of it for ourselves. It diminishes our control and ownership.
This early training, while civilized and admirable, reinforces a worldview where resources are limited. The supply of money, time, and things is finite — a pie that cannot grow larger as it’s divided into pieces.
This worldview persists as we grow older and are prompted to volunteer our time, pledge our money, and donate our unused stuff as a sign of our unselfishness or gratitude. In return, our generosity is acknowledged with plaques, goodie bags, and tax deductions. We may even gain an increased sense of well-being.
Despite the early training, modest rewards, and psychic benefit, for most of us generosity remains a “should do” rather than a “must do.” Giving is painful or inconvenient or unsatisfying. It’s not nearly as buff and agile as its opposite — taking — an action that doesn’t ask us to delay gratification or wait for the afterlife.
DEOs are no more virtuous or bighearted than the general population. They simply don’t see giving as a zero-sum game with a winner and a loser. For a DEO, generosity is an investment with no downside. For a DEO, generosity creates more value than it gives away.
As Chris Anderson, the curator of TED, explains: “Just realize that we’re in a time when an element of letting go can be unbelievably powerful. You let go in order to get back.”
Guidelines
DEOs approach the practice of generosity as though it were a garden — once started, it has infinite life and benefit as long as its nurtured. It’s a “give to get” cycle with only winners.
Infinite scale
DEO’s worldview recognizes that some resources are infinite. They have assets they can give away without losing possession of them. For example, unlike money, time, or tangible goods, information is infinitely extendable. Sharing it doesn’t decrease our store of it. In fact, a DEO would argue that sharing information prompts diverse opinions and improves the overall level of discourse in a field.
Sharing connections by introducing friends and colleagues is another example of win-win generosity. Those introduced benefit from the new connection. The DEO reinforces his or her value to a network and encourages its growth and usefulness. As with information, DEOs do not lose contacts they share.
Similarly, the concept of open source reflects the idea that a generously created resource can be shared infinitely to everyone’s benefit. This approach runs rampant in the software and hardware industries, but it’s also becoming more common in fields as disparate as beer, medicine, and fashion. Citizen science, citizen journalism, and open governance all rely on generous contributors building and sharing infinitely scalable resources.
Reciprocity
Altruism is giving with no expectation of return — a saintly virtue hard to fault and equally hard to find. Most giving has some expectation of return, even if the return is just recognition.
DEOs may or may not be altruistic depending on their personal ideals. But they wouldn’t think of ignoring the value of reciprocal giving.
Unlike altruism, reciprocity is giving in order to get. Collaboration is a good example of reciprocity. Good collaborators provide help to others. They also expect to get help from others when they need it. This is not predatory or manipulative. It’s healthy. In companies where collaboration is standard, its benefits multiply exponentially, increasing profitability, productivity, and customer satisfaction.
IDEO, one of the world’s leading design firms, promotes a cultural value called “Make Others Successful.” The firm’s leader, Tim Brown, recently explained that people obsessed with their own ideas aren’t very good at collaborating with others. He goes on to explain how this attitude can win someone a job with his firm: “If they’re generous with giving credit and talk about how someone else was instrumental in their progress, I know that they give help as well as receive it.”
“Paying it forward” is another example of reciprocal generosity, although in this case, one person’s generosity is passed along to someone else. Experienced executives mentoring startups for no return are paying forward the help they received earlier in their careers. An older female entrepreneur helping a younger one review a deal is paying forward an early break she received.
Generosity of this sort benefits from being structured and focused. Adam Grant, author of Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives our Success and an accomplished giver himself, explains that the most successful givers are strategic in their giving: they give to others who will reciprocate. They give to reinforce their connections and they give in ways that please them. We would say they give like DEOs.
Workouts to improve your generosity
Even the most generous among us can improve. There is no leader board for generosity — everyone wins.
Mentor someone.
Offer to share your knowledge and your contacts with no expectation of return. Make their success your sole goal. Appreciate acknowledgment if you get it, but don’t expect it.
Find your voice.
Create a blog and set a goal to share some piece of information every day for a month. It’s free on most platforms, easy to start, and you can always delete it later. If you’re not good with words, choose a platform that lets you communicate through images or photos. Don’t obsess over comments or shares. Your objective is to be generous with your expertise or knowledge, not to gain new fans.
Set it free.
Clean your garage or closet and list everything you’re not using on Craigslist under the Free heading. If you live in a large city, just leave it on the street with a sign “Help Yourself.” This mundane, practical activity has several benefits. It creates more space, helps those in need and encourages generosity in others.
Share the wealth.
Hoarding connections that you don’t have the time or inclination to support is miserly. The world does not have a shortage of people. Next time you’re too busy to follow up on a connection, rather than putting it off until sometime in the future, pass it on to someone else.
Go deeper.
Many knowledgeable authors have written on the topic and process of improved productivity. Here are some of the books we particularly like and recommend:
Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success by Adam Grant
The Generosity Factor by Ken Blanchard and S. Truett Cathy
More or Less: Choosing a Lifestyle of Excessive Generosity by Jeff Shinabarger
Read from the start through to the finish, or bounce around to which ever topics seem relevant. This book is designed to our suit readers’ desires, not a prescribed narrative format. We also welcome your feedback, questions and comments — something we could never do from the pages of our books.
Most of all, if our perspective intrigues you, if you think these traits and inclinations might describe your strengths or potential, we encourage you to start building them now. Reading about leadership is like reading about cycling. No matter how well we understand the technique, we won’t get anywhere until we hop on a bike and start pedaling.
The next chapter in this series is here. To start at the beginning, go here.
