On the Importance and Value of Generosity

Generosity is a learned character trait that involves both attitude and action entailing as a virtue both an inclination or predilection to give liberally and an actual practice of giving liberallyGenerosity also involves giving to others not simply anything in abundance but rather giving those things that are good for others Generosity always intends to enhance the true wellbeing of those to whom it givesWhat exactly generosity gives can be various things money possessions time attention aid encouragement emotional availability and moreGenerosity to be clear is not identical to pure altruism since people can be authentically generous in part for reasons that serve their own interests as well as those of others Indeed insofar as generosity is a virtue to practice it for the good of others also necessarily means that doing so achieves one39s own true longterm good as wellThe key points here are that generosity is more than about money and being generous is usually a winwin where both sides gainGenerosity and LifeA CEO shared a story about how a poor family of immigrants stopped to help someone who had a flat tire in bad weather After the tire was changed the individual offered money to the family They turned it down saying quotToday it was you Tomorrow it might be usquotSooner or later everybody finds themselves needing help and depending on acts of generosity It might be some form of aid guidance a person to talk to who will listen a legup or sometimes gently delivered difficult to hear adviceBy being there and helping when someone is in need ensures good quotkarmaquot If what goes around comes around it may make sense to send good stuff people39s wayGenerosity and Emotional WellBeingGenerosity enables greater human connection a sense of community and a higher social standing Several research projects have indicated that helping others has significant benefits from making your body quotglowquot to reduced stress and anxiety and a longer lifeImportantly generosity is not about wealth A number of studies indicate that those less welloff tend to be more generous with their resources than those with resources often giving their time and energy and often even money from their constrained budgets Being more exposed to the challenges of limited resources they may be more compassionateGenerosity compassion and empathy are three emotional states that are deeply interconnectedGenerosity as a StrategyIf strategy is future competitive advantage generosity is smart for individual or company strategiesGenerosity builds good will which is both an asset and a moat It is an asset in that it can be tapped in the future It is a moat because when an individual or a company has been generous in times of trouble their employees or customers are less likely to switch to a different firm for a lower price or higher payGenerosity is also a key differentiator in that usually when a person or firm needs help there are few people willing to help someone out of power or in trouble Those individuals and brands who do help stand out and their showing up and helping when others are not burns into the emotional and mental memory of the recipientEmotional connections are harder to sever or replace than financial connectionsGenerosity and Modern MarketingWe are at the dawn of a new era of reinvented marketing where brands are increasingly differentiated through experience purpose and employee joyOne way a brand delivers a great experience is when it surprises you with generosity Last week39s post Tattoo resulted in many people sharing stories of how a brand or company39s generosity made a lifelong impact Here39s onequotLong ago must be 30 years ago or more I went into Tiffany39s to purchase one cufflinkThe night before I had attended a blacktie event and one cufflink must have worked itself free it was the solid type and was difficult to get on and off and I lost it off my sleeve Just wasn39t there when I got homeI said to the counter person that I just wanted to buy one cufflink to match the other oneamp160She leftamp160She returned with the typical Tiffany39s blue box with the white ribbon quotHere you go no chargequot she saidI couldn39t believe itYou must be at least the 400th person I have told this story toquotBrands today cannot succeed unless their employees are happy It is the employees who after all provide the service to customers and clients It is the employees who generate the ideas and solve the problems It is often the employees who are most believed and can be the greatest ambassadors and advocates of a brand Often employees are far more authentic ambassadors than a celebrity that companies give tens of millions to Why not be generous in care money and attention to employeesThe CEO of the company where I spent my fulltime working career recently awarded many tens of millions of dollars in bonuses to thousands and thousands of employees who were not eligible or expecting such largesse The impact of that generosity has been very significant and builds on many other acts of generosity of care and attention through the very difficult circumstances that people have had to deal with due to the tragedy of COVID19Culture is not just a place or a history but a way of being and behaving Great cultures always have some form of generosity whether it is compensation benefits forgiveness of mistakes that encourage risktaking and moreGenerosity is a key to brand experiences and brand employees but it is also a cornerstone of brands39 purposedriven marketing Smart companies recognize that purpose ensures not just attraction and retention of talent but also that ESG DEI and other initiatives truly help the company economicallyGenerously helping community environment and others helps the brand Stakeholder capitalism usually helps stockholders when balanced and managed wellBe GenerousGenerosity is aligned with life and happiness It is strategic and a key to the future of marketing It scales by helping you build a reputationTalent wants to collaborate with talent that gives versus talent that takes As we move to the Third Connected Age of the Internet with open web and DAOs Decentralized Autonomous Organizations generosity will be a key edge and signal that attracts collaborators and unlocks opportunitiesBeing generous reminds us that a zerosum transactional closed mindset makes little sense in a world driven by abundance relationships and openness And it makes us feel big regardless of how small or junior or resourceconstrained we might beFinally it aligns with one39s selfinterest because when you give you often get back much more than you gave The generous thrive both in the short and long runClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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On the Importance and Value of Generosity

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Rishad Tobaccowala

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