Give. And give. And give more.

Posted on by Live & Learn

Wharton, Businessweek,professor, education, school, giving

I read this NY Times article a week ago: Is Giving The Secret to Getting Ahead. And synchronicity has been working it’s magic ever since.  I’m seeing giving everywhere.  Yesterday alone with three examples: My post and One Good Deed.  Entering a bone chilling cabin, a flight attendant see an elderly woman shivering and gives her a cardigan. Last night a quote by Sam Levenson: “Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it’s at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.”

Adam Grant, 31, is the youngest-tenured and highest rated professor at Wharton.  He has published more papers in his field than colleagues who have won lifetime-acheivement awards.  He is the author of a new book titled “Give and Take – A Revolutionary Approach to Success” which will be released later this month.  The man lives his personal and professional life as a GIVER. (Miraculously so.)  The story (long) is worth the time to understand what he does and why he does it. Grant’s research divides us into three categories:

  • Givers: Give without expectation of immediate gain; they never seem too busy to help.
  • Matchers: Go through life with a master chit list in mind, giving when they see how they will get something of equal value back and to people who can help them.
  • Takers: Seek to come out ahead in every exchange; they manage up and are defensive about their turn

“…Most people surveyed fall into the matcher category — but givers, Grant says, are overrepresented at both ends of the spectrum of success: they are the doormats who go nowhere or burn out, and they are the stars whose giving motivates them or distinguishes them as leaders. Much of Grant’s book sets out to establish the difference between the givers who are exploited and those who end up as models of achievement. The most successful givers, Grant explains, are those who rate high in concern for others but also in self-interest. And they are strategic in their giving — they give to other givers and matchers, so that their work has the maximum desired effect; they are cautious about giving to takers; they give in ways that reinforce their social ties; and they consolidate their giving into chunks, so that the impact is intense enough to be gratifying. (Grant incorporates his field’s findings into his own life with methodical rigor: one reason he meets with students four and a half hours in one day rather than spreading it out over the week is that a study found that consolidating giving yields more happiness.)”

This article packs a punch…it’s worthy.

Conclusion: I have work to do.

23 thoughts on “Give. And give. And give more.”

  1. I had mentioned to Lori earlier this week that I was sure you were going to write a post about this article (though the article about Carnivale sp? was excellent). The findings are too significant to ignore and suggest that ‘strategic giving’ is not necessarily a contradiction in terms. Also of note, is how this professor spends his days – he is in ‘giving’ mode all the time, and is clearly walking the walk that he so eloquently talks.

    1. Wow, I’m that transparent huh? I’m going to have to drop more Harlem Shake posts! 🙂 I do question whether his approach (the sheer volume of it all) is sustainable, possible or healthy. Yet, he has managed to elevate this topic way up in my consciousness and move me out of my stupor.

      1. You’re not in a stupor – and I would submit it’s nothing you don’t already know and arguably do more than you care to admit to yourself. Yeah, you’re that good. Period. And transparent? Only to those who are looking. 😉

  4. I completely agree with it wonderful post Dave – like always. From last 1.5months I was worn out. I stopped checking my emails, I didn’t study for my exams, I found it very difficult to wake up and go office and I was not in a mood to do anything. I just used to stay alone and do nothing. Things changed upside down when I actually got involved in helping other people and making them happy. I was fighting with myself from 6 weeks and suddenly I was in a state of ecstasy (:

  6. Dave,
    While I love philanthropy, I’ve got more work to do as well. Feel your pain, brother! Nevertheless, In my role as a Philanthropic Advisor, I have the privilege of working with highly successful generous givers. Grant nails it when he says highly successful givers are strategic and give to other givers and matchers for maximum desired effect. I’m working with a diverse group of generous donors who are pooling their resources to make a major difference in Cuba. Thanks for the post. Buying the book!
    Joel

  10. There’s always a balancing act between giving and preventing yourself starving to death. It’s not such a sacrifice for a rich person to give away some wealth (especially if it gives them some sort of tax advantage in the process). But for a poor person it is much bigger thing — hence the parable of the widow’s mite. I know there are other ways of giving, by way of kind deeds, but sometimes we run out of energy to help the whole world. It’s a good ideal, though.

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