Marshall Goldsmith, a very successful corporate coach, shared a pearl of wisdom in this profile article.
As a high school senior in Valley Station, Ky, Goldsmith was chosen to head the annual March of Dimes Bread Drive. Traditionally, high school students would solicit donations from community residents and give them a loaf of bread in return.
Noting that he lived in a poor community, Goldsmith elected to give away the bread first, and residents responded by donating more than they had in previous years.
"I found that if you gave away the bread, people would respond better," he said. "After that, it sort of influenced my philosophy of life."
This is so simple and yet so many people just don't get it. Our firm, Mercer Capital, has been giving the bread away first for years and it has served us well. Our "bread" is our intellectual capital. We share what we know in the form of articles, presentations, and consultations. We don't charge for it unlike many other firms who are so focused on the nickel in front of them that they can't see the dollar on the horizon.
Figure out what your "bread" is and then give it away and watch what happens.
As my boss, Chris Mercer, always says "life is not a zero-sum game."
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