good morning everybody those of you have
a job does anybody feel overpaid I'm
looking for hands and those of you in
business does anybody feel that they
have too much business I'm also looking
for hands today I'm talking to you about
a counterintuitive strategy called
generosity to me I believe that
generosity is the the new business
strategy and not just a new business
strategy but a LOF strategy as well and
I want to share my opinions with you so
we come from a society where we come
from scarcity we believe that there's
not enough Karl Marx called it primitive
accumulation we want more and more and
more and in business there seems to be
we seem to be approaching things from
two different avenues and many of us in
business is a concept called give and
take but a lot of people think it's take
and give they feel that they need to
take first and then give and I believe
that there's three types of people in
society if I were to ask you do you
think you're a giver or a taker how many
of you feel you're a giver more than
half the people feel they're a giver
well statistically only 19 percent of
people are actually given a slightly
higher percentage or takers but the
predominant version of people the other
highest measure of a percentage of
people are actually traders what is the
trader somebody who says I will give you
eggs and you give me why let's use an
example say let's say one of you in the
audience is a friend of mine and it's
your birthday so I'll give you five
hundred ran for your birthday and we're
all happy three months later it's my
birthday and you give me a hundred Rand
you did to me wouldn't you agree
and then say I've invited you to three
or four browse this year you haven't
invited me to one you are off my
Christmas list isn't that how we work
and let's look at the working world
in the working world we come from a very
strong scarcity mindset what's happening
here is if you think about it there are
so many companies where it's the owner
of the business versus the staff so
let's let's ask a couple of questions
would you really go out of business if
you didn't pay a minimum wage what if
you paid more what if you gave your
staff extra incentives what if you gave
them better coffee what if you gave him
something else other than just the bare
minimum and if you look at about at the
psychology of our employment in South
Africa these are saying that most
employees are play a paid just enough
not to quit and they're given just
enough money not to leave does that
sound familiar surely there's a better
way surely if each of us is only working
with a scarcity mindset no wonder we are
getting the results we getting and these
are saying if you don't like what you're
getting change what you do so elites
look at South Africans part of South
Africa's productivity figures and
globally we're in one of the least
productive countries in the world and if
we look at our Gini coefficient we have
the highest rate of inequality between
the lowest and highest earners and I
think we need to do something about it
if we look at our engagement levels it's
between 9 and 13 percent of the
population are actively engaged and they
come to work
no wonder maybe our businesses aren't
doing as well as they could be so how
could you as a business leader be more
generous I'll give you an example of
some of the things I've been trying to
do my staff get two half days every
single month I know it's a silly thing
but these free popcorn every day little
things like having development
opportunities every single month
coaching opportunities to teen
networking and training I think that's
so important and when we have a great
month have people share in the spoils so
I think it's also an important thing to
have a culture where you catch people
doing things right but let's look at
employees how many employees go to work
and they have this mindset you don't pay
me enough to smile I will do my job I
will arrive I will be here but you won't
get my body and my mind and my soul you
die I'm not paid enough to volunteer
or to care or to go the extra mile so I
really believe that in business mean
there is a better way generosity is
definitely the way and if you think
about it between businesspeople we'd go
into business together I'll sign your
terms and conditions you have a service
level agreement we do all these things
so you give me a service I pay you but
there's not much more I think with is
not much more that's with the space with
a magic can happen going forward and I
just want to encourage a few little
areas where we can make it work one
thing I know for sure is people can tell
the difference between a fake strategy
and genuine care between you and anybody
you'll see in the world there is
something called an emotional bank
account so you can imagine that these
this notional thing that's art they
imagine with each person you meet you
meet them for the first time and you say
let's make a deposit you make a deposit
and then there's money into that account
or an emotional amount
has anyone been to the ATM put the card
in and this is no fun
I don't know what that's like absolutely
know what that's like it's a horrible
feeling so we haven't put in the funds
we haven't put in the work so imagine
you in your business or in your working
life if there was a bank account between
you and every single person if you could
make it your life's mission to always be
in credit to give more than people have
any right to expect and to keep doing it
even if they don't say thank you and
even if they don't notice or care so
with that emotional bank account I'll
give you an example of two ladies I know
in business the one lady opened up a
beauty spa and what happened is she came
to me about a year later and she said I
don't know what to do I've lost all my
money and I sat with her and I said well
one of the things I think you should do
is give free treatments to everybody for
a month for every single hour she looked
at me and she said are you crazy I'll go
out of business
I said well you already going out of
business she didn't listen to my advice
couple of weeks later a friend of mine
another friend opened up a beauty spa
and her first thing she did she went to
every single person she knew and she
said please come to our beauty spa bring
friend and have a free treatment well
this unleashed a whole wave of
positivity firstly her brand grew people
started saying she's amazing she's so
kind people went along and they enjoyed
these free treatments they started
telling everybody else they started
returning the business to them and then
all of a sudden her business just grew
and grew and grew today she's won many
many awards for having an amazing
business the other lady has closed her
business down she has a job and she's
lost her entire pension and I blame it
on that attitude of scarcity versus
abundance about three or four years ago
I went to have lunch with a friend of
mine there's a group of us we used to
meet once a month for lunch and my
friend asked the restaurant manager
could she have some chili and it was
under new management
she wants a chili with her lunch and he
said madam that'll cost you fifteen Rand
she went what and then she proceeded to
tell him where he could insert the chili
and put it this way we have not never
gone Beckley we worked out that we
probably they have probably lost about
twenty to thirty thousand rand from us
because they wanted to charge the
fifteen rent for the chili so the
question to ask yourself is in your
business and in your life are you
charging fifteen ran for the chili a few
years ago I read a book that I literally
found life changing it's called twenty
nine gifts written by Cammy Walker and
in this book he tells the story of a
lady who suffered from multiple
sclerosis she was in absolute agony she
was sick she was so she was depressed
and she'd been to every single doctor
under the Sun and nobody could help her
out of desperation she went to visit a
medicine woman and this woman said to
her okay I'm going to give you an
assignment I want you to return in 29
days and tell me how you are the lady
was quite upset she wanted pulse she
wanted medication she wanted a potion
the lady gave her an assignment she said
every single day do one good deed do one
thing for someone gives something away
every single day and this lady was
horrified she said but you don't
understand I'm sick I'm poor I have
nothing to give so what she did is she
went
Aarthi and she thought well she had
nothing to lose so one day she gave away
pot plants one day she set with somebody
who was in need and had a conversation
with him another day she gave somebody
who old bra I don't know why she did
that but clearly somebody was in need of
upliftment and what happened then was
just that every day she started looking
at other people looking for
opportunities to make a difference 29
days later she returned and the medicine
woman couldn't believe her eyes in front
of her stood somebody very different to
the person who was 29 days before she
was rosy-cheeked she was well and she
came in with a bounce in her step and
this lady said I don't know what's
happened but since I'm not focusing on
my own little ailments and grievances
and in foibles I've started feeling so
much better and I looked at this and I
thought I wonder if I could try this own
experiment in my own life and that's
what I did so I started something you
know the debiting period yeah I don't
either
it's you put one the one side and I
started a journal and I thought let me
try this for 29 days and I can tell you
it didn't work
my intention was everyday to out give so
what is that every day was my goal was
to have this giving column being so big
and what I received being so little or
maybe did it work because with the right
intention every day my receiving column
ended up being more and it was an
interesting thing the one day I went and
did a speech for a client and I got back
and he was a friend of my reception she
said I've got a hotel stay for two for
you and your husband enjoy and big
things are Winston took somebody to
lunch and I had a book for her I was
planning to pay but while I was in the
ladies she had paid and she had a gift
for me which was far bigger and I
thought damn this isn't working but
maybe it really was and then I want to
discuss abundance how can we put this
into our lives so I carried on this I
carried on this little quest of twenty
nine gifts and I took it way beyond then
and it's been quite interesting how it's
played out in my mind and in my life so
what is an abundance man see it it's not
just generosity with money a lot of us
think I need money there's a couple of
areas where we can be incredibly
generous what have you got excess so I
hit up a charity we ask people to give
us things that they no longer need and
things like clothing and shoes and it's
amazing how many people have things in
the in the cupboards for Monday love day
many people ask people to give 67 things
a couple of years ago I challenge people
to give us a thousand things
it's amazing how cathartic it is to give
but here are things that you can give in
business you can give your time how many
of you are experts in your field you can
give a free consultation a mentorship
advice what about your social networking
connections
what about sharing somebody's post on
social media giving them a testimonial
giving them a referral
what about offers of genuine help and
assistance what about the benefit of the
doubt so many people don't do that they
choose to take offense rather than
saying that person probably didn't mean
that thing what about giving somebody a
chance just the first opportunity
what about recognition the world is
starving for recognition could we give
recognition to somebody in need and
appreciation as a recruiter I found the
main reason people leave jobs is they're
not recognized enough what about giving
somebody just created for something
maybe they didn't do the whole thing but
they did something that was worthy what
about giving them all the credit and not
taking any for yourself and what about
giving somebody an opportunity they are
so many things we can give to people and
so many of us withhold it because we
come from a man sit wait if you give
somebody a hand they'll take an arm I
don't believe that at all what about
giving somebody encouragement saying you
can do it you've got this what about
your knowledge giving away your
knowledge doesn't make you poorer some
people are living in a zero-sum game
where they believe if somebody else
benefiting they are losing what if we
were all winning what if we all adopted
this generosity mindset and what about
moral support just hanging on to
somebody else and saying I've got you
let's walk this road together I read
somewhere that attention is the rarest
and purest form of generosity
but do we give people our attention how
many of us sit in a restaurant have you
seen people sit in a restaurant on a
romantic date and both people are on
Facebook not with each other so if you
think about it in business when you
speak to your staff in your family when
you speak to each other in your
friendships and in society what if you
really wind up to somebody and said how
are you really listen for the answer
gave him your attention so for me when
you've got something excess don't build
a bigger wall built a bigger table
Zig Ziglar is what this amazing saying
and which I've really tried to live by
he says you can have everything in life
as long as you give enough other people
what they want
have you worked out what they want if
you want a more motivated team of stuff
ask people what do you want you ask them
how can I help you win when you meet
with the client ask them what do you
want and then go for the extra ten
fifteen both for the well and the secret
of success is consistency it's not about
well today and then nothing tomorrow but
about consistency every single day so I
have a philosophy give away more than
anyone you know and soon you'll have
more than anyone you know it's been an
incredibly exciting philosophy to live
birth ask yourself what a society need
and go and give it to society just keep
giving even if nobody notices even if
nobody says thank you and every day ask
yourself how can I help you 114 years
ago I started a charity called Robin
Hood Foundation and when lady came up to
me the one day and she said Cindy I'd
love to help poor people but I don't
know anyone and I said where do you live
Switzerland and she said you know she'd
never thought about it
one thing about living in South Africa
is we've got so many opportunities to
help people to make a difference and on
the slide yeah which i think is
fantastic every year we go to Eaton
beanie School for the disabled and what
we do is we hand out we give him a party
we bring the fun fair to their to the
kids at eat in be nice cool and on this
one day we had these little boys walking
in but they weren't walking they were
using the steel upturned disc frames
scraping them along the floor as they're
hobbled in they are very very heavy and
very hard to walk with and then we gave
him these carbon fiber frames which you
could use with a pinky finger that was
like we'd given these little boys wings
and you can imagine the joy that we got
from giving these carbon fiber frames in
the next frame is woman taking goggle
bags bags of food that we wouldn't even
want we won't even need but they wait
for 45 hours either in the scorching Sun
or pouring rain and remember nobody
became poor by giving I've got us a
saying on my fridge and it sees never
suppress the generous thoughts and often
I speak to my to my daughters and I
think of something and they'll remind me
and they'll say mom remember you're
saying never sir praise the generous
thought so what can you do what about a
five-minute favor a day without the
generous action is a day wasted so what
about paying somebody's sincere
compliment what about asking somebody
how can I help you really what about
making somebody's day just because you
care and more importantly making the day
of someone you can do no good for you in
return so I really do believe in being
kinder than necessary you know in the
rain that we've been through I think
it's morally reprehensible that we drive
in our cars Passa domestic worker you
will never ever have a car in the
pouring rain just a little reminder to
ourselves can we stop and give somebody
a lift can we make the day and then I
think we'd better look at this
relentless pursuit for more more more
each one of us from this room probably
already has more than enough and these
are wonderful saying that I love and it
says it doesn't matter how we walk with
a great it's how we sit with a broken
and for me this this has really been a
man seat that I've been working on so
here's a question what kind of society
would it be if everybody in the society
would just like me
and to finish off I just want to show
you a few few points going forward so
what can you do I'd encourage you to
adopt generosity as your strategy in
business in your personal life in your
family and in society our country needs
that the world needs what you've got to
give in the angel cultivator brand that
people trust like and respect and people
do business with people they trust like
and respect you'll also start a cycle
where people will start telling around
how wonderful you are and how amazing
you are because in a society where
everybody's taking the givers stand out
a mile away so do daily differences do
daily random acts of kindness do daily
deposits which lead to a life of
generosity live in such a way that if
anyone spoke badly of you nobody would
believe them and if you were once a
success it comes from being significant
it means we're making a difference it
means what we do matters
is what you're doing mattering and who's
it mattering to so when you pay it
forward it increases your personal
happiness I really believe that it also
creates a wave of positive goodwill that
nobody can can quell and for me
generosity is the most powerful
marketing tool in business and as a
quickest tool to contentment Barack
Obama had a saying he said people show a
certain poverty of ambition when they
focus their lives merely on making her
back
he's gotta be more to life the net so it
creates an upward cycle it creates a
positive feeling which will motivate you
to do more and success isn't it about
infusing humanity and generosity and
about creating better and better
relationships so for me giving just
doesn't build your business it's
changing the world and I encourage you
when you give you inspire others thank
you
[Applause]