“Deeply heartfelt and meditative, The Go-Giver is filled with insights. 01 More important, it accomplishes what few business books do—it reminds 02 us of our own core humanity.” —Ori Brafman, New York Times bestselling coauthor, 03 The Starfish and the Spider, Sway, and Click 04
“At the heart of The Go-Giver is a philosophy—actually, a way of being— 05 that will dramatically increase your business, enrich your life, and make 06 an extraordinary mark on the world around you.” 07 — Gary Keller, founder and chairman of the board, Keller Williams Realty, Intl; New York Times bestselling author, The ONE Thing 08 09 “Burg and Mann have crafted a business parable that is drawing comparisons with Dr. Spencer Johnson’s wildly popular 1998 book, Who Moved My Cheese? . . . 10 The world always needs a fresh approach to its most important messages. The 11 Go-Giver is a great way to spread a positive and enriching message.” 12 —Soundview Executive Book Alert 13 “Most people don’t have the guts to buy this book, never mind the will to 14 follow through and actually use it. But you do. And I’m certain that you’ll 15 be glad you did.” —Seth Godin, author of Tribes and Linchpin 16 17 “The Go-Giver has created such a buzz CEOs are buying it in bulk for their entire organizations. [The book] taps into a universal truth: Giving and 18 receiving aren’t mutually exclusive ideals.” 19 —Huffington Post 20 “The Go-Giver is the best business parable since The Greatest Salesman in 21 the World and The One Minute Manager. This book shows that putting the 22 other person first is the key to business success and personal fulfillment. It’s also the most profitable.” 23 —Pat Williams, author, Leadership Excellence; 24 senior vice president, the Orlando Magic 25 “The Go-Giver is filled with timeless truths practically presented that will 26 positively transform every reader; it’s a brilliant and easily read guide to 27 doing good and doing well.” —Rabbi Daniel Lapin, author, Business Secrets from S28 the Bible and Thou Shall Prosper N29
9781591848288_GoGiver_FM_pi-xviii.indd 1 7/8/15 2:55 PM 01 “Trust is established when you act in the best interests of others. This 02 terrific book wonderfully illuminates this and many other principles of contribution, abundance, service, and success. In a style both engaging 03 and insightful, The Go-Giver delivers a very powerful message.” 04 —Stephen M. R. Covey, New York Times 05 bestselling author, The Speed of Trust 06 “Our deepest desire is to be taught and transformed by wisdom presented 07 in its simplest form. Burg and Mann have mastered storytelling by re- turning us to the sacredness of our ancestors—giving, living, and thriv- 08 ing while expressing passion for common sense.” 09 — Temple Hayes, author, When Did You Die?; 10 spiritual leader and difference maker 11 “The greatest leader is a servant leader. The Go-Giver tells a great story 12 about how to serve your way to success.” —John Addison, past co-CEO, Primerica, Inc. 13 14 “The Go-Giver is a lovely reminder to us all that the world is abundant and rewards those who act with a generosity of spirit.” 15 —Lois P. Frankel, Ph.D., author, See Jane Lead 16 and Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office 17 “Similar to Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie, providing wisdom and 18 insight on how to be more successful.” 19 —TheStreet.com
20 “The Go-Giver does everything I would wish a good book to do. The story 21 captured me from the very beginning to the very end. The lessons touched 22 home again and again. Good books do that. This book does that. Read it to the very end.” 23 —Michael E. Gerber, New York Times bestselling author, The E-Myth 24 “The Go-Giver should be handed out to every new college student as re- 25 quired reading.” 26 —Angela Loehr Chrysler, CEO, Team National, Inc.; 27 director, National Companies, Inc. 28S “A classy and timeless read.” 29N —Jones Loflin, coauthor,Juggling Elephants
9781591848288_GoGiver_FM_pi-xviii.indd 2 7/8/15 2:55 PM “A quick read in the spirit of The Greatest Salesman in the World and The 01 One Minute Manager. Burg and Mann write with a simple, informal style 02 that offers a working-person’s interpretation of the old adage ‘give and you shall receive.’” 03 —Publishers Weekly 04
“The Go-Giver is a gem, filled with uncommon wisdom and five-star in- 05 sights. A must-read book by anyone who wants to get more out of life.” 06 —Gerhard Gschwandtner, founder and publisher, Selling Power 07 “The Go-Giver has had an enormous influence on how I do business and 08 live my life, and I’m honored, humbled, and grateful to share the Five 09 Laws with others. Thank you for helping to make this world a better place, and me a better person!” 10 —Harriett E. Dominique, senior vice president, Corporate 11 Responsibility and Community Affairs, USAA 12 “Burg and Mann have demonstrated that adding value to people’s lives is 13 the way to climb the ladder of financial success. Focus on adding value to 14 others and your own success will skyrocket.” 15 —Fran Tarkenton, Hall of Fame quarterback; founder and CEO, GoSmallBiz.com 16 17 “I don’t know that I’ve ever read a more powerful book about succeeding in business and life.” 18 —Gloria Loring, singer and actress; author, 19 Coincidence Is God’s Way of Remaining Anonymous 20 “The Go-Giver hits a bull’s-eye on the subject of success in business and 21 life. Burg and Mann clearly understand how helping others succeed will 22 help you succeed. I highly recommend this book.” —Dr. Ivan Misner, bestselling author, Masters of Success; founder, BNI 23 24 “For those who enjoy business parables, The Go-Giver is one of the more memorable books to come along.” 25 —Editor’s blog, Soundview Executive Book Summaries 26 27 “These five simple principles will help you achieve your goals and fulfill your dreams!” S28 —Brian Tracy, author, The Psychology of Achievement N29
9781591848288_GoGiver_FM_pi-xviii.indd 3 7/8/15 2:55 PM 01 “Short and sweet, this business parable packs a punch with its timely message 02 of generosity. In our fast-paced world, we all need to be reminded of the genu- ine human spirit that builds the foundation for success. You’ll love this book!” 03 —Nido Qubein, president, High Point University 04 “This book is exactly what is meant by the phrase ‘Great things come in 05 small packages.’ The messages within these pages are treasures you will 06 want to read over and over and share with all those you care about. These 07 are the true keys to success in every aspect of life.” —Tom Hopkins, author, How to Master the Art of Selling 08 09 “A cross between Jonathan Livingston Seagull and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People . . . an uplifting, quick read of a book that will appeal to 10 customers who want to bring more heart and a holistic sense of mission to 11 their livelihoods.” 12 —Retailing Insight 13 “The Go-Giver taps into the secret that the mega-successful already know: 14 Personal wealth is the by-product of making the world a better place.” —Paul Zane Pilzer, bestselling author, The Wellness Revolution; 15 two-time U.S. presidential economic adviser 16 17 “This book makes a good first impression, and an even better second im- pression when you realize that the parable is deeper than you first thought.” 18 —Life Insurance Selling 19 “Burg and Mann have taken the complicated game of business and in- 20 fused it with clarity and purpose.” 21 —Philip E. Harriman, CLU, ChFC, president, 22 2007 Million Dollar Round Table 23 “Deftly written and thoroughly reader-friendly . . . informed and infor- 24 mative as well as inspired and inspiring.” —Midwest Book Review 25 26 “The Five Laws are beautiful in their simplicity, but it is Mann and Burg’s powerful storytelling that elevates them from the simply motivational to 27 the truly inspirational.” 28S —Scott Allen, columnist, Fastcompany.com; coauthor, 29N The Virtual Handshake
9781591848288_GoGiver_FM_pi-xviii.indd 4 7/8/15 2:55 PM 01 02 03 04 The Go-Giver 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 S28 N29
9781591848288_GoGiver_FM_pi-xviii.indd 5 7/8/15 2:55 PM 01 02 03 04 By Bob Burg and John David Mann 05 Go-Givers Sell More 06 The Go-Giver Leader 07 08 09 Also by Bob Burg 10 Adversaries into Allies: Master the Art of Influence 11 Endless Referrals: Network Your Everyday Contacts into Sales 12 The Success Formula 13 14 Also by John David Mann 15 16 Among Heroes (with Brandon Webb) 17 The Red Circle (with Brandon Webb) 18 The Slight Edge (with Jeff Olson) 19 Take the Lead (with Betsy Myers) 20 Flash Foresight (with Daniel Burrus) 21 The Secret Language of Money (with David Krueger, M.D.) 22 You Call the Shots (with Cameron Johnson) 23 24 25 26 27 28S 29N
9781591848288_GoGiver_FM_pi-xviii.indd 6 7/8/15 2:55 PM 01 02 03 04 05 The Go-Giver 06 07 08 A Little Story About a 09 10 Powerful Business Idea 11 12 13 Bob Burg and John David Mann 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 S28 PORTFOLIO / PENGUIN N29
9781591848288_GoGiver_FM_pi-xviii.indd 7 7/8/15 2:55 PM 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 PORTFOLIO / PENGUIN An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC 15 375 Hudson Street 16 New York, New York 10014 penguin.com 17 18 Copyright © 2007, 2015 by Bob Burg and John David Mann 19 Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for 20 buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright 21 laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to con- 22 tinue to publish books for every reader. 23 Foreword by Arianna Huffington published by arrangement with the author 24 25 ISBN 978-1-59184-828-8
26 Printed in the United States of America 27 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
28S Set in Apollo MT Std 29N Designed by Cassandra Garruzzo
9781591848288_GoGiver_FM_pi-xviii.indd 8 8/14/15 8:42 PM 01 02 03 04 To Mike and Myrna Burg 05 and Alfred and Carolyn Mann, 06 who gave us everything. 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 S28 N29
9781591848288_GoGiver_FM_pi-xviii.indd 9 7/8/15 2:55 PM CONTENTS 01 02 03 Foreword by Arianna Huffington xiii 04 Introduction xv 05 06 1 The Go-Getter 1 07 2 The Secret 7 08 3 The Law of Value 19 09 4 The Condition 33 10 5 The Law of Compensation 37 11 12 6 Serving Coffee 49 13 7 Rachel 53 14 8 The Law of Influence 59 15 9 Susan 69 16 10 The Law of Authenticity 77 17 11 Gus 93 18 12 The Law of Receptivity 97 19 13 Full Circle 109 20 21 14 The Go-Giver 117 22 The Five Laws of Stratospheric Success 123 23 Acknowledgments 125 24 25 A Go-Giver Discussion Guide 129 26 Q&A with the Authors 135 27 About the Authors 149 S28 N29
9781591848288_GoGiver_FM_pi-xviii.indd 11 7/8/15 2:55 PM 01 02 03 FOREWORD 04 05 06 07 08 09 Giving, touching others’ lives, expanding the circle of our 10 concern to include others, being authentic and being always 11 open to receiving as well as giving. That’s not just a chil- 12 dren’s fairy tale—it’s a good description of many of the most 13 amazing people I’ve encountered. 14 And while they may live and work in different countries 15 and in different fields, they all share the same core giving 16 philosophy. This book captures that philosophy and shows 17 that it is more than a fable, a parable or a pipe dream. It’s 18 real—a path that people can follow in their daily lives. 19 People want to believe that this is the way the world can 20 work: that living with a focus on others isn’t just a nice goal 21 but that it can be a way of life, and can lead to a life that is 22 full, rich and fulfilling. But then, too often, we feel pres- 23 sured by the voices (both external and internal) of cynicism 24 and resignation, telling us, “It’s a dog-eat-dog world out 25 there—you’ve got to look out for #1.” 26 Too many people think, “Oh, sure, once you’ve achieved 27 success and financial stability,then you can afford to be a giv- S28 ing person!” But in this book, Bob Burg and John David N29
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01 Mann—who, among other things, have given us the term 02 go-giver —tell us that, in fact, being a giving person is how you 03 achieve success in the first place, however you define success. 04 Too often people hear “be a giver” and think of charities 05 and writing checks, of “giving back” once we have already 06 done well for ourselves. But that’s only one very specific facet 07 of giving. By “be a giver,” Bob and John mean be a giving per- 08 son, period: one who gives thought, gives attention, gives care, 09 gives focus, gives time and energy—gives value to others. 10 Not as a quid pro quo, not as a strategy to get ahead, but be- 11 cause it is, in and of itself, a satisfying and fulfilling way to be. 12 13 Arianna Huffington 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28S 29N
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9781591848288_GoGiver_FM_pi-xviii.indd 14 7/8/15 2:55 PM 01 02 Introduction to the 03 04 Revised Edition 05 06 07 08 09 Not long after The Go-Giver first appeared, we got a letter from 10 a man named Arlin Sorensen. The CEO of an Iowa IT firm, Ar- 11 lin had organized a Go-Giver–themed summer retreat for more 12 than two hundred peer-group companies. Inspired by the ideas 13 in the book, several conference participants flew out to another 14 state, on their own dime, to help brainstorm solutions for a 15 colleague whose company was on the verge of closure. The firm 16 pulled back from the brink and saw banner profits the follow- 17 ing quarter—and the two men who’d done the consulting were 18 surprised to find that what they learned in the process helped 19 boost growth in their own companies, too. 20 All of which, Arlin told us, was a result of his reading our 21 “little story about a powerful business idea.” 22 And Arlin wasn’t the only one sending us reports like this. 23 People in all sorts of businesses started telling us that our story 24 was changing the way they did things. Chambers of Commerce 25 told us they were adopting Go-Giver precepts as part of their 26 professional code and giving copies of the book to their mem- 27 bers to help their businesses become more successful. A fitness S28 N29
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01 club challenged its staff to continually come up with creative 02 improvements in the business based on the book’s core princi- 03 ples. A legal firm reported using the book to help more effec- 04 tively negotiate matrimonial disputes. 05 The Go-Giver started as a book but soon became a move- 06 ment. Our hero Joe’s struggle to gain an advantage in his 07 business (some “clout and leverage,” as he put it) and his en- 08 counters with his mentor’s counterintuitive principles de- 09 scribing how the world really works (“the more you give, the 10 more you have”) seemed to strike a chord—and not only in 11 the world of business. Before long we were hearing from par- 12 ents, teachers, pastors, and counselors who were using the 13 book in their work, and in their lives, too. 14 • A high school teacher in Indiana told us he was tak- 15 ing his school’s senior class through the book because 16 he found it “better equipped them to do well in the 17 world.” He has done it with every graduating class 18 since. 19 • An executive chef at an exclusive Houston country 20 club started using it to train his management team to 21 reach even higher levels of excellence and member 22 satisfaction. 23 • A Lithuanian expat in London moved back to her 24 homeland and started her own publishing company 25 just so she could share the book with her compatriots 26 in their own language. “Your book will change our 27 country,” she told us. 28S From book clubs to executive councils, law firms to prayer 29N groups, energy conglomerates to nursing homes, pizza shop
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9781591848288_GoGiver_FM_pi-xviii.indd 16 7/8/15 2:55 PM Introduction
managers to graduate school professors, people wrote to tell 01 us how they were using the book. And it wasn’t that they 02 were saying they liked it. They were saying something better 03 than that. 04 They were saying it worked. 05 Business owners told us the book helped them make their 06 businesses more successful. In some cases, struggling busi- 07 nesses experienced a complete turnaround after implement- 08 ing the “Five Laws of Stratospheric Success” Joe learns in 09 these pages. Companies large and small started using it to 10 train their sales and customer service teams to generate both 11 more sales and happier customers. People reported using the 12 Five Laws to great effect in their marriages and approach to 13 parenting. 14 All of the foregoing might seem to suggest that the “se- 15 crets” in The Go-Giver must be startlingly new and original. 16 They aren’t, of course. The ideas here are as old as humanity. 17 One of the messages we hear most often is some variation of 18 “This is how I always thought (or always hoped) things 19 worked. . . . I just never quite knew how to put it into words.” 20 When these readers crack open the pages of Joe’s adventure, 21 they tell us, they discover something they always knew 22 somewhere inside themselves: that while the world may at 23 times appear to be a dog-eat-dog place, there is actually a set 24 of much kinder and vastly more powerful principles operat- 25 ing beneath the surface of casual appearances. 26 But don’t take our word for it. 27 After reading what Joe and his mentor Pindar have to say, S28 we invite you to take the next step and explore it for yourself. N29
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01 Follow Pindar’s Condition: Test every law you read here and 02 see what happens. “Not by thinking about it,” as Pindar tells 03 Joe in chapter 2, “not by talking about it, but by applying it in 04 your life.” 05 Enjoy—and our best wishes for your stratospheric success. 06 07 Bob Burg and John David Mann 08 October 2015 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28S 29N
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9781591848288_GoGiver_FM_pi-xviii.indd 18 7/8/15 2:55 PM 01 02 03 1: The Go-Getter 04 05 06 07 08 09 If there was anyone at the Clason-Hill Trust Corporation who 10 was a go- getter, it was Joe. He worked hard, worked fast and 11 was headed for the top. At least, that was his plan. Joe was 12 an ambitious young man, aiming for the stars. 13 Still, sometimes it felt as if the harder and faster he worked, 14 the further away his goals appeared. For such a dedicated go- 15 getter, it seemed like he was doing a lot of going but not a lot 16 of getting. 17 Work being as busy as it was, though, Joe didn’t have much 18 time to think about that. Especially on a day like today— a Fri- 19 day, with only a week left in the quarter and a critical deadline 20 to meet. A deadline he couldn’t affordnot to meet. 21 22 Today, in the waning hours of the afternoon, Joe decided it 23 was time to call in a favor, so he placed a phone call—but the 24 conversation wasn’t going well. 25 “Carl, tell me you’re not telling me this . . .” Joe took a 26 breath to keep the desperation out of his voice. “Neil Hansen?! 27 Who the heck is Neil Hansen? . . . Well I don’t care what he’s S28 offering, we can meet those specs . . . wait—c’mon, Carl, you N29
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01 owe me one! You know you do! Hey, who saved your bacon 02 on the Hodges account? Carl, hang on . . . Carl!” 03 Joe clicked off the talk button on his cordless phone and 04 made himself calmly set down the instrument. He took a 05 deep breath. 06 Joe was desperately trying to land a large account, an ac- 07 count he felt he richly deserved—one he needed, if he wanted 08 to make his third- quarter quota. Joe had just missed his quota 09 in the first quarter, and again in the second. Two strikes . . . Joe 10 didn’t even want to think about a third. 11 “Joe? You okay?” a voice asked. Joe looked up into the 12 concerned face of his coworker Melanie Matthews. Melanie 13 was a well- meaning, genuinely nice person. Which was ex- 14 actly why Joe doubted she would survive long in a com 15 petitive environment like the seventh floor, where they both 16 worked. 17 “Yeah,” he said. 18 “Was that Carl Kellerman on the phone? About the BK ac- 19 count?” 20 Joe sighed. “Yeah.” 21 He didn’t need to explain. Everyone on the floor knew 22 who Carl Kellerman was. He was a corporate broker looking 23 for the right firm to handle an account Joe had nicknamed 24 the Big Kahuna, or BK for short. 25 According to Carl, the boss at Big Kahuna didn’t think Joe’s 26 firm had the “clout and leverage” to put the deal together. 27 Now some character he’d never heard of had underbid and 28S outperformed him. Carl claimed there was nothing he could 29N do about it.
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“I just don’t get it,” Joe said. 01 “I’m so sorry, Joe,” said Melanie. 02 “Hey, sometimes you eat the bear . . .” He flashed a confi- 03 dent grin, but all he could think about was what Carl had 04 said. As Melanie walked back to her desk, Joe sat lost in 05 thought. Clout and leverage . . . 06 Moments later he leaped up and walked over to Melanie’s 07 desk. “Hey, Mel?” 08 She looked up. 09 “Do you remember talking with Gus the other day, some- 10 thing about a big wheel consultant giving a talk somewhere 11 next month? You called him the Captain or something?” 12 Melanie smiled. “Pindar. The Chairman.” 13 Joe snapped his fingers. “That’s it! That’s the guy. What’s 14 his last name?” 15 Melanie frowned. “I don’t think . . .” She shrugged. “No, I 16 don’t think I’ve ever heard it mentioned. Everyone calls him 17 the Chairman, or just Pindar. Why? You want to go hear the 18 talk?” 19 “Yeah . . . maybe.” But Joe was not interested in some lec- 20 ture happening a month away. He was interested in only one 21 thing—and that one thing needed to happen by the follow- 22 ing Friday, when the third quarter came to an end. 23 “I was thinking, this guy is a real heavy hitter, right? 24 Charges huge consulting fees, works only for the biggest and 25 best firms?Major clout. I know we could handle the BK ac- 26 count, but I’m gonna need some big guns to win the deal 27 back. I need leverage. Any idea how I can get a line to this S28 Chairman guy’s office?” N29
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01 Melanie looked at Joe as if he were proposing to wrestle a 02 grizzly bear. “You’re just going to call him up?!” 03 Joe shrugged. “Sure. Why not?” 04 Melanie shook her head. “I have no idea how to contact 05 him. Why don’t you ask Gus?” 06 07 As Joe headed back to his desk, he wondered how Gus had 08 managed to survive this long at Clason-Hill Trust. He never 09 saw him do any actual work. Yet Gus had an enclosed office, 10 while Joe, Melanie and a dozen others shared the open space 11 of the seventh floor. Some said Gus had gotten his office be- 12 cause of seniority. Others said he’d earned it on merit. 13 According to office rumors, it had been years since Gus had 14 sold a single account, and management kept him on purely out 15 of loyalty. There were also whispers about Gus that went to 16 the other extreme—that he had been super-successful in his 17 younger days and was now an independently wealthy eccen- 18 tric who stashed his millions away in mattresses while living 19 a pensioner’s lifestyle. 20 Joe didn’t believe the rumors. He was pretty sure Gus brought 21 in some accounts. But it was hard to picture him as a sales super- 22 star. Gus dressed like a high school English teacher and reminded 23 Joe more of a retired country doctor than of an active business- 24 man. With his relaxed, easy manner, his long, rambling phone 25 conversations with potential clients (conversations that seemed 26 to touch on everything but business) and his erratic, extended 27 vacations, Gus seemed like a relic of times long past. 28S Hardly a go-getter. 29N
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Joe stopped at Gus’s open door and knocked softly. 01 “Come on in, Joe,” came the reply. 02 03 ”So you want to call right now and try to get in to see the man 04 himself ?” Gus thumbed carefully through his large Rolodex, 05 found the dog- eared card he was searching for and copied the 06 phone number onto a small slip of paper, which he then hand- 07 ed to Joe. He watched as Joe took the paper and punched in 08 the number on his cordless phone. 09 “On a Friday afternoon?” Joe grinned. “Yup. I’m going to 10 do exactly that.” 11 Gus nodded thoughtfully. “One thing I have to say about 12 you, Joe, you’ve got ambition, and I admire that.” Gus absent- 13 mindedly fingered a meerschaum pipe as he talked. “If there’s 14 anyone on this floor who’s a go-getter, it’s you.” 15 Joe was touched. “Thanks, Gus.” He headed back to his 16 desk. 17 From behind him, Gus called out, “Don’t thank me yet.” 18 After a single ring, Joe was greeted by a cheerful voice 19 belonging to a woman who identified herself as Brenda. He 20 introduced himself, told her he needed to see the Chairman, 21 and then readied himself to parry her stonewalling. 22 Instead, she shocked him by saying, “Of course he can 23 meet with you. Can you come by tomorrow morning?” 24 “To —tomorrow?” he stammered. “On a Saturday?!” 25 “Yes, if that works with you. Is eight o’clock too early?” 26 Joe was stunned. “Don’t . . . ah, don’t you need to check 27 with him first?” S28 N29
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01 “Oh, no,” came her unruffled reply. “Tomorrow morning 02 will be fine.” 03 There was a brief silence. Joe wondered if she had him 04 confused with someone else. Someone this Pindar character 05 actually knew. “Ma’am?” he finally managed to say. “You, ah, 06 you know this is my first time meeting with him, right?” 07 “Of course,” she replied cheerfully. “You’ve heard about 08 his Trade Secret, and you want to learn about it.” 09 “Well, yes, that’s it, more or less,” he replied. Trade Secret? 10 The man was willing to share his Trade Secret? He could 11 hardly believe his good fortune. 12 “He’ll meet with you one time,” continued Brenda. “After 13 that, if you agree to his conditions, he’ll want to set up ad- 14 ditional appointments to actually show you the Secret.” 15 “Conditions?” Joe was crestfallen. He was sure these “con- 16 ditions” would involve a stiff consulting fee or retainer he 17 couldn’t afford. And even if he could, it might require the 18 kind of high-level credentials Joe certainly didn’t have. Was 19 it even worth it to go on? Or should he cut his losses and find 20 a graceful way to back out now? 21 “Of course,” he replied. “Oh, and what are his, ah, condi- 22 tions, again?” 23 “You’ll have to hear that directly from the Old Man,” she 24 said with a giggle. 25 Joe took down the address she gave him, mumbled his 26 thanks and clicked off the phone. In less thantwenty- four 27 hours he was going to meet with—what had she called him?— 28S the Old Man. 29N And why had she giggled when she said that?
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9781591848288_GoGiver_TX_p1-158.indd 6 7/8/15 3:22 PM 01 02 03 2: The Secret 04 05 06 07 08 09 The next morning Joe arrived at the address Brenda had giv- 10 en him and pulled up into the huge circular drive. He couldn’t 11 help being impressed as he parked and looked up at the beau- 12 tiful stone mansion that stretched up a good four stories in 13 front of him. He gave a low whistle. This was some place. The 14 man had clout, all right. 15 Joe had done his homework the night before. An hour on 16 the Internet had told him some pretty remarkable things about 17 the person he was about to meet. 18 The man known as the Chairman had had a very successful 19 career with a wide range of enterprises. Now mostly retired 20 from his own companies, he devoted most of his time to teach- 21 ing and mentoring others. He was in great demand as a consul- 22 tant to Fortune 500 CEOs and as a keynote speaker at top-shelf 23 corporate events. He had become something of a legend. One 24 article had dubbed him “the business world’s best-kept secret.” 25 “Talk about clout,” thought Joe. “Leverage, big time!” 26 27 “Joe! Welcome!” S28 A slender man with neatly combed graying- black hair, a N29
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01 pale blue shirt, light gray jacket and pressed, light gray slacks 02 stood outside the great oak door. Early sixties, Joe guessed, 03 maybe even late fifties. The man’s age was one detail the Inter- 04 net search had not yielded. 05 His precise net worth was another, but by all accounts, it 06 was stratospheric. The castle that stood before Joe confirmed 07 that impression, as did the man’s stately, elegant presence. From 08 his beaming expression, it was clear that his “Welcome!” was 09 genuine and not just a figure of speech. 10 “Good morning, sir,” said Joe. “Thank you for taking the 11 time to see me.” 12 “You’re welcome— and thank you, for exactly the same rea- 13 son.” Pindar smiled broadly over his firm handshake. Joe re- 14 turned a somewhat bewildered smile of his own and wondered, 15 “Why is he thanking me?” 16 “Let’s head over to the terrace for a hot cup of Rachel’s 17 famous coffee,” said Joe’s host as he ushered him onto a small 18 slate path that led around the side of the mansion. “Surprised 19 to be here?” 20 “Actually, yes,” Joe admitted. “I’m just wondering how 21 many business legends would open their homes to a perfect 22 stranger on a Saturday morning.” 23 Pindar nodded as they walked along the path. “Actually, 24 successful people do this all the time. Typically, the more suc- 25 cessful they are, the more willing they are to share their secrets 26 with others.” 27 Joe nodded, trying his best to believe that this could pos- 28S sibly be true. 29N
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Pindar glanced at him, then smiled again. “Appearances can 01 be deceiving, Joe. In fact, they nearly always are.” 02 They walked for a moment before Pindar continued. “I was 03 sharing a stage once with Larry King— you know, the radio 04 and television interviewer?” 05 Joe nodded. 06 “And since he’d interviewed so many famous, successful 07 and powerful people, I thought I’d check my own observations 08 against his. ‘Larry,’ I asked, ‘are your guests as genuinely nice 09 as they seem? Even the real superstars?’ He fixed me with a 10 gaze and said, ‘Tell you what. The interesting thing is, the big- 11 ger they are, the nicer they are.’ ” 12 Something about Pindar’s warm, raspy voice had put Joe 13 curiously at ease from the first moment he heard it. Now he 14 identified that something: it was astoryteller’s voice. 15 Pindar continued. “Well, Larry thought for a moment about 16 what he’d said, and then he said more. ‘I believe that a person 17 can reach a certain level of success without being particularly 18 special. But to get really, really big, to reach the kind of strato- 19 spheric success we’re talking about, people need to have some- 20 thing on the inside, something that’s genuine.’ ” 21 As they arrived at the terrace table, Joe glanced around—and 22 just managed not to gasp out loud. Beyond the city stretching 23 below them to the west lay a range of long, rolling mountains, 24 half-shrouded in cottony clouds. The view took Joe’s breath away. 25 They took their seats, and the young woman Pindar had 26 called Rachel appeared with a pot of her “famous” coffee. As 27 she poured cups for both of them, Joe thought, “Susan won’t S28 N29
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01 believe it when I tell her about this place.” He had told his 02 wife only that he was going to “meet with a potential client.” 03 He smiled as he pictured the expression that would light up 04 her face when she heard about his adventure. 05 “Wow,” said Joe. “Larry King, huh? By the way, this cof- 06 fee is spectacular. Is Rachel’s coffee really famous?” 07 “It is in this home,” Pindar said with a smile. “I’m not a 08 betting man, but if I were, you know what I’d bet?” 09 Joe shook his head. 10 “I’d bet that one day it will be famous worldwide. Rachel 11 is very special. Been with us for about a year now, but I ex- 12 pect she’ll be leaving us before long. I’ve been encouraging 13 her to open a chain of coffeehouses. Her coffee is too good 14 not to share with the world.” 15 “I can see what you mean.” Joe leaned in and adopted his 16 best confidential, just-us-guys-talking manner. “If she could 17 reproduce this on an industrial scale, you two could make a 18 killing.” He sat back in his chair and took another sip. 19 Pindar set his cup down and looked at Joe thoughtfully. 20 “Actually, Joe, in the brief time we have this morning, 21 that’s where I want to begin. You and I are coming from two 22 different directions when it comes to wealth creation. If we’re 23 going to take this walk together, we need to start by facing 24 the same direction. If you notice, what I said was ‘share her 25 coffee.’ What you said was ‘make a killing.’ Do you see the 26 difference?” 27 Joe wasn’t sure if he did or not, but he cleared his throat 28S and said, “Yes . . . I think so.” 29N Pindar smiled. “Please don’t misunderstand me. There’s
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nothing wrong with making money. Lots of it, in fact. It’s just 01 not a goal that will make you successful.” Reading the bewil- 02 derment on Joe’s face, he nodded and put his hand up to signal 03 that he would explain. “You want to understand success, yes?” 04 Joe nodded. 05 “All right. I’m going to share my Trade Secret with you now.” 06 Pindar leaned forward a bit and softly spoke one word. 07 “Giving.” 08 09 Joe waited for more, but apparently, that was it. “I beg your 10 pardon?” 11 Pindar smiled. 12 “Giving?” repeated Joe. 13 Pindar nodded. 14 “That’s the secret to your success? Your Trade Secret? 15 Giving?” 16 “Indeed,” said Pindar. 17 “Ah,” said Joe. “Well, that’s . . . that’s . . .” 18 “ ‘That’s too simple, even if it were true, which it can’t pos- 19 sibly be’?” asked Pindar. “Is that what you’re thinking?” 20 “Something like that,” Joe admitted sheepishly. 21 Pindar nodded. “Most people have that reaction. In fact, 22 most people just laugh when they hear that the secret to suc- 23 cess is giving.” He paused. “Then again, most people are no- 24 where near as successful as they wish they were.” 25 Joe certainly couldn’t argue that point. 26 “You see,” Pindar continued, “the majority of people oper- 27 ate with a mindset that says to the fireplace, ‘First give me S28 some heat, then I’ll throw on some logs.’ Or that says to the N29
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01 bank, ‘Give me interest on my money, then I’ll make a deposit.’ 02 And of course, it just doesn’t work that way.” 03 Joe frowned, trying to parse the logic of Pindar’s ex 04 amples. 05 “You see? You can’t go in two directions at once. Trying to 06 be successful with making money as your goal is like trying 07 to travel a superhighway at seventy miles an hour with your 08 eyes glued to the rearview mirror.” He took another thought- 09 ful sip and waited for Joe to process this thought. 10 Joe felt as if his brain were going seventy on the highway— 11 in reverse. “Okay,” he began slowly, “so you’re saying, success- 12 ful people keep their focus on what they’re . . . giving, sharing, 13 whatever,” he saw Pindar nod, “and that’s what creates their 14 success?” 15 “Exactly,” cried Pindar. “Now we’re facing the same direc- 16 tion!” 17 “But . . . wouldn’t an awful lot of people take advantage of 18 you?” 19 “Excellent question.” Pindar set his cup down and leaned 20 forward. “Most of us have grown up seeing the world as a 21 place of limitation rather than as a place of inexhaustible trea- 22 sures. A world of competition rather than one of co-creation.” 23 He saw that Joe was puzzled again. “Dog eat dog,” he ex- 24 plained. “As in, ‘Oh, sure, we all act polite on the surface, but 25 let’s face it, it’s really every man for himself.’ That about sum 26 it up?” 27 Joe admitted that it did about sum it up indeed. That’s 28S certainly what he believed, anyway. 29N “Well,” said Pindar, “it’s simply not true.” He noted Joe’s
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skeptical look and continued. “Have you ever heard people 01 say, You can’t always get what you want?” 02 Joe grinned. “You mean, the Rolling Stones?” 03 Pindar smiled. “Actually, I imagine people were saying 04 that well before Mick Jagger’s time. But yes, that’s the gen- 05 eral idea.” 06 “You’re not going to tell me that’s not true, are you? That 07 we actually do get what we want?” 08 “No,” said Pindar, “that one is true. In life, you often don’t 09 get what you want. But,” he leaned forward again and his 10 voice grew softer with emphasis, “here’s what you do get— 11 You get what you expect.” 12 Joe frowned again, trying to mentally test out the truth of 13 this last thought. 14 Pindar leaned back and sipped his coffee, watching Joe. 15 After a moment’s silence, he continued. 16 “Or put it another way: What you focus on is what you get. 17 You’ve heard the expression ‘Go looking for trouble and 18 that’s what you’ll find’?” 19 Joe nodded. 20 “It’s true, and not only about trouble. It’s true about every- 21 thing. Go looking for conflict, and you’ll find it. Go looking 22 for people to take advantage of you, and they generally will. 23 See the world as a dog- eat-dog place, and you’ll always find a 24 bigger dog looking at you as if you’re his next meal. Go look- 25 ing for the best in people, and you’ll be amazed at how much 26 talent, ingenuity, empathy and goodwill you’ll find. 27 “Ultimately, the world treats you more or less the way you S28 expect to be treated.” N29
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01 Pindar paused for a moment to let Joe absorb that thought, 02 then added one more. 03 “In fact, Joe, you’d be amazed at just how much you have 04 to do with what happens to you.” 05 Joe drew a breath. “So,” he spoke this next thought slowly, 06 thinking it through out loud, “you’re saying, people don’t 07 take advantage of you because you don’t expect them to? That 08 because you don’t put any focus on selfishness and greed, 09 even when it’s all around you, it doesn’t have much impact on 10 you?” Then he had a flash of inspiration. “Like a healthy im- 11 mune system— the disease is all around you, but you don’t 12 catch it?” 13 Pindar’s eyes sparkled. “Wonderful! That’s an exquisite 14 way of putting it.” He kept talking as he scribbled in a little 15 notebook he had produced from inside his jacket. “I have to 16 remember that. You mind if I use that bit of brilliance?” 17 “No, go ahead,” Joe gestured grandly, “take my brilliance. 18 I’m full of it.” He paused, then added, “Least that’s what my 19 wife always says.” 20 Pindar burst out laughing as he slipped his little notebook 21 back into the unseen pocket. He put both hands on his knees 22 and looked directly at the younger man. 23 “Joe, I’d like to do something with you. I’d like to show 24 you what I call my Five Laws of Stratospheric Success. If you 25 can make a little time, say, every day for a week.” 26 “Seriously?” Joe nearly stuttered. “For a week? I . . . I 27 don’t know how much time I can take off. . . .” 28S Pindar waved his hand vaguely, as if to say, Time means 29N
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nothing. “Not a problem. All we’ll need is one hour a day. Your 01 lunch hour. You do take time for lunch every day?” 02 Joe nodded, dumbfounded. The man was going to meet 03 with him every day for a week? And hand over the details of 04 his most valuable Trade Secret?! 05 “First, though,” Pindar continued, “first you’ll need to 06 agree to my conditions.” 07 08 Joe’s heart sank. The conditions. He had forgotten all about 09 that. It was only after he agreed to Pindar’s conditions, Brenda 10 had said, that they would set up further meetings. 11 Joe gulped. “I really don’t have the means—” 12 Pindar held up his hands. “Please, don’t worry, it’s noth- 13 ing like that.” 14 “So,” Joe began, “do I need to sign an NDA or . . . ?” 15 This brought a big, booming laugh from Pindar. “No, no 16 non-disclosure agreements—if anything, the opposite. I call 17 these Five Laws my Trade Secret, not because I don’t want peo- 18 ple to find them, but for exactly the opposite reason. I call them 19 my Trade Secret so that people will find them—so they’ll seek 20 them. So they’ll place the proper value on them. Because it’s 21 really a term of honor.” 22 “Excuse me?” Joe was lost. 23 Pindar smiled. “The word itself. Secret. Originally, it meant 24 something treasured— something sifted, weighed and set 25 apart for its special value. Actually, if I had my way, everyone 26 would know these Five Laws. 27 “In fact,” he added, “that’s exactly why I have put these S28 N29
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01 conditions in place. Actually, it’s just one Condition. Are you 02 ready?” 03 Joe nodded. 04 “I need you to agree that you will test every Law I show 05 you by actually trying it out. Not by thinking about it, not by 06 talking about it, but by applying it in your life.” 07 Joe started to give his assent, but Pindar stopped him and 08 continued. 09 “And that’s not all. You must apply each Law right away, 10 the same day you first learn it.” 11 Joe looked at Pindar to see if he was kidding. “Seriously? 12 Before I go to sleep that night? Or I’ll turn into a pumpkin?” 13 Pindar’s face relaxed into a grin. “No, you have a point, 14 you won’t turn into a pumpkin. But if you don’t abide by my 15 Condition, our meetings will come to an end.” 16 “But,” Joe stammered, “not to sound impertinent, how 17 would you know?” 18 “Another excellent question. How would I know?” Pindar 19 nodded thoughtfully. “I wouldn’t. But you would. It’s the 20 honor system. If you don’t find a way to apply each Law I 21 show you the very same day you learn it, I’ll trust that the 22 next morning, you’ll call Brenda to cancel the rest of our ap- 23 pointments.” 24 He looked at Joe. 25 “I have to know you’re taking this seriously. But here’s 26 what’s far more important: you have to know you’re taking 27 this seriously.” 28S Joe nodded slowly. “I think I understand. You want to 29N make sure I’m not wasting your time. Fair enough.”
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Pindar smiled. “Joe, no offense, but you don’t have that 01 power.” 02 Joe looked confused. 03 “I mean, the power to waste my time. Only I can do that. 04 And truthfully, it’s a vice I gave up a long time ago. The rea- 05 son for my Condition is that I don’t want to see you wasting 06 your time.” 07 Joe looked down and saw Pindar’s outstretched hand. He 08 took it and gave it a firm shake. He felt a thrill go through 09 him, as if he had just embarked on an adventure worthy of 10 Indiana Jones, and mirrored the Chairman’s broad smile with 11 one of his own. 12 “You’ve got a deal.” 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 S28 N29
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9781591848288_GoGiver_TX_p1-158.indd 17 7/8/15 3:22 PM 01 02 03 ABOUT THE AUTHORS 04 05 06 07 OB BURG is coauthor of the Wall Street Journal best- b 08 seller The Go-Giver and its companion volumes Go-Givers Sell 09 More and The Go-Giver Leader. A former television personal- 10 ity and top-producing salesperson, Bob speaks to corpora- 11 tions, organizations and at sales and leadership conferences 12 worldwide on topics at the core of The Go-Giver books. Ad- 13 dressing audiences ranging from sixty to sixteen thousand, 14 Bob has shared the platform with some of today’s top business 15 leaders, broadcast personalities, coaches, athletes and politi- 16 cal leaders, including a former U.S. president. He is also the 17 author of Adversaries into Allies and the classic Endless Refer- 18 rals, which has sold more than a quarter of a million copies 19 and is still used today as a training manual in many corpora- 20 tions. He was named by the American Management Associa- 21 tion as one of the Top 30 Most Influential Thought Leaders in 22 Business for 2014. 23 24 JOHN DAVID MANN has been writing about business, leader- 25 ship and the laws of success for more than thirty years. As 26 a high school student, he led a group of friends in creating 27 their own successful high school. After establishing himself S28 as a concert cellist and prizewinning composer, he built a N29
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01 multimillion-dollar sales organization of more than a hundred 02 thousand people before turning to writing and publishing. In 03 addition to coauthoring The Go-Giver books with Bob Burg, 04 John is also coauthor of the New York Times bestsellers Flash 05 Foresight (with Daniel Burrus) and The Red Circle (with Bran- 06 don Webb) and the national bestseller Among Heroes (with 07 Brandon Webb). His Take the Lead (with Betsy Myers) was 08 named by Tom Peters and the Washington Post as Best Leader- 09 ship Book of 2011. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28S 29N
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9781591848288_GoGiver_TX_p1-158.indd 150 7/8/15 3:22 PM The Go-Giver, Expanded Edition book is available at (click on the logo):