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Go Giver

Teri Karjala • Feb 21, 2014

I have always been inspired by the book titled The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea , written by Bob Burg and John David Mann.  In this easy to read book I found myself wanting to challenge myself to implement  the laws of stratospheric success into my mental health practice.

As a business owner having no formal education in the business field, I often find myself searching for the support, education, and information though business books on CD that I devour on my drive to work every morning. This book has been no different and it is a must read in my opinion.  I recently attended one on Bob Burg’s seminars and saw firsthand how he has so successfully put these concepts into place and have them work for him.

The concepts that they outline in this book seem simple and yet have been shown to have powerful implications on one’s business. The laws ring true with common sense, know your value, how much do you use your value, put other’s first, be true to yourself and know how to receive.

Sounds easy but applying Burgs and Mann’s Five Laws of Stratospheric Success to the helping profession just aren’t done that often.

 Berg and Mann share the five laws beginning with” the law of value.  Your true worth is determined by how much you give in value than you take in payment.”

In our field we are given so many opportunities to give our best service to our clients.” Think about when you are looking for service.  It is frequently the little things that stand out. That may include offering them something to drink when they arrive or providing them with valuable resources they didn’t expect. I know I can offer more benefit to my clients when I increase my own expertise in the field by keeping abreast of topics or doing additional trainings that will benefit my clients.

Berg and Mann go on to talk about “the law of compensation… your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them. “

We all know there are many people in our community in which we can provide service. But the real question is how valuable is the service?  If our service becomes more valuable, can we increase the compensation of providing that service?  The more impact you have on those you serve, the more others are willing to pay to have the same service.  The higher the quality of service, the more our service will be in demand.  Potential clients usually are willing to pay more for quality if they know they are getting value for our of service.

The fourth law Berg and Law discuss in their book is “the law of influence, your Influence is determined by how abundantly you place other’s interests first.”

People become drawn to those with a strong giving mentality. People are ruled by an intuitive sense that someone has a good heart and honestly cares about others. When you go out to networking events practice focusing your attention on others needs. You will find they are much more open about talking about how to work together. It is important that you show sincere interest in what they do and what they care about.  This will allow you to develop a more genuine relationship which is usually much more productive.

Berg and Law also spend time talking about “the law of authenticity. The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.” In this story, Joe, the main character is told how reaching any goal takes 10 percent of knowledgeable skills and the other 90 plus is people skills.”

From building rapport to creating the therapeutic alliance it is crucial to be your authentic self. While other professions rely on the widgets that they sell we rely on ourselves as our “tools.”

The final law Berg and Law share is “the law of receptivity. They say the key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.” Opportunities will present themselves in the most unusual ways but as long as you are staying open to that process the possibilities are endless. One of the biggest challenges that I have experienced is remaining patient with the process and establishing the rock solid knowingness that everything will work out the way it is supposed to work out.

In summary, Berg and Law have outlined the basics for building a practice using best business practices.  The value system used to build your business practice, like the value system you have, as an individual will be framework for the strength of your success.  Without this strong framework your practice may not grow. A great follow-up to this book is the sequel Go-Givers Sell More, by Bob Burg and John David Mann, 2010.

Enjoy your reading!

Reference:

The Go-Giver: A Little Story about a Powerful Business Idea.  Bob Burg and John David Mann, 2007.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Teri Karjala is a Licensed Professional Counselor & Marriage and Family Therapist. She is the founder and Executive Director of Creative Counseling Center, LLC. Working in the field since 1999, Teri and her team of therapists specializes in counseling for those who have experienced trauma. They work with children as young as age 2, as well as teens and adolescents, adults, seniors, families, and couples.

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