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Be a "giver", not a "taker"
There are two types of people in the world in my opinion. There are "givers" and there are "takers". This article explores the issue and emphasizes the importance in any management role to become a "giver". I'll also give you some personal examples where "giving" has rewarded me over and over.
It's 4:30am here as I write this article. I just finished a Question and Answer conference call with a seminar group from Nigeria about a presentation they just saw me deliver on IT due diligence in a merger and acquisition environment. It's 11:30am their time. When you work with people all over the world like I do, your hours can be a bit out of the ordinary, but I love it.
The reason I bring this up will be clear later in the article as it is a prime example of what "giving" can do for you.
Look around. If you observe people closely, you will find that people tend to fall into one of two categories. A person tends to be someone who "gives" or he/she will tend to be someone who "takes". "Givers" are willing people who truly want to help others. I think nurses and teachers are some of the best examples of this. Teachers are not as concerned about what they can receive as much as what they can do to help others. Nurses have similar characteristics.
In my own family, I see relatives who are more "giving" in that they don't really ask a lot of others and aren't always looking for "what's in it for me". On the other hand, I have a few relatives who are really interested in doing things that do something for themselves as opposed to "giving" to others.
In management, "takers" can be detrimental to the IT organization's success, especially when the "taker" is an IT manager or CIO. In an IT management role, I always get a more positive acceptance with clients, employees, and senior management when they view me as one who "gives" versus one who always wants to "take".
What does this mean?
"Givers" go the extra mile. They don't just do the job, they work hard to ensure that when they do a job it is thorough and complete. They make certain the quality is there and they want people to know, "my name is on that project". They "give" when they aren't necessarily asked to "give". It's second nature to them because they inherently understand that, "it's better to give than to receive".
We have all heard this phrase. Well, I can tell you from personal experience that it is truer than you might ever believe possible. I have many examples in my personal and professional life where my family and I have reaped huge benefits because of a simple "giving" gesture, even when I wasn't expecting anything in return.
A challenge in our world of technology is that supporting technology is a dynamic and ever changing business. Because of the amount of change that occurs we constantly need things from others. We need our employees to do their jobs, to do them in a quality manner, and to pay attention to the details. We need assistance from our clients as we implement new technologies or support the technologies of their business environment. The point to this is that to be successful IT managers and CIO's, we are highly dependent upon others.
If I'm predominately a "taker", someone who only deals with you when I need something, it becomes more challenging for me to approach you and ask for your help. Actually the difficulty is not in asking for the help ("takers" have that game down very well). The difficulty lies in getting the help or getting help in a quality, committed effort that is going to make my project a real success.
Put yourself in the other person's shoes. Let's say that person is your client, a Department Manager in your company. That person is extremely busy with issues in his/her department and is challenged to make improvements that help him/her achieve department objectives. When my CIO or IT Manager approaches me and asks for help by allocating resources to work on an IT project, who do you think I'm going to help?
You got it; I'm going to eagerly seek a way to help the IT manager who has been "giving" and helping me attain my department objectives much more quickly than I will invest the resources to help the manager who always "takes" more then he/she "gives back".
It's a simple issue really; we all want to help those who have shown they want to help us.
Managing employees works the same way. Our ability to exhibit to our employees that we are genuinely interested in their success and that we do things to help them succeed is key. When we do these things we are "giving". In my mind, "giving" is a responsibility of an IT management role, not an option.
Some examples of "giving" to employees are:
- establishing processes that help employees succeed
- developing employee performance plans that include training and education investments that grow their skills
- rewarding individuals and teams for excellent performance
- telling your employees you appreciate their commitment to the job and focusing on the quality of their work
- working with an individual to develop his/her career plan
- even coaching an employee on improving his/her performance
Back to my Nigeria example:
In my business, I'm able to "give" quite a lot. It always returns tenfold. I may not realize it immediately, but I receive much more back in the long run than what I believe I "give out". A perfect example is the Nigerian project. I was asked to travel to Nigeria to make a presentation about IT due diligence. Unfortunately, there was no way to make this happen in the timeframe needed. In an email I received back, it was obvious that the group was needing help and looked as though they were "between a rock and a hard place".
What I agreed to do was to put a presentation together that would address their business objective. They agreed and paid me for the project.
Here is a key part of the story: All I was required to do was to develop a 1-hour presentation on a topic that I'm so familiar with - IT Due Diligence. I was already paid so there was no tangible incentive for me to do more than was requested to fulfill the project commitment. I had never worked with this group before so there were no personal ties to motivate me to do more than what was minimally required. I was very busy at the time so I didn't have a lot of extra time to do more. The bottom line is that I could have only provided the minimal requirement and the client would have been very satisfied with the project.
Here is the distinction of "giving" versus "taking".
I decided to do more than was minimally required?
Why?
Simple, I genuinely wanted to help them make their conference a success.
The end result is that in addition to the 1-hour CD presentation I developed for them to deliver, I added several things to make their conference a real success:
- A second 45- minute presentation on key considerations of conducting an IT due diligence
- A Case Study that could be used as an exercise to point out issues associated with conducting an IT due diligence
- Two ebooks and tools that discuss IT due diligence and assimilating acquired companies
- The right to make CD copies for each participant to "take home" that contained the presentations, ebooks, Case Study
and tools that make up a very comprehensive IT due diligence package for a manager.
- Time for me to sit in on a Q&A conference call that would be conducted immediately after showing my first presentation.
That meant around 3:30am for me.
They were more than pleased as you might expect by the "extra's". Some of these "extra's" were already produced so it took me no additional time or effort. The key here is that I was automatically looking for ways to help make their project a success as soon as I got involved and committed to the project. I try to "give" versus "take".
I was not looking for anything above the initial payment made for the single presentation. Well, good things happen to those who "give". The reason I'm taking the Q&A call this morning is because the group just held the 2nd conference on this topic and they have paid me a second time to replicate what we did in the first conference. They have also asked me to participate in some consulting work.
My objective was not to "take" or "get" more; it was simply to do what I could do to help them succeed in their project.
My point: "when you give, you get back much more".
"Giving" is part of my basic nature that has been developed over time. I didn't always understand this issue early in my career. I highly recommend that you begin seeking ways to start "giving" to others and go out of your way to help others be successful. You will be surprised at how successful it helps you become in return.
Plus, it's a lot of fun helping others.
Best of success. I hope you enjoy and benefit from this article and others that you receive from us.
Send me your comments to mike@mde.net .
Mike Sisco
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