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John Agno:
certified executive & business
coach
Why practice
the "Law of
Reciprocity" in
your business
relationships?
As a
potent of the weapon of
influence, the Law of
Reciprocity is not being
used effectively in the
leadership of business and
government throughout the
world.
Mike's "generati"
concept is in attunement
with the law of reciprocity
and both flow from the law
of love that forms the basis
of the religions of the
world (www.LawofLove.com). And
Mike might consider
discussing how his 'generati'
concept has worked for him
in his business and personal
lives during the
interview...
What is the law
of reciprocity?
Reciprocation flows from
Divine Law that can neither
be ignored or put aside.
Political and
marketplace pressures will
frequently bump up against
spiritual values.
Perhaps, the most important
of these laws is the
'law of love.'
The 'law of love' is
identified in many ways and
cultures, such as: It's the
golden rule of Christianity,
"Do unto others as you want
them to do unto you." The
silver rule of Confucianism,
"Don't do to others as you
don't want them to do to
you."
Put simply, "Love is Law,
Law is Love. God is Love,
Love is God." This amounts
to the same thing as "the
gift of giving" without the
"hope of reward or pay," or
serving others. This 'law
of love' is identified in
many different ways--for
example, in Wayne
Baker's book,
"Achieving
Success Through Social
Capital"
(Jossey-Bass), this law
of love in the workplace is
described as the "law of
reciprocity."
The law of reciprocity is
not what can best be
described as "transactional
reciprocity." Baker says
that, "Many people conceive
of their business dealings
as spot market
exchanges--value given for
value received, period.
Nothing more, nothing less.
This tit-for-tat mode of
operation can produce
success, but it doesn't
invoke the power of
reciprocity and so fails to
yield extraordinary
success."
How do
I put the law of reciprocity
to work in my business?
Baker explains, "The lesson
is that we cannot pursue the
power of reciprocity. When
we try to invoke reciprocity
directly, we lose sight of
the reason for it: helping
others. Paradoxically, it is
in helping others without
expecting reciprocity in
return that we invoke the
power of reciprocity. The
path to reciprocity is
indirect: reciprocity ensues
from the social capital
built by making
contributions to others.
The deliberate pursuit of
reciprocity fails, just like
the pursuit of happiness.
Acts of contribution, big
and small, build your fund
of social capital, creating
a vast network of
reciprocity. And so those
who help you may not be
those you help. The help
you receive may come from
distant corners of your
network."
Viktor E. Frankl in his
book, "The Will to Meaning,"
said, "To the extent to
which one makes
happiness
the objective of his
motivation, he necessarily
makes it the object of his
attention. But precisely by
so doing he loses sight of
the reason for happiness,
and happiness itself must
fade away."
Can you provide an example
of how to use the law of
reciprocity in business?
My Coach to Coach Network
of 1,300 personal and
business coaches worldwide
is an example of using the
Internet to invoke the law
of reciprocity. Weekly, I
send out a free email
newsletter to subscribers
packed full of information
of value to the coaching
community. Since every
newsletter issue conveys my
thoughts and feelings about
the subjects presented, the
subscribers get to know
me---how I think, my
strengths and weaknesses,
how I help clients. When
they see an opportunity that
may interest other
subscribers or me
personally, they tell me
about it or forward the
newsletter to a client or
someone else who and be
interested and that
person may contact me. And
many times, I am the first
to know about the
opportunity because of these
"weak ties"
with subscribers. The
Network is the coaching
industry and I am at the hub
of the Network.
I created the
Coach to Coach
Network just to
connect independent coaching
professionals for the
purpose of sharing ideas and
news about the industry but
unintentionally and
unexpectedly I personally
and
professionally benefit through
the power of the law of
reciprocity.
Why
are "weak ties" important?
When it comes
to finding out about new
jobs--or, for that matter,
new information, or new
ideas--"weak ties" are
always more important than
strong ties. Your friends,
after all, occupy the same
world that you do. Your
acquaintances, on the other
hand, by definition occupy a
very different world than
you. They are much more
likely to know something
that you don't.
Malcolm Gladwell in his
bestseller, "The
Tipping Point,"
tells us about Sociologist
Mark Granovetter's classic
1974 study "Getting a Job"
that looked at several
hundred professional and
technical workers from
Boston suburb of
Newton---interviewing them
in some detail on their
employment history. He
found 56 percent of those he
talked to found their job
through a personal
connection. People weren't
getting their jobs through
their friends. They were
getting them through their
acquaintances.
The bottom line is
acquaintances, in short,
represent a source of social
capital, and the more
acquaintances you have the
more powerful you are.
If
there was one thing you
could do for your customers
and your business, what
would it be?
The short
answer is give more of what
you have away.
Ask a Las
Vegas cab driver, "What's
the best show in town?" He
will quickly reply with
something like this, "Oh,
Jay Leno! My wife and I
just went to see him. He
gives a special show for
taxi drivers at
two in the morning.
Otherwise, we could never
afford to go. Kenny Rogers
does the same thing when
he's in town."
You wouldn't
think that anyone as big in
the entertainment field as
Jay Leno and Kenny Rogers
needs to give away their
performances, but they do.
Both realize that some of
the best word of mouth
advertising they could have
would be taxi drivers raving
about their shows.
So what could
you give away that will be
appreciated by people and
want them to repay your
kindness in some way in the
future?
John
_________________________________________
John G. Agno, certified
executive & business coach
Signature, Inc., PO Box
2086, Ann Arbor, MI 48106
Telephone: 734.426.2000 (US
Eastern Time Zone)
mailto:John@CoachThee.com
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