Tim Bursch

When you are in transition, out of a job, debt-challenged or just struggling, how do you practice generosity? It is challenging.

If you ask and take repeatedly in business, you look desperate or greedy. Giving signals that you have something to share instead.

So, you really don’t have money to buy everyone a coffee or a book. That’s okay. We all have valuable assets to share. Try these:

• Share your knowledge. If you need more, start reading.
• Give away your connections.
• Help others get ahead.
• Listen. Your attention is a gift, especially with all this noise.

We reap what we sow. Applies to being generous in business too. And it will fill you up.

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I hope you had a good week. These posts inspired and made me think:

1. Leaders Can Be Human Too
2. A local social media call to arms
3. Why does your company have a cheap website?
4. Spam is not just email, it’s a way of thinking
5. Give life everything you’ve got, even when you’re winning.

What was the best part of your week?

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When someone asks you for help, do you automatically say yes? I’m a recovering people-pleaser, so my tendency is to say yeah sure I can help.

Well after awhile you can end up trying to help a lot of people, but not very well. And not very helpful.

Here is what I now try to do before saying yes to a request:

- Take some time to respond.

- Filter it through my main goals and values.

- Ask myself: Can I really help this person well? If not, who do I know that can? Connect them.

I want to be generous with my knowledge and my connections. I also want to say yes to the best things and mean it. More on saying yes and no soon.

How do you handle requests for help? What is your filter or process?

Image by: D3 San Francisco

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Do we own our networks? I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. Now Shannon’s post has me thinking some more.

The old strategy has been and still is for some to collect contacts and keep them to yourself and for your own goals. If you get a new connection for your network it’s a hash mark on your networking scoreboard. The more people in your address book/Rolodex/Blackberry the more successful you should be. The aggressive card collector wins. Swim with the barracudas right?

What about generosity? About 7 years ago I stumbled upon Love is The Killer App by Tim Sanders. It’s the simple concept of sharing your knowledge, your network, and your compassion and it fits with the growing online networks. Simple result: The person who shares the most actually wins.

Here’s the deal, did we ever own our contacts? I hope not. They are real people with their own voice and their own choice. What if we looked at this whole interconnected web of relationships as THE network instead of MY network? Would you hoard? Take? Or how about contribute, invest and then share.

What do you think? Is the network yours or ours?

Image by: cloudzilla

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These ideas and articles made me think, stretch, and go further this week. Actually I’m still thinking about them.

1. Live a good story.
   
2. Be open to different voices and influence.
   
3. What is the soul of your business?
   
4. How can you change the world in 2010?
   
5. The golden rule still matters online and off.
   
6. Relationships make or break business today.
   
7. Be creative with new media. Think bigger.

And just for fun #8

A New Map of the USA

What made you think this week? What did you share? Tell me about it.

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