I came across a couple of recent blog posts on how we do business. One is from Dawud Miracle on The One Core Secret of Business Success. The other is from Seth Godin on What do I get?
Without intending to usurp their message (it’s worth popping over to read their whole posts), there are elements that I think are incredibly important for politics as much as business.
One, Dawud talks about the notion of tit-for-tat, “I do something for you-you do something for me”, as not being what really brings us joy and satisfaction as human beings. And I believe this is just as true in politics.
Tit-for-tat bargaining – whether between minority government parties, between individuals within a party, between candidates and voters, or between governments and voters — is not healthy or inspiring. It’s associated with cynicism of those observing or affected. It risks conflicts of interest – personal and party-based. It can leave bargaining partners feeling sullied or frustrated or fretting about whether they’ve done the right thing – whether they’ve sacrificed more than they should have or failed to get as much as they could have. It increases stress loads and does nothing positive for health of the individuals or the systems.
Tit-for-tat bargaining is not about true negotiation. It’s not about collaborative problem-solving. It’s not authentic connecting. It can promote a sense of entitlement in some — “you owe me” — and leave a bad taste in the mouths of many.
So what’s the alternative?
Here’s Dawud’s answer:
…”THE secret to business success [is]…giving. But not just giving. Giving freely, openly without expecting anything in return. When you give like this, it’s like planting seeds in fertile soil. With a little time, some sunshine and regular watering, that seed will product a tree that gives you fruit year in and year out.
I believe that this is the solution for politicians as well. “Giving freely, openly without expecting anything in return.”
Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not talking about giving “budget gifts” to make people happy and love your party. That’s not giving freely. I’m not talking about dispensing goodies from your riding or campaign office. That can too easily become (or be seen as) vote-buying as well.
I’m talking about governments and opposition parties working together to give freely of their combined expertise to create the best Canada they can.
I’m talking about giving of yourself – of your skills, your knowledge, your questions, your passion for whatever brought you into politics in the first place.
I’m taking about treating yourself like a small business with services to offer and then finding ways to offer some of those services without calculating the “return on investment”. What would that look like? It depends in part on who you think your “customers” are and what you think they need from you.
First steps you can take:
Identify your “customers”- who are they? Are there more than one group? Do they change?
What gifts would delight them that are under your control right now to give?
Give something. Note how it feels. Share with us.
Filed under: Creating Change, Negativity, Positive Strategies
Great post, Karen.
Real success only seems to come when we get over our fears of giving without receiving. Something just seems to hold back. It’s almost like we need to empty something from within ourselves to make room to receive something back. Don’t you think?
Thanks, Dawud
I think you are generally right about fears being what holds us back. Although I don’t disagree with your image of “emptying”, my imagery also includes a big shield holding danger away.
Sometimes those fears are direct fears about being taken advantage of, of getting burnt out, of being asked for what we can’t or don’t want to give. Sometimes I think they can be indirect cravings for more power, more income, more whatever, to fill the spaces and calm the fears we may not be aware of.
In either case, I think it definitely requires courage and a yearning to really be connected to overcome the fears. One of the biofeedback techniques I use with my clients to help them discover and maintain that connectedness is heart coherence. Living from a coherent heart lets us feel the delight and joy of those we give to as well as letting us be more connected to our joy and less driven by our fears.
Thanks for your comment — it obviously stimulated more thoughts in me!
Very interesting application. I say much the same thing about the paradox of trust at work in sales, and in business relationships.
If you “give” in expectation of a short term payback (your “tit for tat”) then it is clear it is a contingent “gift,” intended only for your own self-aggrandizement. For it to work right, you need to give freely, secure in the knowledge that if you do so, it will come back to you–you just don’t know from whom, or when.
This also explains the cynicicm and lack of trust generated by the plethora of short-term metrics surrounding sales systems these days. If you’re going to emphasize short-term payback of sales interactions, you’re only going to foster a “what’s in it for me” mentality. It doesn’t engender trust.
The paradox, to me, is that if you’re willing to let go of the demand for “tit for tat,” you end up getting a lot back anyway; precisely because you gave up the demand for short-term self-satisfaction.
Good stuff, thanks.
Charles –
Yes! You also have touched on one of my key viewpoints — that the politician really needs to conduct her- or himself like a business person building their business. They need to recognize that they are “selling” themslves and be clear about what the product is, if they want me to “buy it” AND they have to communicate and build the trust that leads me to “purchase” them, not just once, but repeatedly.
I don’t think politics should be seen as a business in the profit/loss/balance fixation sense, but I do think there are strong parallels between politicians and entrepreneurs.
Thanks for your comment!