Turning Fiasco Into Benefit

How we should react when economy slows down.

When the global financial market is in turmoil the first thing most people think of doing is holding onto things and cutting expenditure. And they automatically assume (because the newspapers tell them) that everyone is acting that way.

Everyone ISN`T acting that way of course. In fact, some people and some businesses thrive no matter where the economy is going. And when you look for why that is, you find that the answer often lies in a simple place where most people have never even looked. Let’s explore together.

When a ‘down’ current comes, no matter what it is, the most effective solution is to rise above it. When we go with the down current we sink with the tide and have to wait, suffocating, until the tide changes.

The truth is that when we know how to steer ourselves and be our own masters, we will able to stay afloat or swim against the current, come what may. Let us see how we can manage it.

‘Go-getters’ or ‘Go-providers’

Let’s say we want more – more profits, a pay raise, more holidays, more freedom, and more opportunities.

When we want something, the first thing we tend to do is to go and get it. So, we call ourselves ‘Go-getters’. And being a ‘go-getter’ is, let’s face it, a sign of leadership, activism and an early-adopter mindset. This is of course one of the keys to the success formulae we often read about. But there is a problem. It turns out that when we use this ‘strategy’, there are some unexpected (but quite predictable) consequences.

The gist of the matter is that after ‘getting’ and ‘possessing’ it we tend to ‘get rid of’ it. We might actually jettison it or might become apathetic to the whole idea.

And when we are tired of one thing we concentrate on getting something new. And these fresh cravings never end. The more we go in search of newer things, the wider the chain of desire that makes us continuously yearn for things. It simply becomes an addiction!

So what if we turned our ‘desire to get’ into a desire to provide?

You’ve probably noticed that giving always creates a great feeling. And it comes from gratitude rather than from fear or greed. We can continue to give more and receive more on our now, ever-fulfilling journey.

Our charitable and contributing approach will produce charitable and contributing customers and group mates whereas our concern about the cost and “getting tendencies” would bring in only like-minded co-workers. Companionship with such people is surely not welcome for us!

Creative capitalism

Most enterprises are conscious of this now. Companies have now started providing for others in myriad ways. A complete change has come over as companies understand how the idea of giving is crucial to their business. In an article in TIME Magazine in July 2008, it was Bill Gates who coined the word ‘Creative Capitalism.’

He opined that the idea of providing for others could become a crucial factor in encouraging people to buy one product rather than another.

The gist of what Bill Gates is saying is that when an enterprise is associated with the idea of providing in any manner, that enterprise and its products become more appealing to clients. It carves out a niche for itself far above that of others.

Creative Capitalism is about rising above what we reluctantly settle for to reach what we truly aspire to. When we can capitalise on our ideas and imagination in a way that benefits and nurtures the wider community and network; we stop wasting our resources, efforts and talents in trying to temporarily win. We start creating the real win for ourselves and for the sustainability of our global economy.

The charm of effective giving

CSR or Corporate Social Responsibility is the word used for delineating the process of business establishments giving back to the community. It is becoming an obligation on the part of enterprises to do so. But when they donate as a duty or just for creating a good impression, it would soon become easy to make out. However, it works as an interim ploy for survival.

However, ‘giving’ people and businesses always attract more. The passions and beliefs behind what they do are shared with the people with whom they connect. They attract something beyond what the slick PR or marketing campaign provides.

So, what happens if we allocate some of the marketing budget to go toward giving?

Giving creates something bigger than who we are. Giving creates inspiration. Inspiration can only be created when it resonates with the people whom we want to inspire. And we get inspired when we are involved in the experience. It is not just about hearing the nice stories of others. It’s actually participating in those stories. After all, we all want to feel good in life by making a contribution-to our family and friends, to our company and to our community.

Transaction-based giving makes it inevitable

The facility for contributing became so much simpler because of a programme (or one can say a ‘development’) called Buy1GIVE1 (Buy One Give One). Buy1GIVE1 is the heart of transaction-based giving. Transaction-based giving revolutionises things. Let us use our creativity and analyse how.

How wonderful is the situation where every time someone buys an ice cream, a child somewhere in an underprivileged country gets a cup of milk?

Imagine if every time you subscribed to a magazine you love, a tree got planted automatically just because you bought the magazine? Or every time you dine out, you fed a child in need? Automatically again.

Or let’s say you’re being coached in your business. How interesting would it be to know that a child was educated for one month as a direct result (and by the way, all it cost the coaching company to do that was 60 cents per day).

Or maybe even the speaker you hire for your conference makes sure that kids who can’t speak (because of facial deformities) now can by automatically giving back to a worthy cause connected to those kids. All of a sudden, you feel good too because you’ve done some good!

Consider whether you will be able to use transaction-based giving in your own exclusive way to go with your services or products to make your customers and other team-mates part of the saga of contributing. This is how you can do it.

The real win-win economy

Already, companies right around the world are ‘getting’ the power of this transaction-based giving. Just one example-the UK’s leading supermarket chain, TESCO now gives a school uniform to a child in Kenya whenever a customer buys a pair of school trousers.

The Mineral Water Company known as Volvic is one that has followed swiftly in this transaction-based giving program. They connect their water selling to well digging in Africa and call it Buy1 GIVE 10, because when one litre of water is sold, the money that comes from it helps in making a 10 litres flow in the well that is being dug.

Small to medium sized companies are now starting to take leadership in expanding this global giving movement through Creative Capitalism. Buy1GIVE1 (www.b1g1.com), a Singapore-based Social Enterprise came up with a mechanism that has turned this transaction-based giving into something every one of us can be involved in.

Buy1GIVE1 is the home of the most impactful transaction-based giving in the world because it connects any business of any size to any cause in the world. It’s creating a global community of business givers and for SME`s, Buy1GIVE1 connects businesses, their customers AND charities in a way that hasn’t been done before. And it all happens automatically.

You can become a citizen of this global giving movement by simply getting a Buy1GIVE1 `VISA` directly off the Buy1GIVE1 site at www.b1g1.com. And if you own a business you can become a B1G1 Business through a simple online application and select your cause for your main product or service to kick-start you’re giving. Buy1GIVE1 forwards 100% of the contributions to their international Worthy Cause Partners (there are now over 528 projects you can select) making the giving even more effective.

Are you aware?

* Half the world-nearly three billion people-live on less than two dollars a day.

* Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their name.

* UNICEF has reported that more than 30,000 children die every day due to abject poverty, which makes it 20 child a minute and 210,000 a week.

* A mere 12 percent of the world’s population uses 85 percent of its water; and these 12 percent do not live in the Third World.

* Medical aid is not available for one billion people of the world population.

* Rainforests of about 63,000 sq. miles get destroyed every year.

Figures From Global Issues

Buy1GIVE1 Businesses-check out these examples

* Buy1BUILD1 (www.sunsplashhomes.com, www.arkgroup.com.au)

* Learning to learning (www.kipmcgrath.com.au)

* Medical practice providing medical benefits (www.primanora.com)

* Telephone card helping in communication (www.ultimatecomms.com)

* Relaxation to healing (www.meditate.com.au)

* Weight loss to kids’ meals (www.bodychain.com)

* Aesthetic blinds to lights to schools (www.blindscouture.com.au)

* Socks for feet to socks for social effect (www.socksforhappypeople.com)

* Learning to educating social organizers (www.b1g1forcoaches.com)

* And for an overall look, simply go to www.b1g1.com.

Discovering what we are looking for-Nature has got the answer

So let’s begin again from where we had set off-financial instability and succeeding in having what we need. The requirements are in reality quite clear-cut. It is just a triumvirate starting with the letter C – correlation, cooperation and community.

When we can team up rather than break up and thus create a perfect way to combine resources rather than carry away from one another, we will perceive that there is so much more profusion and so many reserves present on the planet. And when we build relationships, not just with one another but with our innate selves, we understand something infinitely beautiful-that we’re all ONE. Then we realise how simple it is to form an international society from something as commonplace as giving.

The secret was always alive in nature

In the wild, all types of insects cross-fertilize plants to create fruits and flowers of endless varieties benefitting men and animals alike. The perfect give and take pattern was there even before civilizations started.

When a fiasco inundates the world, it should be leveraged to turn it into a benefit to return to normalcy. Now is the time to acknowledge what we have got and forge ahead to succeed.

And when you choose to start giving today, you will feel so much better despite the economic challenges. And when you feel better you will discover a renewal of hope and you will remember all tides change and the down will soon be up. Giving today is the one thing that you can do to change everything.

Discover more about how Buy1GIVE1 (BOGO) can transform your business using Cause Marketing. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service