What is a Go-Giver?

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While there are good and bad people of all types in the world, when one truly makes a study of people who are successful in the long term, both financially and in their personal lives, you find that by and large these people live lives and conduct their businesses based on character traits and values such as honesty, integrity, humility, and encouragement—and that they go out of their way to add significant value to every relationship in which they are involved.

What are the five laws you and John share in the book?

No. 1 is The Law of Value: Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment. The key is realizing that price and value are two different things. Price is a dollar amount; value is desirability to the end user. Always strive to provide more in "use value" to your customer than what you charge them—while still making a healthy profit.

No. 2 is The Law of Compensation: Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them. While No. 1 discusses the value you provide, No. 2 shows you how to get well compensated for the value you provide. You do so by touching the lives of a lot of people.

And what about the other three?

The Law of Influence is No. 3. Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other peoples' interests first. This might sound a little Pollyanna, but it's actually extremely practical. The golden rule of business is that all things being equal, people will do business with and refer business to those people they know, like, and trust. There's no quicker, more powerful, or more effective method of eliciting those feelings in others than by focusing on putting their interests first.

No. 4 is The Law of Authenticity: The greatest gift you have to offer is yourself. The most significant way you have of adding value to others' lives is by honoring your own nature—by being genuine and not trying to be someone you're not. Consciously or not, people can tell when you're not being authentic, and it interferes with your interaction just as surely as if you broke off an electrical current. You cannot truly give to another person unless you're being authentic.

Finally, No. 5 is The Law of Receptivity: The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving. This is what really brings it home. It says that receiving is good—it's great—because it is a natural result of giving.

Do you feel most people don't understand that concept?

John and I both feel that addressing this may be the most positive aspect of this book. We would love for this little story to help change that common belief—what John calls the "treacherous dichotomy"—the idea that you can help others or help yourself, but not both at once. I call it the "false dilemma."

I think perhaps the most prevalent false-dilemma question is: "Would you rather be rich OR happy?" What an awful question. Why not be both? And far too many people have bought into that artificial contradiction. Let's instead see the world as one of abundance. In this great country, if you can create, if you can add value—you can be rich and happy.

How can readers get in touch with you?

Through my Web site, Bob@Burg.com.

Marshall Goldsmith, who writes Marshall and Friends every week for BusinessWeek.com, can be reached at Marshall@MarshallGoldsmith.com. He provides his articles and videos online at MarshallGoldsmithLibrary.com.