Is Giving the Secret to Getting Ahead?

I recently came across a fascinating New York Times article about Professor Adam Grant, who could certainly be described as an altruistic guy.  The youngest professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, he writes over 100 letters of recommendation for students every year.  He sits down at his computer, opens up his email inbox, and responds to literally hundreds of questions.  One might think that he just doesn’t know how to say “no.”

Professor Grant, despite his "pushover" tendencies, is actually incredibly productive in his own personal work. He’s famous for proving the theory that we are more productive, and that we tend to accomplish more, when we perceive that we are helping others.  Some of his psychological studies, for instance, have proved that doctors will apply more soap when in the presence of a bathroom sign cautioning against harming patients than a sign cautioning against harming themselves.

The applications of this theory in the business world are particularly interesting. (And hence his job at Wharton.)  He used to work for a phone bank that sold a product which helped other people.  When he brought in a beneficiary to talk to the employees about how much their work meant to him, sales shot up big time – much more substantially even than financial incentives for salespeople to perform well.  In essence, the will to help others can be more powerful than cold, hard cash.

But if we are armed with that knowledge that helping others will help ourselves, does altruism cease to be altruism and become self-interest?  Perhaps, to an extent, that is true.  That gets into a whole debate about psychological egoism, which I’ve already written about.

According to the article, “Grant would be the first to say that he is not purely altruistic — that pure altruism, giving without regard for one’s self-interest, perhaps does not even exist.”

Motives aside, I think it’s hard not to get excited about a proven business model that promotes helping others as a means to perform better.  It’s a win-win; actually, it’s a win-win-win because it helps management, employees, and customers.  Management rakes in the dough, employees feel good, and so do the customers.