The saying goes “nice guys finish last,”  and in some areas that might be right, but in the new business world this saying holds no truth anymore.

Consumers, employees, suppliers, distributors, and all your other stakeholders have too many other options to continue dealing with you if you’re selfish or overbearing.  The best business leaders of today and tomorrow are the individuals that put others’ interests first.

When you put others first you are willing to sacrifice some of your resources to help them solve their problems. Helping others solve their problems makes you much better at solving your own problems once they arise.  You will also have built up a surplus of goodwill from the tribe which you’ve already helped.

It might sound cliche, but you do receive more once you’ve initiated with giving.  The force you put out comes back to you magnified.

Good business is benevolent, and it indirectly serves itself at the same time.  Nice guys don’t finish last too often anymore.