61. The power of infectious generosity
TED curator Chris Anderson’s book gives a new impetus to thoughtful and impactful philanthropy.
I am a great admirer of Chris Anderson, who has for some 20 years been curating the TED conferences, online talks, fellowships and other events. My first experience of TED live was at the TED Global conference in Oxford in 2009. The speakers were inspiring, the organisation outstanding, the audience fascinating – and there in the middle of it all was Chris, acting as ringmaster, MC, host, leader and facilitator. He was not only all of those things but was playing a really full part in the event too, around, accessible, there to see and be seen. Very impressive. The TED organisation is a very small team, and what they’ve achieved bas been huge.
Chris has a new book out. I reviewed Infectious Generosity for Developing Leaders Quarterly (DLQ) magazine recently and have continued to think about the book and its message. Here first is the book review, with some later thoughts to follow.
Infectious Generosity: The Ultimate Idea Worth Spreading
Chris Anderson
Published by Penguin/WH Allen, 272 pages, 2024, ISBN 9780753560495
Review by Mark McKergow
When Chris Anderson left his computer magazine empire in the early 2000s, he can scarcely have known what lay ahead. Taking over the Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) conference, up to that point an exclusive tech and games event, Anderson made it into a non-profit and wondered how to make a wider audience for TED’s lecture-based content. TV executives laughed at him – who would want to watch a lecture? So, he decided to experiment with the new-fangled internet and publish six full talks online. Some said he’d ruin the conference business. Others enjoyed the ability to share what they’d seen with others, free. And, as we now know, TED has gone from strength to strength with vast audiences, communities around the world, TEDx events all over the place – and, yes, a still-thriving live money-making conference arm.
In this book, Chris Anderson starts by reflecting on these events as an early example of infectious generosity; giving that inspires others to give too. Having first given his content and then his brand away (through TEDx), Anderson is well-placed to write about this. He has worked with billionaires and academics, wealthy business leaders and street-smart activists. Nobody gets paid to do a TED talk and so the whole enterprise relies on generosity and the soft power of invitation. TED’s tagline is ‘ideas worth spreading’, and so this book might be seen as the next key step for Anderson and his startling entrepreneur style.
Anderson is clear; giving is not a simple selfless act. Rather, he says, “the decision to be generous can be simultaneously an act of sacrifice and, profoundly, an act in the long-term self-interest of the giver.” So this kind of giving is not just about supporting good causes, it’s about making sure that the ways we give are themselves potential catalysts for other things to happen, more people to get involved, and the process to move from just-sustaining to accelerating ahead. And the fact that non-material things can now be distributed at nearly no cost via the web also changes the picture.
The book is in three parts: Why, How and What-If. Why is about how infectious generosity’s time has come. Anderson presents a wide-ranging take on how people feel about giving, and to his credit addresses many legitimate points which can make us nervous both of giving and of other givers. Why should crazy billionaires get so much influence? Isn’t it the role of governments to sort out (insert your issue here)? Presenting original research carried out by the TED community, Anderson shows how giving has multiple effects on both the recipient and the giver. Both feel good about it, both benefit from it – but the happiness generated by giving is far greater for the recipient than it would have been for the giver spending the money on themselves.
The How section very sensibly starts with non-financial giving. There are so many things we can give and share which make a difference: attention, building bridges, knowledge, connection, hospitality and enchantment can all make huge differences and needn’t cost money. Moving on to financial affairs, Anderson is keen to show how the stories that go along with the money may be even more important than the cash; those are what inspire others to join.
The What-If section shares provocative ideas and examples; I was particularly taken with shipping giant Maersk who, faced with climate change, funded a research hub to investigate zero-carbon shipping and invited their competitors to join them. Greener fuels are now becoming a reality. (This is a wonderful example of ‘leading as a host’, where the power of invitation creates new possibilities and connections.) Anderson closes with thoughts on ‘how much’; Christian tithing (from income) and Islamic zakat (from wealth) guidelines are a starting point.
This book is an original and important contribution, which will be read by business leaders who want to think more broadly and act more widely about how they use their resources to open new options and break out of zero-sum financial thinking.
Dr Mark McKergow is an author, speaker and consultant based in Edinburgh. He pioneered the Solutions Focus and Host Leadership approaches to building progress in tough situations.
Some further thoughts from me inspired by the book:
Givers gain
BNI founder (and my good friend) Dr Ivan Misner leads a huge global network of networks, where people refer business to their colleagues, and everyone wins from the process. Ivan’s book Infinite Giving (2020) is a great window onto his outlook, where generosity is not simply an act of kindness but can also be a move towards something much greater. Ivan has seven principles in his book (hear him talk about them on his podcast here), of which I’d like to highlight three:
· Give without expectation
This is an underappreciated and key element of generosity. If we give with expectation, then that’s a transaction, just like buying something in a shop. I give you this, you do that. Nothing wrong with that of course, but it’s not at all the same as real giving. Giving without expectation is a much more open and generative move; we aren’t sure what might happen next. And of course we may be alert for other things happening – what goes around comes around, as they say, and it can take a good time to come back around.
· Give more than expected
This sounds as if it might be contradictory to the principle above but it isn’t. If you always give what IS expected that’s a kind of treading-water move; things will carry on as before. If we are engaging in infectious generosity then giving more than expected is a way to make people think harder about what to do with the gift, look up from the day-to-day and start to think ahead to bigger things. There’s a section in Lao Tzu’s The Art Of War where he advises to ‘give rewards which are not in the code’ which seems to me to pointing in the same direction. After all, if it’s in the code that you should give the gift, it’s not really generous, is it?
· Give what you can afford
This is key to sustainable generosity. Giving more that you can afford may be a grand gesture, but it’s not good for anyone in the long run. You won’t be able to do more giving, and the recipient may not notice or care that you’re put yourself in difficulties for their sake. Giving what you can afford lets you carry on another day. How much you can afford is, of course, a key question to which I will return later in this piece.
Generative giving
One of the themes of the book is not simply to be generous but to give in ways that create new possibilities, opportunities, build something fresh. One excellent consequence of this kind of thinking is that there can be opportunities for the donors to be involved not simply in providing resources but in helping use those resources to build further. Particularly when significant sums of money are involved, it’s good to look for causes who welcome ideas and offers of further assistance rather than shun them.
One too-often-repeated version of this idea is that ‘if you give someone a fish they will eat for a day, but if you teach them to fish they will eat for the rest of their lives’. Assuming the fish population is not wiped out by efficient fishers. What to do with the fisherfolk who see their living being wiped out is another question; we went on a whale-watching trip in Vancouver Island, Canada with a former whaler who had found a new way to use his skill at finding whales by taking people like us to photograph them rather than harpoon them. (I have a fondness for Terry Pratchett’s version, which is a deliberately humorous take):
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
How much is affordable?
Alongside giving infectiously, there is the parallel and unavoidable question about how much to consider giving. One key take-away from Infectious Generosity is that there are long-established benchmarks for how much might be considered reasonable to allocate to charitable and philanthropic purposes. In Christian circles, the tradition of tithing holds sway. ‘Tithe’ comes from the Old English word for one tenth, and a tenth (10%) of one’s income is the amount which is traditionally thought suitable for giving, It’s not unusual for people to prioritise giving to their local church and community before giving to wider causes. This is, of course, much more than most of us give, but it makes an interesting indicator about the amount we might think in terms of.
The Islamic world has a different way to think about it. Tithing usually starting from take a proportion of income. The principle of zakat starts from wealth rather than income, and sets out a benchmark of one fortieth (2.5%) to be given. In some strongly Islamic countries (for example Pakistan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia) zakat is mandatory and collected by the state, but in most of the world it’s voluntary. The word zakat come from the Arabic root z-k-w (ز ك و), meaning to purify, and there is an idea that such giving purifies possessions, rather as washing purifies the body.
Just to be clear, I realise that both tithing and zakat are in some ways transactional; people may give in the hope/expectation of gaining some kind of spiritual credit or recognition. And of course there may be earthly recognition too from a grateful church, mosque or whatever. I am including these ideas here because the give a window into how much might be considered a benchmark for giving. And just giving is not the same as giving with an eye on generative outcomes and infectious generosity.
I have also experiened different ways of thinking about giving in different cultures. In the UK we tend to act a bit modest and don’t want to be seen to have lots of money to give away - but that can mean we err on the side of caution/parsimony. In the USA, however, I have seen a different outlook; it’s up to us to look after our own, not the government, so it beomes the wealtheri and more fortunate members of society to take the strain. In the UK, it sometimes seems like people think they are being generous if they give £10. In the USA, gifts in four and five figures are more common, and given unabashed.
However much we decide to give, there are potentially benefits for all involved. In the UK beneficiaries can claim Gift Aid from the Government at a rate of 20%, so giving £100 from taxed income can turn into £125. If you’re a higher rate taxpayer (40% or 45% rate) then you can claim the extra relief back (and, I hope, give it to the charity as well!). In the USA donations to 501C3 non-profits is usually tax deductible. I am sure that similar systems operate around the world. If you are in a position to donate, make sure that your government or revenue office puts in their fair share.
Conclusions
I think that Infectious Generosity is a great principle for both individuals and organsations. We see more and more firms with deliberate policies of giving from their profits to support relevant causes and initiatives. When this giving is built on generative and infectious principles, the results will be even greater. For myself, having had a fortunate career and life which has left me well provided for, I am hoping to get more focused in philanthropy in the months and years to come.
Dates and mates
Developing Leaders Quarterly is published by my good Edinburgh friend and colleague Roddy Millar. It takes the form not only of an excellent website but also an actual paper publication, conveniently pocket- or briefcase- sized magazine, well-produced and in colour. I had a piece published an issue or two back, about ‘Lead as a connector, not as a constrainer’. Roddy, like me, is very committed to making organisations human, and his vast network and top-level connections mean he always has something interesting and useful to share. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to keep up with the latest in leadership thinking.
Last call for the Host Leadership Gathering 2024 in Sofia, Bulgaria on 3-4 June 2024. I am working on my keynote ‘Roles Revisited’ and am surprising even myself with what’s emerging. Join us if you possibly can.
