Boomerang Principle

When we help others, we help ourselves. Those who invest in others give and then receive. They believe that success comes from being helpful, caring and constructive. They desire to make everything and everyone they touch better, and they understand the best way to accomplish that is to give of themselves. To enrich the world and become someone who invests in others, you must:

Think “others first.” Good, healthy, growing relationships begin with the ability to put other people first. Begin every relationship by giving the other person respect even before he or she has had a chance to earn it.

Focus on the investment, not the return. Investors in people are like investors in the stock market. In the long haul, they will benefit, but they have little control over what that return will look like or how it will occur. But they can control what and how they invest.

Pick out a few people with great potential. When people prepare to make financial investments, the wise ones don’t put all their money into a single stock or fund. They diversify by investing in several areas. But good investors don’t spread themselves too thin. They know they can give only so much time and attention to each particular investment. Wise investors in people follow a similar pattern. Pick only as many people as you can handle with intensity, choose only people with great potential for growth, and choose only people whose need for growth matches your gifts and talents.

With their permission, begin the process. You cannot help someone who does not want your help. The stronger the relationships and the greater the trust, the higher the likelihood that the investment process will work.

Enjoy a return in due season. When people’s motives are pure and they genuinely desire to add value to others, they cannot help others without receiving some benefit. The return may be immediate, or it may take a long time, but it will occur. And when it does, the relationship begins to resonate with synergy.

Soundview Executive Book Summaries John C. Maxwell "Winning with People"