Mo Bunnell: Give to Grow

Kelly talk to business leader, author and podcast host Mo Bunnell about his new book “Give to Grow: Invest in Relationships to Build Your Business and Your Career.” 

 

You had me sold on this book when you write that it’s all about relationships. 

“I just think there’s so many books out there that are about success at the expense of relationships. So many don’t mention the relationship at all, or if they do, it’s about manipulation like it’s explicitly, ‘how do you get the person to sign on the bottom line?’ And I just completely disagree with all that. I think in life the relationship should always be paramount. I mean, I can’t even think of a scenario when it’s not like literally a hundred percent of the time. But the trick is, how do you develop relationship where it’s not just Pollyanna running through the fields, throwing daisies, but developing relationships in a way that helps others, but also can help you build a book of business to drive positive change: being somebody that that helps set the agenda and makes positive impact in the world.” 

 

You started out as an actuary before you were in a senior sales role. 

“It was this really weird scenario and culmination of events where I felt tremendous pressure. I only knew one thing, which is how to study. I had this new role, and I had to figure it out. I put pressure on myself to do it, and basically through that I fell in love with relationship development, had success, and then went through a transformation where I started our company 20 years ago. And now we’ve trained 50,000 people on these skills, these relationship centric things that drive growth.” 

 

You cite Adam Grant’s research about givers and takers. You also believe that giving in the smart way to go. 

“What’s interesting about this idea of giving and having a relationship first is really important. We also have to know how to scale the gift we’re giving. We also have to know when to say no, so we don’t get burned or get burned out. But it’s the people who are always strategically thinking about, ‘What can I invest in? Who should I invest in?’ Those are the people who get ahead.”