“Nice, smart people succeed.”
― Tim Sanders, Love Is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends
One of the biggest misconceptions about running a business is cold-blooded and brutal. People were ruthless and cutthroat to get ahead in business in the past. Companies used to run compassionless for hundreds of years. The statement, "Kill-or-be-killed," was understandable in the work environment before. But, times have changed, and for the better.
Today, it’s about getting to know colleagues and fostering a humane workplace environment where everyone feels included. Study shows that incorporating compassion and empathy contributes to a business’s success. Most of today’s leaders would agree that demonstrating love for employees, customers, and the company’s products is essential.
Alliances are the key to success. However, there should be a meaningful mutual reason for working together. Ensure all partners are involved equally and receive the same value in return.
By sharing the love and leveraging existing partnerships or new connections with companies, departments, or individuals, entrepreneurs can make the industry a better place. It fosters positive leadership, builds stronger relationships, and develops negotiation skills.
It’s too easy to turn things they enjoy doing into something they hate; pressure to make millions can instantly take the fun out of things. But funneling love to their family, friends, co-workers, allies, and their free time into the business can set them up for success while keeping their love intact.
David Heinemeier Hansson and Jason Fried, REWORK
Tim Sanders' Love is A Killer App: How To Win Business and Influence Friends promotes a new way to succeed in the business world, a way that calls for business professionals to share their intangibles: their knowledge, network, and compassion. He refers to it as a "Lovecat" in the business world.
Sanders is a proponent of reading as much as possible and narrowing it down to the Big Statement—the “kill-or-be-killed” mentality won’t get anyone far in today’s business environment. It is better to spread the love by connecting with people, giving out advice, using every available moment to increase knowledge, and being a lovecat.
Compassion can have a significant impact on the workplace. It can transform how people see themselves and others when it brings humanity into an otherwise cold environment that rarely celebrates it or allows physical contact.
By showing compassion, one can provide a service that few others don’t. A person that makes others feel good by smiling at them. This trait will make business partners, and the business in general, happier and more fulfilled.
Sanders presents six benefits of being a lovecat. He begins with how “you build an outstanding brand as a person” by using a “brand mindset” (inspired by Duane Knapp) around the DREAM acronym (Differentiation, Relevance, Esteem, Awareness, Mind’s eye).
Tim Sanders is a former Yahoo chief solutions officer and best-selling author. He is one of the top-rated leadership keynote speakers on the lecture circuit. His keynotes at conferences and corporate meetings offer actionable insights on leadership development, sales, collaboration, and corporate culture.
Tim’s passionate about motivating audiences to move to action. Tim has two missions: lead professionals to deepen all their relationships through generosity and expand their collaborative webs to solve their toughest challenges.
Sanders is the CEO of Deeper Media, a research and consultancy firm leading global brands, government agencies, and trade associations. Deeper Media helps individuals and organizations tackle marketing innovation, sales performance, talent management, leadership development, and organizational culture.
He’s served on advisory boards for several startups, including the social reading website Goodreads, purchased by Amazon in 2014. Tim wrote five books, including the New York Times bestseller, Love is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends. His publications reached over one million copies in print with bestseller status in India, South Korea, Italy, Brazil, and Denmark.
A lovecat leads rather than follows, never runs out of ideas, contacts, or friendship. Sanders divided the practices and benefits of being a lovecat in the business world into principles.
Casey Sullivan is the founder of Bookafy, an online appointment scheduling software used by sales teams, support teams, and service-based businesses worldwide. Casey always had a passion for making a profit, but he learned that he could use that money to help others rather than using them. After working several jobs at a young age, Sullivan worked at a large mortgage bank and became intrapreneurial, building a business within a business.
A few years back, he started creating software for his business and promoted it on Facebook. Soon, it gained an audience and developed potential. Casey went full-time in it and established Bookafy. With his passion and values, Casey developed his definition of success: helping others, making a difference, and building good relationships with customers.
Bookafy hit a revenue run rate of $1.1 million in 2020 while being bootstrapped and reached over 11,000 users with more than 4,000 paying customers. Sullivan studied Jason Fried and incorporated the principles from Rework to Bookafy.
― Casey Sullivan, Founder of Bookafy
Love is A Killer App works best for anyone in need to work on their interpersonal skills and problems with workplace relationships and team leaders who need strategies that could fuel synergy in their group. With Tim Sanders’ philosophy, startups, risen companies, and entrepreneurs can thrive in the long run of their careers. Leaders can pave the way for a healthier and happier work environment and ethics for the next generations.
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