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Aug 11·edited Aug 11Liked by Rishad Tobaccowala

This is great. Even a narcissist should be able to grasp that being kind, empathetic and generous will serve selfish motives. But, they rarely do. --- If I may, I would like to tie this to marketing and to the value of a strong brand. The benefit of generosity that you just described creates an "emotional end benefit" that is far more powerful than a more superficial benefit like "lower price" that can be commoditized. For example: In the years before light beer came to market, the marketing war between Miller and Budweiser was intense. Miller was known by the line "It's Miller Time" while Budweiser used a tag line that most copywriter's would gag on; "For all you do, this Bud's for you." Budweiser slowly gained share quarter by quarter because of the empathetic generosity implied in the line. My first lesson in "emotional end benefits" was taught to me by P&G with Crest toothpaste. The whole world thought that our end benefit was being the only toothpaste endorsed by dentists. But, a careful look at the advertising would show that we were focused on reducing the anxiety of a visit to the dentist's office and turning that experience into something positive because you had fewer cavities. That emotional end benefit was lost on our competitors and it made it almost impossible to take market share away from Crest. --- A very modern version of generosity is "thought leadership marketing" where a brand uses newsletters to generously share brilliant insights. Done right, the emotional end benefit comes back to the creator of the content in powerful ways. The best example of that technique is (obviously) "The Future Does Not Fit In The Containers Of The Past."

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Mark. Thanks for your thoughts. Excellent examples for sure with Crest and Bud.

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Thank you for generously sharing your valuable time and wisdom to encourage positive thinking, progress & good will 🙏

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Aug 11Liked by Rishad Tobaccowala

One of my favorites! Thanks as always for sharing your insights!

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Aug 12Liked by Rishad Tobaccowala

Great read! Thanks

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Aug 12Liked by Rishad Tobaccowala

Dear Rishad, thanks for sharing these exemplary individuals. Reading your article, Mr. Hamdi Ulukaya came to mind. The Turkish-Kurdish businessman, entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist, based in the United States. In May 2015 Hamdi announced that he will donate a majority of his wealth to help refugees around the world. Hamdi visited the Greek island of Lesbos in September 2015 to see first-hand the situation of the mostly Syrian refugees there. In 2015 he launched the Tent Foundation to help refugees. Hamdi said that he would like to see more companies and entrepreneurs engaged in helping refugees by providing more innovative solutions to solving the crisis, using their expertise to help refugees, and asking companies to hire refugees. Best regards, Alex.

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Aug 11Liked by Rishad Tobaccowala

Totally agree! Generosity as outlined in your post goes beyond mere benefits; it builds a loyal, motivated workforce. This not only improves the company’s internal atmosphere but also boosts its public image—a crucial factor in today’s ethics-focused market.

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Aug 11Liked by Rishad Tobaccowala

Very nice. Very true.

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