When most people think of goodwill, they think of a kindly feeling of approval and support.
A businessperson also defines goodwill as the value a business attains through its brands and its good reputation.
To a Rotarian, Goodwill means that our integrity and reputation allows us to go and do what others cannot.
'Service above Self' is the way a Rotarian builds goodwill, and with it our reputation and integrity.
The Four-Way Test refers to better friendships, not more friendships.
Better friendships are built on five attributes:
respect, trust, reciprocity, shared experience, and mutual enjoyment of each other’s company.
If you desire better friendships, first examine if respect, trust, and reciprocity exist. Without them, it’s unlikely you will have shared experiences or enjoy each other’s company.
One advantage of membership in Rotary is you meet people who are easy to respect and trust and who know how to reciprocate. Being engaged in your club provides opportunities to share experiences and enjoy each other’s company
WILL IT BUILD GOODWILL AND BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
When most people think of goodwill, they think of a kindly feeling of approval and support. A businessperson also defines goodwill as the value a business attains through its brands and its good reputation. Goodwill is measured as the market value of a company over and above the value of its tangible assets. In 2016, Microsoft acquired LinkedIn, which had a balance sheet value of $4 billion. Microsoft’s purchase price was $25 billion, the difference all classified as goodwill. Today there is more than $2.5 TRILLION in goodwill listed on corporate balance sheets. Goodwill is an intangible asset. But for many corporations, it is by far their most valuable asset.
Integrity is the father of goodwill. Reputation is its mother. And as Warren Buffett noted, it takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. And unlike your other assets, goodwill cannot be insured. The only way to retain it is to keep building it.
How do we build goodwill? The answer is the Rotary motto: Service above Self. If goodwill is defined as a kindly feeling of approval or support, what better way to create a kindly feeling of approval or support from others than to put service to them above you?
But Goodwill is more than warm fuzzies and ballooning balance sheets. There’s a practical value to goodwill.
Rotary has tapped its goodwill to vaccinate children against polio where no one else would be allowed to do so. Rotary has tapped its goodwill in this effort, but it has created far more than it has used. When polio is eradicated, the most important tool in that effort will not be money, but the goodwill Rotary developed over more than a century. Goodwill saves lives.
An Oxford anthropologist recently surveyed 3,300 people on their use of Facebook. These people had an average of 155 friends, yet they said only 28% of them were close friends,and they would only turn to four in a crisis. Responding to these numbers, the anthropologist said, “Seeing the whites of their eyes from time to time seems to be crucial to the way we maintain friendships.” Social media may be great for keeping up with friends and family, but it’s not a substitute for face-to-face contact.
The Four-Way Test refers to better friendships, not more friendships.
Better friendships are built on five attributes:
respect, trust, reciprocity, shared experience, and mutual enjoyment of each other’s company.
If you desire better friendships, first examine if respect, trust, and reciprocity exist. Without them, it’s unlikely you will have shared experiences or enjoy each other’s company.
One advantage of membership in Rotary is you meet people who are easy to respect and trust and who know how to reciprocate. Being engaged in your club provides opportunities to share experiences and enjoy each other’s company.