Operating With The "Gift Economy"

Starting in 2018, I have been operating within the confines of a "gift economy" for all of my coaching work and some of my consulting work.

Why am I doing this?

The fundamental idea of a gift economy is we seek to support each other to meet their basic human needs.  This means food, shelter, healthcare etc...  A gift is offered to someone as a way to show you appreciate them as a person instead of an exchange for a service.  I believe this approach will help me create a deeper level of engagement with my clients and also focus my energy on the work I am passionate about.  I realize that this will likely lead to a short term "dip" in my earnings, but I believe this type of mindset is vital to the future of work and I am committed to embracing this model.

I also believe that the "future of work" means we will have to rethink how we reward people as our economy shifts to people pursuing more creative endeavors. Instead of benefits accruing to who can acquire power (large companies) or build the largest platforms (e.g.Facebook, LinkedIn, Apple), it shifts attention to appreciating people who help us improve our lives at an individual level.

How I Am Putting This Into Practice In My Own Life

I am putting ths approach into practice in my own life and am emracing five core principles to help me think about how I can increasingly support more people:

1. Means: What are you reasonably able to contribute? (can be money, but if you have a vacation spot on a beach, I'm all ears)
2. Sustainability: What will help me continue to do this work?
3. Value: How much value does what I create help you?
4. Feeling: What feels right?
5. Community: How will my contributions encourage a deeper connection between people and doing work that matters?

Download The FAQ

I put together a detailed FAQ that will walk you through how I use this approach with clients.

Read it here =>