There's talk that Bill Gates is going to start dedicating more time to 
philanthropy and giving away the mass fortune he has accumulated. Cynics will say that Gates and many of these wealthy business people do this simply because they want a tax write off. I recently read an article (forgot what magazine) about the time music mogul, Sean "P-Diddy" Combs ran in a marathon for charity. The author slightly hinted that perhaps he did it more for personal gain in the form of tax benefits.
I don't know - nor will anybody else know - the true motives of other people (unless they tell you, of course). Either way, I take these types of actions by successful business people at face value and simply say that they're setting good examples, if anything, of what business owners should be doing - helping out and giving back to the community. If that's not the highest form of service - I don't know what is.
When you give back to the community, it brings more meaning to your work. It inspires you to want to give even more and be more helpful when it comes to helping your fellow coworker (internal customer) or your own paying customers.
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I couldn't agree more. Whether Gates (and others) are giving away their fortunes for tax or PR benefits or not, the fact remains that literally millions of lives are being saved through these efforts.
I'll concern myself with product loyalty at the cost my my wallet and head, not my heart and the lives of others.
Posted by: Kevin M. Scarbrough | October 9, 2007 8:20 AM | Permalink to Comment