Good for business: Generosity of Spirit

My Dad was an optimist about business. As a young radical, I remember explaining to him how wrong he was. And I still think business is not all sweetness and light. And yet, maybe thanks to Dad, I prick up my ears every time I hear a story about business that is generative and life-affirming. Here’s one: a business leader who identifies generosity of spirit as a must-have in hiring talent for his companies.

Turning a profit and turning around an old-media publishing company going digital got David Bradley featured in the Harvard Business School Alumni magazine (Dec 2014, pages 44-51). That is a great story in itself about finding talent and empowering them to recreate theAtlantic.com’s website till it “has come to the galloping rescue of [Atlantic] magazine.”

What struck me most was the sidebar to the new media story. As with most feted HBS alumni, Bradley has been hugely successful in business, not limited to digital media. Asked to what he attributed his success, he wisely said that he found what he was good at, stuck to that, and let others take care of the rest.

To spot talent, Bradley identified two key factors fundamental to business success: force of intellect and spirit of generosity. I was struck by the second factor: here’s a successful, canny businessman, and he says generosity makes for good business leaders. Yay! I agree. Good business, for me, is all about creating a better life for all, including oneself. The shortcut approach of greed is something that clearly creates a kind of success – but to what benefit in the long run?

And remember, Bradley doesn't just talk about business: the companies Bradley founded generate $1.5 billion in annual revenues, and he took Atlantic Media to consistent profitability after a five year average annual loss of $8.5m.