Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
During this festive season, we scale back our work obligations and make time for friends and family.
Christmas is a season of gift giving. If you are a Christian, then this tradition holds special significance because it echoes the story of the gifts given by the three wise men to baby Jesus. However, the tradition of gift giving is practiced more broadly, with Santa Claus being widely expected to bring gifts on Christmas Eve to well behaved children.
The tradition of gift giving may be linked to the pre-Christian origins of Christmas. It is commonly understood that the date of Christmas coincides with the pagan celebration of the winter solstice, which marks the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. As the days begin to grow longer, and Spring approaches, the free gift of the sun shines more brightly with each passing day. As a result, the winter solstice marks an opportune time to celebrate the turning of the seasons and the return of warmer weather. Like any celebrations, these would have been marked by a festive atmosphere where people ate, and drank, and shared colourful stories!
This is all very well, but what lessons can business professionals learn from the Christmas season?
Well, for one thing, we can contrast the unconditional generosity that animates Christmas with the way that business interactions are often handled during much of the rest of the year. For example, you might be planning to jump firms due to the benefits offered, join a committee for the networking opportunities, or pursue a promotion for the status and influence it confers.
While there is of course nothing wrong with pursuing the best opportunities available to you, there is a subtle and important difference in mindset between ‘giving to get’ and ‘giving from a position of abundance’. One mindset is contractual, while the other is empowered.
By giving unconditionally, Christmas is a time to break free from a transactional mindset. In doing so, we are able to build closer relationships with the people who matter.
If you carried the Christmas spirit with you into 2022, would it change your approach to doing business? What would you do differently?
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