We thanked him and said we were curious how his team uses the book’s ideas at work. Here is his reply.

The Go-Giver is the single most powerful book on the market. I read it about a year ago and have ever since been spreading the word aggressively, in both my personal and professional life. In terms of impact I’ve seen this book have on those around me, two specific stories come to mind.

As background: I work as a technical sales representative for Ashland Inc., a Fortune 500 specialty chemicals company. My sales territory is covered by a team of five people. Earlier this summer, I introduced the book to four out of the five people on the team. It was amazing! After reading the book, each of them began to reference the book when making decisions.

For example, my supervisor was working recently with a customer to improve the safety of their facility. The customer had asked that we provide them with a piece of chemical feed equipment that added to the safety of the facility. The issue was that the equipment would severely cut into the profit of the chemical being provided. Normally, my supervisor would have insisted the customer pay for the equipment; however, in this instance he decided to give it to them. He told me that the pivotal point during the negotiation was when his mind started recalling the story of Pindar and Joe in The Go-Giver.

The second story involves the inspiration that The Go-Giver has given me and two of my colleagues, James Morin and Matt Ciampa. After reading the book, the three of us decided we wanted to find a macro way to be a connector and give to a cause that we are the most passionate about. The result was the creation of the UMaine Business Challenge (UBC), to be held annually starting in the spring of 2012.

The UBC is a one-day business competition with the goal of giving collegiate entrepreneurs the support to transform their business dreams into a reality. In parallel, the competition strives to contribute to the long-term growth of Maine’s economy and the mission of the University of Maine as a partner with the state of Maine. We feel that this competition clearly embodies all five Laws of Stratospheric Success, and would not have been created without the inspiration provided by your book.

Owen is too modest to mention this, but we will: a recent graduate of the University of Maine, he also served there as student body president (serving nearly nine thousand students) and concurrently CEO of the University of Maine Student Government, where he oversaw a budget of about $800,000 and had the responsibility for creating a shared vision and leading an organization of seventy-five people. Here’s what one of those seventy-five says about him:

We have a feeling this young man will indeed be executive of his own company!

About a year ago, Pete gave Claudia a copy of The Go-Giver and wrote a note on the first page: “Always be a giver! Love, Dad.”

Pete attached a copy of Claudia’s speech, and we wanted to share it with our Scrapbook readers:

“Always be a giver.” This quote was etched inside a copy of the self-motivating bestseller, The Go-Giver, a gift from my father. After being given the book, I initially tried to make sense of the vague advice written on the title page and wondered what relevance this book had in my life.

A few days later, I decided to read the short parable about a young man yearning for the secrets of success. After meeting an older and wiser mentor, the novice entrepreneur quickly discovers that a true sense of accomplishment is yielded by giving to others.

After reading, I briefly reflected on the positive message the book conveys, then placed it back on my shelf, where it would begin to collect dust. Not until recently, however, have I blown off the cobwebs covering the book and thought about the significance its message communicates:

We can attain success by giving and sharing with those around us.

Friends, family, and my fellow 2011 Cabrini graduates, we sit here today each possessing an abundance of talents and wisdom acquired throughout our lives and education. Whether you are 22 or 92, you have gained a wealth of information and experienced events that have provided you with valuable knowledge. But let me ask, what would our knowledge, talents, and life experiences be if we did not give or share them?

If we did not share these things, they would collect dust like the book on the shelf my father gave me, and benefit no one. Your everyday actions and choices can translate into success through the giving to others. Career choices and degrees can be thought of not only as titles or menial jobs, but as a means to use your knowledge to help those around you.

Consider yourself more than a teacher, but rather an individual seeking to educate the minds that dictate our future. Consider yourself more than a business expert, but rather a person who provides the skills needed to create a productive enterprise for the next generation. Consider yourself more than a doctor, nurse, or healthcare professional, but rather someone who discloses what they know to keep the bodies and minds of humanity healthy. Consider yourself more than a social worker, lawyer or one who enforces the law, but rather an individual who gives their talents to maintain a peaceful and just society.

Your accomplishments, no matter what profession or career you decide to pursue or already pursue, can be built upon a foundation of generosity. Know that you can attain true success by sharing the wonderful gifts you possess and by always being a giver.

So, guests and Cabrini Class of 2011, I would like you to join me by not just doing something extraordinary, but by giving something extraordinary.

Here is an excerpt of Janet’s editorial:

At graduation we were presented with a book: The Go-Giver: A Little Story about a Powerful Business Idea. In the land of motivational, inspirational and “feel good” books, I think I’ll rate this one right on toward the top. Laid out simply is the “Trade Secret” for success: Giving. While the thought seems broad, trite, surface, practically overused and far too generic to apply, administer the book’s Five Laws of Stratospheric Success, and the concept of “giving” is suddenly invigorated with purpose and applicability.

Now, I’m certainly no motivational speaker and have a whole lot more work to do on the giving part. (The pressure I put myself under every day for not showing more gratitude for so many generous gestures that have come my way is truly exhausting.) But I grasp the book’s pivotal point that “you get what you expect, and ultimately the world treats you, more or less, the way you expect to be treated.” In other words, you teach people how to treat you.

During our Leadership Knoxville year and through many e-mails since graduation, I continue to see the genuine respect and sense of cooperation among classmates. We walked away with confidence, knowing we could largely depend on each other for ideas, solutions, feedback and support on a cause or passion one of us might be championing. We bought-in that concertedly we can have a bigger impact, and, like several of Knoxville’s non-profit leaders wrote in this issue, “all of us is better than any of us,” and “individually we take small steps, but collectively we can make real progress in enriching others’ lives.”

As a Go-Giver, the authors’ edification is “changing your focus from getting to giving — putting others’ interests first and continually adding value to their lives – ultimately leads to unexpected returns.”

Therein lies the road to wealth. Cash in.

Needless to say, now we were really intrigued. We investigated further, and found that Janet’s experience at Leadership Knoxville owed its lineage to Lorie Huff, the program director at Leadership Knoxville.

We got in touch with Lorie, who wrote this reply:

I love The Go-Giver and have enjoyed sharing it with others!

I previously worked at a wireless company, U.S. Cellular. While there I was privileged to work alongside two consecutive Regional VPs, who were wonderful servant leaders. As their executive assistant, I did a lot of reading and research on relevant “culture-impacting” books and ideas that would be beneficial to developing leaders in our values based culture.

I picked-up The Go-Giver in the airport while on a trip.

At the time, I knew I might be leaving U.S. Cellular for Leadership Knoxville and thought it would be the perfect final message to leave with our executive leadership team. I gave one to each member on my final day at U.S. Cellular.

As our program year drew to a close last spring, I again had an opportunity to leave a final message with a group of leaders who had been considering servant leadership for the year. The Go-Giver again provided the perfect message I hoped would inspire that group of community leaders to go influence their world.

I was very proud to see Janet’s article and glad that she shared it with the broader community.

Thanks for the email and for the message of The Go-Giver!

Thank you, Lorie, and thank you, Janet!

After reading The Go-Giver, our first call to action at Pizza Gallery & Grill was something we call “Mondays Matter.” Every Monday, our pizza and pasta bar is half-price, and all our gourmet pizzas and calzones are half-price — and they’re staying that way every Monday until unemployment comes down.

We followed that with “Take-out Tuesdays”: every Tuesday, any pizza or calzone take-out order goes out at half price. Again, until unemployment in our area goes back down.

We value the true meaning of restaurant, which means “to restore,” and we wanted to do something to help restore our community.

And wow, has every one of the Five Laws come true!

Law of Value: We are definitely giving more in value (our incredible pizza & pasta bar, gourmet pizza & calzones) than we are taking in payment (half-price until unemployment goes back down under 10 percent).

Law of Compensation: We have more than doubled our guest count on Mondays (a 100 percent increase) and have added more staff to make sure we are still providing our excellent service.

Law of Influence: We are intentionally looking at our community’s best interests first, and genuinely doing so because of the unemployment factor.

Law of Authenticity: At PGG, we are in the people business. We knew it was important to meet our guests at the door, especially on this unemployment community service day, with genuine hospitality!

Law of Receptivity: Our community has been sooooo grateful. Our slowest day of the week is now our second or third busiest day and the rest of our week has increased as well.

It is a true blessing to serve others’ needs with an incredible “dining experience” — as it says in the book — at Pizza Gallery & Grill!