As humans, we are a social species. We need each other in order to survive because we trade, arrow heads for food, for example.
A person’s value is determined by the society in which he or she operates. Success is then again determined by these value judgments and structures. The social perspective of value is most prominent in situations of trade. 

There is evidence of trade between people going back hundreds of thousands of years. Today we trade our labour or products for money (Source: The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley).

Imagine this scenario: A cave man made the journey from the mountains to the coast to trade a bush pig for some fish (he got tired of eating pork everyday).He arrives at a shelter on a beach and is offered a single small sardine in exchange for his bush pig. The cave man won’t be back to trade bush pigs at the shelter because he was doing business with a classic “taker”. 

Three Types of People

Adam Grant, author of Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success, spent a decade studying three types of people: takers, matchers and givers, and their respective chances of success. 

• Takers try to get as much as they can from people.
• Matchers try to always give only if they feel they will receive an equal amount of value in return.
• Givers are focused on providing as much value as they can.

Grant realised though his research that successful people are almost always "givers".

The Go-Giver, by Bob Burg and John David Mann, explains what happens when you give more than you take.
The book covers the Five Laws of Success:
1) The Law of Value: Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.
2) The Law of Compensation: Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.
3) The Law of Influence: Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people's interests first.
4) The Law of Authenticity: The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.
5) The Law of Receptivity: The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.

A complication to this simple concept is the fact that value is partly a perception. Your clients may not always realise that you slaved over a hot computer for days to complete their work. It would help if you explained it to them.

“Takers” often over estimate the value they provide and relentlessly blow their own horn.It can be argued that value is a perception and that it is relative, but this does not dismiss that pursuing the five laws of success will put a person at an advantage.

To be successful you must be valuable, and to be a giver you must have something to give and be sure to communicate your value. It is as simple as that.

What is your experience in dealing with these different types of people? Are you a taker, matcher or giver?
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