One of the people I know who exudes authenticity is generous to a fault. Whether it is tipping in a restaurant, paying his staff or caring for his friends he does so generously. He is also generous with his introductions and his referrals. He is the sort of businessman that everyone wants to do business with because he looks after people and doesn’t stitch them up for his own benefit.

The sorts of behaviours that demonstrate authentic business relationships and generosity include:

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• Making an introduction that could be really helpful to someone else.
  
• Referring a new business opportunity regardless of whether it can be reciprocated.
  
• Delivering above and beyond what might be verbally agreed or contracted.
  
• Being generally generous regardless of whether there is any return for you.
  

By comparison business relationships that lack authenticity are often focused on the ego-needs of the individuals. The business agendas are purely self focused and self serving and there is a lack of flexibility around the edges.

Many business relationships are never established, or simply breakdown, because there is a fundamental lack of trust. Each party is concerned that the deal on the table is going to benefit one party more than the other. They are concerned there will be a winner and a loser and that they will be the latter.

Authentic business relationships can have a symmetry with mutual exchanges of value for money. This symmetry can be agreed as a pyschological contract or written contract. Other authentic business relationships are more prospective in terms of mutual benefit. There is normally a shared hope and genuine expectation that there will be reciprocity at some undefined stage in the future.

Question: How can you be more generous and build more authentic business relationships?

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