
Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with fast, free delivery
Amazon Prime includes:
Fast, FREE Delivery is available to Prime members. To join, select "Try Amazon Prime and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery" below the Add to Cart button.
Amazon Prime members enjoy:- Cardmembers earn 5% Back at Amazon.com with a Prime Credit Card.
- Unlimited Free Two-Day Delivery
- Streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with limited ads on Prime Video.
- A Kindle book to borrow for free each month - with no due dates
- Listen to over 2 million songs and hundreds of playlists
- Unlimited photo storage with anywhere access
Important: Your credit card will NOT be charged when you start your free trial or if you cancel during the trial period. If you're happy with Amazon Prime, do nothing. At the end of the free trial, your membership will automatically upgrade to a monthly membership.
Buy new:
-38% $13.70$13.70
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: Bookdream
Save with Used - Good
$7.27$7.27
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: Let Books Go

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable
Color:
-
-
-
- To view this video download Flash Player
-
-
-
-
VIDEO
-
Follow the authors
OK
The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea Hardcover – Deckle Edge, December 27, 2007
Purchase options and add-ons
Over the next week, Pindar introduces Joe to a series of “go-givers:” a restaurateur, a CEO, a financial adviser, a real estate broker, and the “Connector,” who brought them all together. Pindar’s friends share with Joe the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success and teach him how to open himself up to the power of giving.
Joe learns that changing his focus from getting to giving—putting others’ interests first and continually adding value to their lives—ultimately leads to unexpected returns.
Imparted with wit and grace, The Go-Giver is a heartwarming and inspiring tale that brings new relevance to the old proverb “Give and you shall receive.”
- Print length144 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPortfolio
- Publication dateDecember 27, 2007
- Dimensions5.65 x 0.63 x 8.55 inches
- ISBN-10159184200X
- ISBN-13978-1591842002
There is a newer edition of this item:
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Explore your book, then jump right back to where you left off with Page Flip.
View high quality images that let you zoom in to take a closer look.
Enjoy features only possible in digital – start reading right away, carry your library with you, adjust the font, create shareable notes and highlights, and more.
Discover additional details about the events, people, and places in your book, with Wikipedia integration.
Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed
- The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.Highlighted by 3,559 Kindle readers
- “Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.”Highlighted by 2,373 Kindle readers
- “Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.”Highlighted by 2,135 Kindle readers
- “Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first.”Highlighted by 2,000 Kindle readers
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
-- Darren Richardson, Science of Mind
This modern-day business parable, a quick read in the spirit of The Greatest Salesman in the World and The One Minute Manager, should do well with eager corporate-ladder climbers Over the course of five days, a restaurateur, a CEO, a financial advisor, a real-estate broker and the mysterious Connector teach Joe about the laws of value, compensation, influence, authenticity and receptivity concepts that make more immediate sense in this fictional context than they would in a formal business book.
Publishers Weekly
The powerful business idea referenced in the title is that shifting the focus from getting to giving and putting the other person first is the key to business success and personal fulfillment. Explanations of these concepts and how to employ them are clear and to the point, and as with all successfully written business books, it will provoke thought and probably action as well.
Booklist
"Burg and Mann have crafted a business parable that is drawing comparisons with Dr. Spencer Johnson's wildly popular 1998 book Who Moved My Cheese?... How one receives this message may vary, but learning and understanding it is essential ... the world always needs a fresh approach to its most important messages. For this purpose The Go-Giver is a great way to continue to spread a positive and enriching message."
Soundview Executive Book Alert
Not since Who Moved My Cheese? have I enjoyed a parable as much as this. You owe it to yourself to read The Go-Giver and share its message with those who matter most to you. It is a beautiful book that will touch your soul and inspire your heart.
David Bach, #1 New York Times bestselling author, The Automatic Millionaire
The Go-Giver does everything I would wish a good book to do. Read it to the very end.
Michael E. Gerber, author, The E-Myth
This terrific book wonderfully illuminates [the] principles of contribution, abundance, service, and success.
Stephen M. R. Covey, author, The Speed of Trust
A lovely reminder to us all that the world is abundant and rewards those who act with a generosity of spirit.
Lois P. Frankel, Ph.D., author, See Jane Lead and Nice Girls Don t Get the Corner Office
Most people don t have the guts to buy this book, never mind the will to follow through and actually use it. But you do. And I m certain that you ll be glad you did.
Seth Godin, author, The Dip
The Go-Giver is the best business parable since The Greatest Salesman in the World and The One Minute Manager.
Pat Williams, author, Souls of Steel, and senior vice president, Orlando Magic
Burg and Mann have demonstrated that adding value to people s lives is the way to climb the ladder of financial success.
Fran Tarkenton, Hall of Fame quarterback and founder and CEO , GoSmallBiz.com
These five simple principles will help you achieve your goals and fulfill your dreams!
Brian Tracy, author, The Psychology of Achievement
This book is exactly what is meant by the phrase Great things come in small packages.
Tom Hopkins, author, How to Master the Art of Selling
"A cross between Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, The Go-Giver is a tale of transformation...For those who've stalled out on The Secret's emphasis on what we want, want, want, the Chairman offers another secret--his trade secret: giving...Bob Burg, who travels the world sharing the principles of The Go- Giver, and John David Mann, author of The Zen of MLM, collaborate on this uplifting, quick-read of a book that will appeal to customers who want to bring more heart and a holistic sense of mission to their livelihoods."
--Connie Mears, New Age Retailer
About the Author
Bob Burg is a highly sought-after conference speaker who teaches the principles at the core of The Go-Giver to audiences worldwide. A former top sales professional, he is also the author of Endless Referrals and Adversaries Into Allies. He lives in Florida.
Product details
- Publisher : Portfolio; 1st edition (December 27, 2007)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 144 pages
- ISBN-10 : 159184200X
- ISBN-13 : 978-1591842002
- Item Weight : 8.8 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.65 x 0.63 x 8.55 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #325,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #48 in Motivational Management & Leadership
- #105 in Success Self-Help
- #160 in Business Motivation & Self-Improvement (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
Videos
Videos for this product
0:41
Click to play video
The Go-Giver, Expanded Edition: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea (Go-Giver, Book 1Amazon Videos
About the authors
Bob Burg speaks for corporations and associations internationally, including fortune 500 companies, franchises, and numerous direct sales organizations.
Bob regularly addresses audiences ranging in size from 50 to 16,000 — sharing the platform with notables including today’s top thought leaders, broadcast personalities, Olympic athletes and political leaders including a former United States President.
Although for years he was best known for his book "Endless Referrals" it’s his business parable, "The Go-Giver" (coauthored with John David Mann) that has captured the imagination of his readers.
"The Go-Giver," a The Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek Bestseller, has sold well over one million copies. Since its release it has consistently stayed in the top 25 on 800ceoread’s Business Book Bestsellers List. It has been translated into 30 languages. It was rated #10 on Inc. Magazine’s list of the Most Motivational Books Ever Written, and was on HubSpot’s 20 Most Highly Rated Sales Books of All Time.
Bob is the author of a number of books on sales, marketing and influence, with total book sales of well over two million copies.
The American Management Association named Bob one of the Top 30 Leaders in Business and he was named one of the Top 200 Most Influential Authors in the World by Richtopia.
Bob is an advocate, supporter and defender of the Free Enterprise system, believing that the amount of money one makes is directly proportional to how many people they serve.
He is also an unapologetic animal fanatic and served on the Board of Directors of Furry Friends Adoption and Clinic in his town of Jupiter, Florida.
John David Mann is an award-winning author whose writings have earned the Nautilus Award, the Axiom Business Book Award (Gold Medal), Taiwan's Golden Book Award for Innovation, and the 2017 Living Now Book Awards “Evergreen Medal” for “contribution to positive global change.” He is coauthor of the worldwide classic THE GO-GIVER with Bob Burg (more than 1 million copies sold) and 4 New York Times bestsellers. His books are published in 38 languages and have sold more than 3 million copies. His first novel, STEEL FEAR (coauthored with Brandon Webb) was released in July 2021; iconic author Lee Child called it “sensationally good—an instant classic, maybe an instant legend,” and it was nominated for a Barry Award. Jeffery Deaver hailed the 2022 sequel, COLD FEAR, as “one of the best crime novels of the year.” You can read John’s thoughts on entering the world of crime fiction at https://bit.ly/36ASxAa
John has been creating careers since he was a teenager. At age 17, he and a few friends started their own high school in Orange, New Jersey called Changes, Inc. In his teens he forged a successful career as a concert cellist and prize-winning composer. At 15 he was recipient of the 1969 BMI Awards to Student Composers, then their youngest award recipient ever; his musical score for Aeschylus’s “Prometheus Bound” (written at age 13) was performed at the amphitheater in Epidaurus, Greece, where the play was originally premiered.
His diverse career has made him a thought leader in several different industries. In 1986 John founded and wrote for Solstice, a journal on health and environmental issues; his series on the climate crisis (yes, he was writing about this back in the eighties) was selected for national reprint in Utne Reader. During the nineties he built a multimillion-dollar sales/distribution organization of over 100,000 people. He was cofounder and senior editor of the legendary journal Upline and editor in chief of Networking Times.
He is married to Ana Gabriel Mann, his coauthor for THE GO-GIVER MARRIAGE, and considers himself the luckiest mann in the world. You can visit him at www.johndavidmann.com.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find this book to be a fantastic, quick read that provides wonderful life lessons and can deeply impact one's life. The story effectively brings principles to life, and customers appreciate how the principles are applicable in today's business world. They value the book's focus on giving, noting that being generous is always rewarded, and appreciate its authenticity and well-founded truths.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book enjoyable and easy to read, describing it as brilliant and a quick read.
"What an amazing book, the wisdom is both paractical and timeless making it competing for personal amd professional growth...." Read more
"...Simple stories that teach are valuable in that they are easy to remember, to recreate in your mind and then hang the lessons on the appropriate..." Read more
"...Instead of feeling like a traditional business book, it reads like a parable—making it incredibly digestible while still delivering powerful..." Read more
"...the story is loosely based on real people, there is a lot of value in this book. Give in an authentic way!" Read more
Customers appreciate the inspirational message of the book, which provides wonderful life lessons and amazing insights, with one customer noting it takes readers on a transformative journey.
"...reminder to focus on giving rather than taking, making it an inspiring annual read for anyone driving for success and fulfillment." Read more
"...that teach are valuable in that they are easy to remember, to recreate in your mind and then hang the lessons on the appropriate parts of the story...." Read more
"...What I love most about this book is how the authors took timeless principles of perseverance, initiative, and resilience and wove them into an..." Read more
"...depends on an ongoing willingness to receive; (6) a 100% commitment to the good of others (not 50/50 compromise or keeping score) is the key to good..." Read more
Customers find the book effective at changing thinking and deeply impacting their lives, with practical life principles that apply to all areas.
"...wisdom is both paractical and timeless making it competing for personal amd professional growth...." Read more
"...Except that is not generally the case. Simple truths carry the most power, are far reaching and have the greatest impact...." Read more
"The Go Giver, by Joe Berg and John David Mann, is clever, engaging, positive, and profitable. Also, it’s short and to the point...." Read more
"Great message that helps you reset and change the way to view life. Be of help to others and do it from the hart. Everything comes in full circles...." Read more
Customers appreciate the story quality of the book, noting that the storyline effectively brings each principle to life.
"What an amazing book, the wisdom is both paractical and timeless making it competing for personal amd professional growth...." Read more
"The Go-Giver is a very heart warming, touching story that has many valuable lessons on how to achieve stratospheric success...." Read more
"...A brilliant and a compelling story. The lessons learned in this book are priceless and timeless" Read more
"...I really consider that this book by far transcends the realm of business ,its message is powerful and applicable to life it self...." Read more
Customers find the book highly effective, noting that it sums up important principles of success and works well in the business world.
"...I can see through practicality that it can be applied in work and life. I plan on implementing this way of living into my life." Read more
"...The Go-Giver provides a practical, behavioral approach to getting there." Read more
"...A very insightful, powerful and enjoyable parable/story that reminds us of the basics of success - which start with giving and circle back with..." Read more
"...its message through a story is not for everyone, yet I do think it is effective...." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's focus on giving, noting that being generous is always rewarded and that giving allows us to receive.
"...Serves as a great reminder to focus on giving rather than taking, making it an inspiring annual read for anyone driving for success and fulfillment." Read more
"...The Law of Authenticity The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself. Authenticity - it's who you are...." Read more
"...One of the most impactful aspects of this book is its emphasis on the power of generosity, empathy, and genuine connection in business...." Read more
"...There is value in kindness, authenticity, and generosity. What do you have to give? How can you add value to your everyday interactions?..." Read more
Customers appreciate the principles outlined in the book, noting that they are applicable in today's business environment. One customer highlights the five simple rules for success, while another mentions the five laws for business success.
"Great book, read it in 1 day. Easy to follow story, simple and practical laws. 100% recommend!" Read more
"Read in less than an hour. Great allegory of counter cultural leadership principles - easy inspiring read...." Read more
"...this book down as it shared with me the truly best way to find personal and professional success - Giving!..." Read more
"...This book gives 5 simple rules for success, and they are awesome. Great reminders of how to be successful, and where to keep the aim of what you do...." Read more
Customers appreciate the authenticity of the book, noting that the truths are well-founded and true to life.
"...Give in an authentic way!" Read more
"...There is value in kindness, authenticity, and generosity. What do you have to give? How can you add value to your everyday interactions?..." Read more
"...the heart and gives hope that you can becomes simultaneously an amazing person and amazingly successful...." Read more
"...Five Laws of Stratospheric Success: Value, Compensation, Influence, Authenticity & Receptivity...." Read more
Reviews with images

Great book - jacket torn 😕
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2024What an amazing book, the wisdom is both paractical and timeless making it competing for personal amd professional growth. Serves as a great reminder to focus on giving rather than taking, making it an inspiring annual read for anyone driving for success and fulfillment.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2013I get it. If something is complicated and complex, then it must have value. Except that is not generally the case. Simple truths carry the most power, are far reaching and have the greatest impact. Simple stories that teach are valuable in that they are easy to remember, to recreate in your mind and then hang the lessons on the appropriate parts of the story. This is the value of Bob Burg's and John David Mann's "The Go-Giver".
Full disclosure here. I am a coach and speaker with the John Maxwell Team, and as such, I am frequently recommending one of John's 73 books. However, "The Go-Giver" is the book that I recommend most to clients, associates and friends, often giving it as a gift, because it embodies the foundational thoughts behind the cutting edge of business in today's market place. (see Daniel Pink's excellent new book "To Sell Is Human" To Sell Is Human) A simply told story constructed around powerful truths makes a dynamic case.
Some might argue that these "truths" are pie in the sky and while they sound nice, they just don't work in the real world of business. Tell that to Zappos, Caribou Coffee, Apple, Costco Wholesale and a slew of successful companies that operate on principles just like these.
THE FIVE LAWS OF STRATOSPHERIC SUCCESS
The Law of Value
Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.
The Law of Compensation
Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how you serve them.
The Law of Influence
Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place others people's interests first.
givers attract, they're magnetic
The Law of Authenticity
The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.
Authenticity - it's who you are.
The Law of Receptivity
The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.
GOLDEN RULE OF BUSINESS: All things being equal - people will do business with and refer business to those people they know, like and trust.
Also check out Bob Burg's and John David Mann's follow up book "It's Not About You". It's Not About You: A Little Story About What Matters Most in Business
Give me a simple story any day - it's the one I'll remember!
- Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2025The Go-Getter is packed with invaluable lessons for anyone in business, sales, or leadership. What I love most about this book is how the authors took timeless principles of perseverance, initiative, and resilience and wove them into an engaging, easy-to-read story. Instead of feeling like a traditional business book, it reads like a parable—making it incredibly digestible while still delivering powerful takeaways.
I've purchased this book multiple times, gifting it to business associates and aspiring entrepreneurs because its message is that important. Whether you're just starting out or looking for a fresh dose of motivation, The Go-Getter will leave you inspired to push past obstacles and take action. Highly recommend!
- Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2025I see why this boom is a bestseller. These two authors told an amazing story. Although the story is loosely based on real people, there is a lot of value in this book. Give in an authentic way!
- Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2018The Go Giver, by Joe Berg and John David Mann, is clever, engaging, positive, and profitable. Also, it’s short and to the point. I recommend it highly. What’s more, it is rooted in timeless principles.
The ideas that: (1) nothing is as it seems; (2) success depends on being the right kind of person; (3) a person can and must be transformed by doing what he hears; (4) givers meet needs in ways that add value to whatever they are producing or selling or offering by way of service; (5) giving depends on an ongoing willingness to receive; (6) a 100% commitment to the good of others (not 50/50 compromise or keeping score) is the key to good relationships and influence, that (7) increasing the numbers of people you impact determines compensation, and that (8) success depends on interrelatedness (connection, network, “body life”), are all consistent with the goal of following Christ as described in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7. In summary, the idea that happiness, fulfillment and satisfaction are by-products of serving others—not the result of seeking these things for their own sake—is consistent with Jesus’ teaching that finding one’s life requires the willingness to lose it for Christ’s sake (Luke 9:24).
A major contribution that The Go Giver makes is its practical demonstration that possessing wealth and doing good are meant to go together, not be regarded as antithetical. This is consistent with 1 Timothy 6:17ff.
Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.
The authors assert that the principles that work for business are applicable for all of life. This is in keeping with the Christian idea that God’s existence means that He and all of reality that He created has a nature, a way of being that works accordingly. So the book, The Go Giver, is either a deliberate application (at worst, a conscious rip off) of biblical principles or, more likely, a pragmatic discovery of what works because of the nature of life and relationships—including business. Either way, two observations follow. One is that all truth is God’s truth whether people recognize Him as its original source or not. The other is that The Go Giver promotes superior principles for inferior (and inadequate) motivations: to be humanly successful in this life. The principle that it fails to recognize is this: “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?” (Luke 9:25).
The true “bottom line,” according to the Bible, is that life is to realize the meaning, purpose, and success of serving God for His glory. This requires spiritual life not found outside of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That many principles of this service can be profitably reduced to best practices in business, industry, and human relationships is not disputed and should not be surprising or disparaged. But temporary enjoyment of people’s individual kingdoms is not worthy to be compared to the privilege of entering God’s eternal kingdom now, and inheriting it forever.
Top reviews from other countries
- ZokuakuReviewed in Canada on May 26, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Wealth is about Giving and Receiving, not in the proverbial dog eat dog.
This book is well written in an adapted parable format that makes it easily consumable and narrative driven. The characters are simple/flat in format to convey the different traits of what defines a Go-giver. This book will walk you through the false narrative of dog eat dog or the premise that every transaction is about win or lose. The idea is that you are always seeking to provide more value than you receive (receiving is perfectly fine, taking not so much). This book is so well articulated that it should be fundamentally taught in elementary school because the ideas being presented are foundational to all healthy relationships(including intrinsic values for ones core self). One need only understand the fundamental idea of the difference between monetary value and other types to fully appreciate all this book can provide.
Note this book is supposed to have lose reference to Bob Proctor who drew influence from "The Science of getting Rich" by Wallace D. Wattles. So if you are looking for a flat book with more explicit definitions of value I recommend checking that book out next. Even Rhonda Byrne author of "The Secret" credits "The Science of getting Rich" for driving her to want to write "The Secret". Overall these books are about "Value", what it is, how to find opportunities to provide it and ultimately how by properly embracing value and sharing it with others you will find increased opportunities to find fulfillment.
- graduate studentReviewed in Australia on January 18, 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I have read in awhile
Very easy to read and I couldn’t put the book down so I kept reading till 3am in the morning. It’s very well thought and the lessons are tought in a way that you can implement it in your life straight away. It makes you feel good to be good person in the business world and throw away the common concept that you have to be selfish to be successful. This book just confirm my beliefs that good people come a long way and that Karma is real. (disclaimer: this book does not associate itself with any religion or belief system)
- OllyReviewed in Germany on April 17, 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars Life-changing book!
One of the best books I’ve ever read!
At first , I didn’t know what to expect.
Then, I gave it a read and was surprised how some laws immediately helped me in my profession.
Definitely worth to read and to apply it.
Thanks for this great written story!
- Ivan MartinReviewed in France on July 16, 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most satisfying and inspiring book ever!
If you're seeking for the relational gold that you know is possible in life and in business, this (more than a) book will definitely help you find it! _ One of the few.
- Sean KickhamReviewed in the United Arab Emirates on March 17, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars A great little business fable
Honestly, I loved this book, especially for the price. It's a short and inspiring fable about a man who changes his attitude when it comes to business with the help of a mentor. It's a good motivation for anyone looking to start their own venture. Highly recommend.