We believe in giving back. We believe that generosity creates an environment of abundance, that it inspires a greater sense of connection and stronger engagement, that it is one of the simplest, most easily accessed and effective tools available to us.
For this reason, giving back has become one of our core company values and an ethos we follow in our day-to-day work. As well as wanting to improve the lives of our clients, their patients, our team and their families, we want to be able to give back to those that we may not reach directly. The Tao of Excellence is therefore pledging to fund a charitable medical initiative every month in 2019 to give back in gratitude for the work we receive and in the hope of creating a wider, positive influence in our industry.
As a practice—and it does take practise—giving back has an immense capacity for growth. It is an act with momentum that impacts more than the why, where and to whom that support is directed. It inspires growth in return.
Since our foundation, The Tao of Excellence has dedicated funds to medical projects and initiatives around the world. We do this because we love what we do; we are motivated by interested in our client’s scientific and medical discoveries, and we are driven by a determination to demystify the regulatory and political landscapes that effect this industry.
Our role is to enable and support our clients to meet their regulatory responsibilities and deliver solutions that will strengthen their operations and performance. In this way, we find our work very meaningful; we contribute to the process and logistics of delivering medical treatment to patients, and we enable an environment where medical innovation can flourish and grow.
Yet contributing to our industry in another sense has enhanced our own engagement with what we do. It gives our day-to-day work a greater sense of purpose, it deepens our understanding of our clients and what they do and galvanises and incentivises our team to expand our portfolio to reach further and do more.
For our team, charitable giving and our ethos of promoting supportive behaviour as a strength—whether by sharing knowledge and expertise or investing in our team, clients and the wider world around us—works to create an open, efficient and respectful environment, and gives greater and more visible meaning to our daily work. As an ethical principle this engages our team both professionally and personally, inspiring loyalty, dedication and greater productivity.
In 2018, a BetterUp report on Meaning and Purpose at Work identified this intuition as fact, stating—“organizations will see more work time put in by employees who find greater meaning in that work. More importantly, though, employees who find work meaningful experience significantly greater job satisfaction, which is known to correlate with increased productivity.”[1]
As sociologists Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson found in their study the ‘Science of Generosity’—an international and multidisciplinary initiative with cutting-edge empirical data collected over five-years—”Generosity is paradoxical. Those who give, receive back in turn […] This is not only a philosophical or religious teaching; it is a sociological fact.”[2]
Their findings showed a significant positive correlation and even causal relationship between generosity and five standard measures of well-being; happiness, bodily health, purpose in living, avoidance of depression, and interest in personal growth. As Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage, wrote in the Harvard Business Review; “It turns out, that giving feels better, does more for you, and provides greater returns in the long run, than getting ever does.”[3]
With this in mind, The Tao of Excellence is delighted to announce that we are increasing our donations to supporting a new charitable endeavour every month in 2019. To date, this has included:
- a non-profit NGO and I care for you project that funds treatment for children suffering from a widely affecting but often neglected skin disease “Cutaneous Leishmaniasis”. These chronic skin wounds, often on the face and predominately affecting the MENA region, can now be easily healed using a highly innovative, cost-effective and non-invasive medical bandage LeiProtect®;
- Voyage vers la vie’, a specialized care program and we make it project, which funds the transfer of children every year to hospitals in Switzerland to receive life-saving operations;
- and ‘Basel meets Calcutta’, a ProjektStarter led by medical students that aims to improve the basic medical care of the indigent population of Calcutta. This initiative of volunteers is involved in prevention as well as treatment in order to make a substantial and sustainable difference to the inhabitants of Calcutta.
As a core company value, giving back is a practise that we bring to the way that we work, teach and share our knowledge and expertise. It is also a tool that we can pass onto our clients to maximise their performance and improve their day-to-day lives. For more information on our services or funding projects please visit our website or contact us directly to find out how we can help your organisation.
Jasminka Roth
Founder and Director of The Tao of Excellence
Phone
+41 52 685 51 65
Email
[email protected]
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[1] Shawn Achor, Andrew Reece, Gabriella Rosen Kellerman, Alexi Robichaux, Harvard Business Review, 6 November 2018: https://hbr.org/2018/11/9-out-of-10-people-are-willing-to-earn-less-money-to-do-more-meaningful-work
[2] Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson, The Paradox of Generosity, p. 1
[3] Shawn Achor, Harvard Business Review, 27 July 2011: https://hbr.org/2011/07/what-giving-gets-you-at-the-of
