Within every business is a community of another kind. Not unlike the sacred communities of ancient times whose survival hinged upon cooperation, modern day business communities rely on the skillsets of many to accomplish a shared mission. The shamans of the Andes have long referred to this sense of unity as “ayni” (pronounced eye-knee), or sacred reciprocity that creates equilibrium and balance among all life. Today, this ancient guiding principle is widely known as the Law of Reciprocity: to give and take mutually.
Even in business environments, it’s easy to see where reciprocity is valued. Like flowers that don’t try to bloom, they just bloom; or birds that don’t try to fly, they just fly; everyone in this business ecosystem is just working from within their intrinsic nature and skillset. A sense of belonging underpins all interactions; a sense of value is felt among all; gratitude amplifies engagement, emotional well-being, commitment and even productivity. Because true reciprocity leaves an indelible impact on both the giver and the receiver—to the extent that it becomes hard to tell where one begins and the other ends. Gratitude is so powerful in the reciprocity equation that it also has a ripple effect, termed "upstream reciprocity," that keeps paying that good vibe forward.
The Potentiality of Gratitude
Depending on which discipline you turn to, gratitude, in and of itself, creates deeper connections within oneself and the world by healing and opening the heart chakra at its frequency of 528 hz, increasing the employee experience by more than 80%, and, as many psychologists say, raising one’s state of happiness by 25%, as well as creating stronger resistance to illness and stress.
The ebb and flow of reciprocity and the feeling of gratitude it instills also works to create a path of least resistance in everything it touches. With reciprocity, in essence, we give that which we seek. And thus, deeper vibrational alignment ripples throughout the business ecosystem and within each individual. In Law of Attraction terms, this means the point of attraction between what one wants and where one is aligns, allowing for more meaningful and prosperous interactions, outcomes and shared missions of all kinds. In business terms, tweaking outdated business models into business ecosystems that are rooted in reciprocity will inevitably cultivate myriad long-term benefits for all.
One case in point is how the simple addition of an employee recognition system helped LinkedIn obtain a 96% retention rate for employees who receive four or more awards, and a 95% retention rate for new hires. Other studies have shown that managers who express gratitude to employees generate 50% higher productivity. A full-blown gratitude intervention has been shown to induce prosocial behaviors that extend well beyond the boardroom. Non-competitive recognitions systems, meanwhile, harness the power of gratitude in countless ways: they facilitate deeper human connections, offer acknowledgment and validation to one’s inherent talents and help us to essentially metabolize appreciation for what we already have.
In short, there is a real business case for ayni and its inevitable offshoot of gratitude.
