Non-Transactional Energy
Send energy out without expecting anything back, and it returns in unexpected ways over time.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 80%
Non-Transactional Energy is Seckler's philosophy for long-term profiting in business and life. The more energy he puts out to employees, friends, customers, and the world without a transactional mindset and without expecting anything back, the more comes back to him — often in unexpected ways and with long time delays. He contrasts optimizing for an immediate transaction with leaving people feeling great, and notes that a deal handled generously ten years ago can return as a new opportunity that would never have existed otherwise. He's explicit that this can hurt the bottom line in the near term but reliably helps it over the long term, sometimes multiple times over.
Origin
Now around 50, Seckler traces this to his ego-cracking during the dotcom bust, which taught him to lead from connection rather than ego. He described business situations from ten years earlier where he could have optimized for the transaction but instead made sure the other party felt great — and those relationships returned much later with new opportunities. He frames putting great energy out routinely, without focusing on what comes back, as his secret to profiting in life.
Core principles
- 01Put energy out to employees, friends, and customers without a transactional mindset.
- 02Not optimizing for the immediate transaction preserves how people feel about you.
- 03Returns often come back unexpectedly and with long time delays.
- 04Generosity can hurt the near-term bottom line but helps it over the long term.
How to run it
- 1
Drop the transactional mindset
In interactions with employees, friends, customers, and the world, stop optimizing for what you get back immediately.
- 2
Leave people feeling great
Prioritize making the other party feel genuinely good about the interaction over squeezing the transaction.
Pro tip Ask whether they'll feel great about this exchange years from now, not just today.
- 3
Give without expecting return
Put energy and value out on a routine basis without keeping score of what should come back.
Watch out Accept that this can hurt the bottom line in the near term.
- 4
Trust the long delay
Let returns arrive on their own timeline, often unexpectedly and years later.
In the wild
Seckler describes a business situation ten years ago where he could have optimized for the transaction but instead made sure the other party felt great about the interaction. A decade later that person returned with a new opportunity that wouldn't have existed if they'd felt anything less than great.
→ Generosity that cost him near-term optimization produced a valuable opportunity years later.
Common mistakes
Optimizing every transaction
Squeezing maximum immediate value from each interaction leaves people feeling less than great and forecloses future opportunities.
Expecting immediate payback
Giving with an expectation of quick return misses that the biggest payoffs arrive unexpectedly and with long delays.
Is it for you?
Best for
Leaders and entrepreneurs playing a long game who value relationships over immediate wins.
Not ideal for
Purely one-off transactions with no future relationship and no reputational stakes.
From the transcript
“the more energy I can just put out there to employees to friends to our customers to the world just sending energy out without a…”
“those things can hurt the bottom line in the near term for sure, but over time it always comes back sometimes multiple multiple times over”
From the episode
Mike Seckler: How to Build a Business That Thrives When Others Fail
Mike Seckler