The Go-Giver Characters: Who Are They?

This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "The Go-Giver" by Bob Burg and John D. Mann. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.

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Do you want to know who all The Go-Giver characters are from the parable? How does each character help Joe learn about the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success?

The Go-Giver is a business parable about the importance of giving and receiving. The book follows a go-getter named Joe who seeks advice from a wealthy business consultant. In this article, we’ve put together a list of The Go-Giver characters and descriptions.

Continue on for a list of The Go-Giver characters.

The Go-Giver Characters

In our society, we admire success-oriented people, or go-getters. But in The Go-Giver, authors Bob Burg and John David Mann turn that idea on its head. They argue that you should make giving rather than getting your first priority in business and in life—and success will follow. In the form of a business parable in which a mentor puts a frustrated go-getter on the path to success and fulfillment, the authors explain why and how you can change from being a go-getter to a go-giver by practicing the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success.

Below is the list of The Go-Giver characters.

Character List

Joe: a go-getter at Clason-Hill Trust Corporation who was struggling to meet his quarterly goals.  

Gus: Joe’s senior colleague at Clason-Hill, who served as a sounding board. He also turned out to be the mysterious character in the story known as “the Connector,” who brought the other characters together in profitable deals.

Carl Kellerman: a corporate broker who was looking for the right firm to handle a big account. Joe desperately wanted the account but didn’t get it.

Neil Hansen: a competitor of Joe’s who got the Kellerman client account. 

Jim Galloway: a lawyer representing a multinational company whose contract with Joe’s company was up for renewal. Because Jim’s client decided to switch to a firm with stronger overseas connections, Joe lost the account.

Pindar: a wealthy, connected business consultant known as The Chairman (his full name isn’t given), who taught Joe his formula for success.

Rachel: Pindar’s personal chef, who served the numerous business associates who came to his home. With Pindar’s help, she laid the groundwork to start her own business, Rachel’s Famous Coffee.

Ernesto Iafrate: the owner of commercial real estate and a hugely successful chain of Italian restaurants, who started as the owner of a hot dog stand. He embodied the Law of Value.

Nicole Martin: a former elementary school teacher, now CEO of Learning Systems for Children Inc., a global maker of educational software. She embodied the Law of Compensation.

Sam Rosen: a financier and owner of Liberty Life Insurance and Financial Services, who helped the other characters finance their businesses. He embodied the Law of Influence.

Debra Davenport: the city’s most successful seller of residential and commercial real estate. She embodied the Law of Authenticity.

The Go-Giver Characters: Who Are They?

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Like what you just read? Read the rest of the world's best book summary and analysis of Bob Burg and John D. Mann's "The Go-Giver" at Shortform .

Here's what you'll find in our full The Go-Giver summary :

  • Why giving will take you further than getting
  • The Five Laws of Stratospheric Success
  • How giving isn't the same thing as always being nice

Hannah Aster

Hannah graduated summa cum laude with a degree in English and double minors in Professional Writing and Creative Writing. She grew up reading books like Harry Potter and His Dark Materials and has always carried a passion for fiction. However, Hannah transitioned to non-fiction writing when she started her travel website in 2018 and now enjoys sharing travel guides and trying to inspire others to see the world.

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