“How can I help you?”

It’s more than just a friendly greeting within The Lekker Network. This simple question encapsulates a philosophy of business and connection that distinguishes South African professionals globally – an approach that puts generosity at the centre of professional relationships and creates success through giving rather than taking.

But where does this distinctly South African approach come from, and why does it create such powerful business outcomes? 

To understand this, we must explore South African generosity’s cultural roots, practical applications, and global impact on business: 

The South African Approach to Business

What’s remarkable is how South Africans have translated this cultural orientation into specific business practices that create tangible advantages in the global marketplace.

Our Network-First Approach

Where many professionals approach networking instrumentally – collecting contacts who might be useful someday – South Africans typically build networks through immediate value creation.

This approach – creating value for others without immediate expectation of return – accelerates trust-building and creates deeper relationships than typical professional connections.

Long-Term Relationship Building

The South African approach to business generosity also involves a distinctive time horizon – an understanding that you’re building relationships for the long term, not just immediate transactions.

This patience creates business relationships characterised by loyalty and resilience – connections that survive beyond immediate utility to create enduring value networks.

The Authentic Value Exchange

Perhaps most importantly, South African business generosity isn’t performative – it’s authentic. It’s not about appearing helpful while seeking advantage; it’s about genuinely looking for ways to create value for others.

Global Impact: Why The South African Way Works

The fascinating outcome of this approach is that it works remarkably well in global business contexts – often better than more transactional approaches. Through conversations with Lekker Network members worldwide, several reasons emerge:

Trust

Trust becomes the critical currency in business environments characterised by uncertainty (which is increasingly all of them). The South African approach of leading with generosity accelerates trust-building in ways that create competitive advantages.

Access to Information

By creating networks based on generosity rather than utility, South Africans often gain access to richer, more diverse information flows – a critical advantage in knowledge-based economies.

Resilience Through Reciprocity

Perhaps most significantly, networks built on generosity create resilience through reciprocity – the understanding that help given creates a sense of goodwill that can be drawn upon when needed.

The Lekker Approach

The Lekker Network has systematised this naturally occurring South African approach, creating structures and practices that amplify its effectiveness. By making “How can I help you” an explicit greeting within the network, we’ve turned a cultural value into an explicit professional practice.

The results speak for themselves – deals facilitated, opportunities identified, and challenges overcome, all through the power of South African generosity. 

In a global business environment increasingly dominated by transactional thinking, the South African approach offers something different—a model of success built on giving rather than taking, on connection rather than extraction, and on the understanding that true prosperity is always shared.

So the next time you hear a South African ask, “How can I help you?” – recognise that it’s not just politeness. It’s the expression of a philosophy that has created extraordinary outcomes for South Africans worldwide and a question that, in its simplicity, captures the essence of what makes South African business approaches so uniquely powerful.