Can the advice of a 4th century desert monk be relevant to someone in the 21st century marketplace? At first, the following bit of practical advice from Evagrius Ponticus doesn’t seem to make much business sense:

When buying or selling you can hardly avoid sin. So in either case, be sure you lose a little in the transaction. If possible it is best to place such business in the hands of someone you trust.

from Asceticism and Stillness in the Solitary Life

You’re probably not going to read something like this in business school. Doesn’t it make good business sense not to compromise on profit margins? Doesn’t “lose a little” feel like allowing someone to take advantage of you?

But there’s at least one way to understand this advice that doesn’t mean compromising on principles:

Generosity.

When you decide intentionally to “lose a little” in the form of a gift you freely give, whether during the transaction or after it, the benefits are numerous.

First and most literally from the saying, generosity helps you avoid sin. If that word doesn’t make any sense to you or if you find it offensive for some reason, skip this short paragraph. There are other benefits. But for those who do attach importance to the concept of sin: the most obvious one from which generosity can help protect us is greed.

Second, generosity can be an expression of thankfulness, without which a certain depth of happiness may not be possible.

Third, generosity is an opportunity to do good not just for ourselves but for others. Why not use sales revenue as an opportunity to give to the charities or non-profits of your choice? 

Fourth, generosity builds relationships. It delights the person with whom you are transacting. Chick-fil-A does this to me all the time. I’ve lost track of the number of chicken sandwiches I’ve received as outright gifts or in exchange for my feedback about their products and service. 

Sometimes, giving away a product or service—whether your own or someone else’s—can even generate more business. If they like it, they may decide to buy it. This can be a mere sales tactic, of course, but if it’s an act of real generosity, you don’t lose your reward even if more business doesn’t come from it.

Finally, a true gift signals to the other person that there’s a bigger, more important motivation for you than profit. What that is will differ from person to person or from company to company, but in this age of cultural fragmentation, we’re all looking for the others who have the same values we ourselves hold.

Maybe that old monk’s advice is still relevant. You can always try it and see for yourself.