Giving back: money and fame can't match it.

• Author: Wiesner, Pat
• Position: On Management - Column

IT'S AMAZING HOW HAPPINESS SEEMS TO BE related to "giving back," much more than to money or fame. There are countless examples. Here are a few:

Joan Kroc was wealthy beyond measure, but she will be remembered not for the money she accumulated but for the riches she gave back. Throughout her adult life the widow of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc donated hundreds of millions of dollars to promote peace, education, health care and the arts. When she died in October, her estate gave an estimated $1.5 billion to the Salvation Army, the largest single donation ever given to a charitable organization. Most people would agree that few charities would be likely to spend it better.

Joan Kroc's generosity made me recall a Saturday morning a few years ago that I spent at the Ronald McDonald house in Denver. I met a young boy named Andy who had a cancerous brain tumor. I remember well his big smile, hearty hand-shake and the confidence and bravery he got from the attitude of his mom and dad. All this was made possible not only by the wonderful place that McDonald's keeps for unfortunate kids, but also the warmth and closeness that overtakes everyone who becomes part of it, even for a short time. Corporate America never looks better than when it gives back like this.

A couple of years ago a young man named Anthony was a stock trader for the city of San Francisco. Living in the fast lane, he spent hours every day talking to other traders all over the country, moving huge blocks of stock, participating in the biggest game in the world. He told me all that interested him was the movement of huge amounts of money and watching the effect it had on the lives and attitudes of his compatriots and competitors.

On September 11, 2001, Anthony was on the phone to his main New York broker who was in his office in the World Trade Center. Anthony found himself talking to his...