Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success

A groundbreaking New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller that is captivating readers of Malcolm Gladwell, Daniel Pink, The Power of Habit, and *Quiet*
For generations, we have focused on the individual drivers of success: passion, hard work, talent, and luck. But today, success is increasingly dependent on how we interact with others. It turns out that at work, most people operate as either takers, matchers, or givers. Whereas takers strive to get as much as possible from others and matchers aim to trade evenly, givers are the rare breed of people who contribute to others without expecting anything in return.
Using his own pioneering research as Wharton's youngest tenured professor, Grant shows that these styles have a surprising impact on success. Although some givers get exploited and burn out, the rest achieve extraordinary results across a wide range of industries. Combining cutting-edge evidence with captivating stories, this landmark book shows how one of America's best networkers developed his connections, why the creative genius behind one of the most popular shows in television history toiled for years in anonymity, how a basketball executive responsible for multiple draft busts transformed his franchise into a winner, and how we could have anticipated Enron's demise four years before the company collapsed-without ever looking at a single number.
Praised by bestselling authors such as Dan Pink, Tony Hsieh, Dan Ariely, Susan Cain, Dan Gilbert, Gretchen Rubin, Bob Sutton, David Allen, Robert Cialdini, and Seth Godin-as well as senior leaders from Google, McKinsey, Merck, Estee Lauder, Nike, and NASA-Give and Take highlights what effective networking, collaboration, influence, negotiation, and leadership skills have in common. This landmark book opens up an approach to success that has the power to transform not just individuals and groups, but entire organizations and communities.
ReviewGive and Take is perfectly timed and beautifully weighted…Above all, Grant's book is optimistic, a refreshing change after years of reading angry indictments of fallen corporate idols…(an) excellent book. — Andrew Hill FINANCIAL TIMES
From the Inside Flap«Give and Take just might be the most important book of this young century. As insightful and entertaining as Malcolm Gladwell at his best, this book has profound implications for how we manage our careers, deal with our friends and relatives, raise our children, and design our institutions.»~Robert Sutton, author of The No sshole Rule and Good Boss, Bad Boss«Give and Take is a truly exhilarating book--the rare work that will shatter your assumptions about how the world works and keep your brain firing for weeks after you've turned the last page.»~Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive and A Whole New Mind«Give and Take is brimming with life-changing insights. As brilliant as it is wise, this is not just a book--it's a new and shining worldview. Adam Grant is one of the great social scientists of our time, and his extraordinary new book is sure to be a bestseller.»~Susan Cain, author of Quiet«Give and Take provides a refreshing new perspective on the art and science of success. Adam Grant has crafted a unique, 'must have' toolkit for accomplishing goals through collaboration and reciprocity.»~William P. Lauder, Executive Chairman, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc."Give and Take is a pleasure to read, extraordinarily informative, and will likely become one of the classic books on workplace leadership and management. It has changed the way I see my personal and professional relationships."~Jeff Ashby, NASA space shuttle commander"With Give and Take, Adam Grant has marshaled compelling evidence for a revolutionary way of thinking about personal success in business and in life. Besides the fundamentally uplifting character of the case he makes, readers will be delighted by the truly engaging way he makes it. This is a must read."~Robert Cialdini, author of Influence «Give and Take is a brilliant, well-documented, and motivating debunking of 'good guys finish last'! With fascinating research, an engaging style, and practical wisdom, this is a super manifesto for getting meaningful things done, sustainably.»~David Allen, author of Getting Things Done«Packed with cutting-edge research, concrete examples, and deep insight, Give and Take offers extraordinarily thought-provoking--and often surprising--conclusions about how our interactions with others drive our success and happiness. This important and compulsively-readable book deserves to be a huge success.»~Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project and Happier at Home *"One of the great secrets of life is that those who win most are often those who give most. In this elegant and lucid book, filled with compelling evidence and evocative examples, Adam Grant shows us why and how this is so. Highly recommended!"~William Ury, coauthor of Getting to Yes and author of The Power of a Positive No«Good guys finish first--and Adam Grant knows why. Give and Take is the smart surprise you can't afford to miss.»~Daniel Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness«Give and Take is an enlightening read for leaders who aspire to create meaningful and sustainable changes to their environments. Grant demonstrates how a generous orientation toward others can serve as a formula for producing successful leaders and organizational performance. His writing is as engaging and enjoyable as his style in the classroom.»~Kenneth Frazier, Chairman, President, and CEO of Merck & Co."In this riveting and sparkling book, Adam Grant turns the conventional wisdom upside-down about what it takes to win and get ahead. With page-turning stories and compelling studies, Give and Take reveals the surprising forces behind success, and the steps we can take to enhance our own."~Laszlo Bock, Senior Vice President of People Operations, Google"Give and Take dispels commonly held beliefs that equate givers with weakness and takers with strength. Grant shows us the importance of nurturing and encouraging prosocial behaviors."~Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational«Give and Take defines a road to success marked by new ways of relating to colleagues and customers as well as new ways of growing a business.»~Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos.com and author of Delivering Happiness«A milestone! Well-researched, generous, actionable and important. Adam Grant has given us a gift, a hard-hitting book about the efficacy of connection and generosity in everything we do.»~Seth Godin, author of The Icarus Deception and Tribes«Give and Take will fundamentally change the way you think about success.»~Lenny Mendonca, Director, McKinsey & Co."Adam Grant, a rising star of positive psychology, seamlessly weaves together science and stories of business success and failure, convincing us that giving is in the long run the recipe for success in the corporate world. En route you will find yourself re-examining your own life. Read it yourself, then give copies to the people you care most about in this world."~Martin Seligman, author of Learned Optimism and Flourish«Give and Take presents a groundbreaking new perspective on success. Adam Grant offers a captivating window into innovative principles that drive effectiveness at every level of an organization and can immediately be put into action. Along with being a fascinating read, this book holds the key to a more satisfied and productive workplace, better customer relationships, and higher profits.»~Chip Conley, Founder, Joie de Vivre Hotels and author, Peak and Emotional Equations«Give and Take is a game changer. Reading Adam Grant's compelling book will change the way doctors doctor, managers manage, teachers teach, and bosses boss. It will create a society in which people do better by being better.»~Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice and Practical Wisdom «Give and Take is a new behavioral benchmark for doing business for better, providing an inspiring new perspective on how to succeed to the benefit of all. Adam Grant provides great support for the new paradigm of creating a 'win win' for people, planet and profit with many fabulous insights and wonderful stories to get you fully hooked and infected with wanting to give more and take less.»~Jochen Zeitz, former CEO and chairman, PUMA"Adam Grant delivers a triple treat: stories as good as a well-written novel, surprising insights drawn from rigorous science, and advice on using those insights to catapult ourselves and our organizations to success. I can't think of another book with more powerful implications for both business and life."~Teresa Amabile, author of The Progress Principle«Adam Grant has written a landmark book that examines what makes some extraordinarily successful people so great. By introducing us to highly-impressive individuals, he proves that, contrary to popular belief, the best way to climb to the top of the ladder is to take others up there with you. Give and Take presents the road to success for the 21st century.»~Maria Eitel, founding CEO and President of the Nike Foundation"Adam Grant is a wunderkind. He has won every distinguished research award and teaching award in his field, and his work has changed the way that people see the world. If you want to be surprised--very pleasantly surprised--by what really drives success, then Give and Take is for you. If you want to make the world a better place, read this book. If you want to make your life better, read this book."~Tal Ben-Shahar, author of Happier