Adam Grant is a top-rated professor at Wharton and an organizational psychologist. Apart from being New York Times bestselling author he is among TED’s popular speakers. In this book, Adam Grant explains how by giving and helping others we can make our careers successful. He says, “Being a giver is not good for a 100-yard dash, but it’s valuable in a marathon.” Adam is a very good storyteller. He has made maximum use of research, anecdotes, and popular facts from history to put forth his ideas.
Adam has divided people into three types: takers, givers, and matches. Takers want to have more than they give. They put their interests ahead of others and they think the world is competitive and for that self-promotion is a must. So they are cautious and self-protective. Givers are rarely found in the workplace. They prefer to give more than they receive. They are other-focused, and they pay more attention to other people’s needs. Givers do not give a thought to personal costs. They help others and do not expect anything in return. A giver at work shares his/her time, knowledge, ideas, energy, and connections with people who are in need. Matchers create an equal balance between give and take. They believe in Tit for Tat and their relationships are based on exchanges of favors. There are cases where stereotype givers are treated as chumps, and doormats and they even lag behind because they keep their self-interests away. But research and many case studies have shown that the top achievers are none other than the givers. You will find startling examples in this book showing how givers get extra advantage by doing certain things better than their counterparts.
Adam has given the example of President Lincoln as a successful giver. When Lincoln won the presidency in 1860, he invited his competitors to take over the strongest positions in his cabinet. He preferred the country’s interests over his own. Adam says, givers take time to build trust and reputation but eventually they succeed. Adam has mentioned stories of successful givers from different walks of life. They include lawyers, doctors, consultants, engineers, salesmen, writers, businessmen, teachers, and sports executives. Adam has shared about a study of sales workers where it was found that those who were genuinely interested in helping customers, listening to their requirements, and building relationships were more successful than those who were only after winning sales. Likewise, lawyers who gave time to mentoring their juniors and colleagues made successful careers as compared to those who didn’t.
Besides networking and influencing tips, you will also find various ways to avoid being a doormat. To assist givers, Adam has suggested different ways to change situations for example negotiation. Adam mentioned a software engineer who was a giver at his workplace. Despite having high qualifications and aptitude he was getting a low salary. He was not able to ask for a salary increase but when he kept his family’s needs ahead he was better at negotiating with his boss for an increment. Research shows that givers are not good negotiators when it comes to their own needs but they negotiate better for other people’s needs.
These are just few points from the book. The book is full of such interesting examples and theories. It keeps the reader intrigued till the end. The powerful insights mentioned in the book will help you to become a better giver without being burned out.