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Writer's pictureAnderson Petergeorge

Give And Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success - Adam Grant

Overview

Discusses the impact of interaction styles on professional success, this narrative highlights the surprising power of giving over taking and matching in personal and professional relationships. It argues that those who consistently contribute to others' success often achieve higher levels of their own success. Through compelling research and stories, the narrative offers insights into how adopting a giving mindset can lead to greater personal achievement and organizational effectiveness, encouraging a reevaluation of how we interact with our peers.


Notes

  • The current era we live in makes giving easier than before. Technology allows us to give faster and easier vs having to send a letter and waiting for a return in the olden days. Givers can also give more and more frequently at a smaller cost (e.g. Social media, faster travel, globalization)

  • Humans always overestimate how much work they themselves do and underestimate the work of others. First always think about all the things others and your teammates have contributed before thinking about your own contributions. Helps to prime your mind to think of others first.

  • Self fulfilling prophecies have been scientifically proven through multiple research studies. Students that were told that they would perform better or that they were smart ended up testing so after. This was shown in the workplace with workers who were average. Yet when they were told they would perform well and were destined for success they ended up succeeding more than the control group

  • People give good feedback for people that are self deprecating as opposed to people that just boast about their credentials. Case study: Adam grant giving a presentation where he boasted about his credentials received poor feedback compared to the one where he made fun of himself for being super young (his insecurity)

  • Givers benefit from feedback the most than takers. If you show them what they are giving for. Case study: Employees who are tasked to call donors for donations saw output doubled once they were able to meet the scholarship recipients that they were able to help. Without no feedback they are more likely to burnout. Case study: Teachers face the highest burnout rate

  • Achieving at least a 100 hours of volunteering a year is scientifically proven to increase people's happiness, life satisfaction and longevity

  • Chunk your volunteering/giving to avoid burnout. Find time you can volunteer/give in a block vs giving sprinkling times throughout the day.

  • Common ground is a great way to foster giving behaviours as people find commonalities. Research shows people will want to give more if they know its for a greater common cause. This is the power of community. E.g. coming from same background or city, supporting the same sports team etc . The reason is the common identity people associate with makes them believe they are indirectly helping themselves by helping their community

  • People are influenced by their similar peers. Therefore if you tell them their neighbours or peers are doing something then they are much more likely to do that thing in order to fit in or not feel left out. Case study: When people were told that their neighbours were using less electricity then them they were more likely to cut back on electricity compared to the people that were asked to save electricity in order to save money or for environmental reasons.

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