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Give and Take

Why givers cluster at both the bottom and the top of the results

Adam Grant's 2013 book sorts people by how they handle reciprocity: givers, takers and matchers. Givers give more than they get, takers do the reverse, and matchers keep the ledger even. The finding that carried it is that givers land at both ends of the performance range, the most exploited people in an organization and the most successful ones. What separates the two is whether they set limits and choose their moments. Chapters cover networking, negotiation, spotting a taker and avoiding generosity burnout. His research at Wharton is what the case rests on. Stories run from a champion networker to the collapse of Enron.

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  • Adam GrantRecommends

    Organizational psychologist · Think Again

    Givers, takers and matchers are how the book sorts people by what they want out of an exchange. Some givers end up exploited and burned out while the rest do extraordinarily well, his site says, and the evidence is his own research at Wharton.

    Source: adamgrant.net: Give and Take

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