Wednesday, August 06, 2014

Give and take


How do you achieve success? What qualities and characteristics do successful people possess? And if you consider yourself successful, do you still like yourself? These are all worth while questions that we need to ask ourselves as we strive to become better. Adam Grant takes the reader through a study on success, well, rather successfully.

The larger question that Grant deals with is how do people succeed? Do people succeed by taking advantage of other people or situations? These kinds of people recognize opportunities to learn something from others and using that knowledge to further their careers. Sometimes the taker is malicious in their taking, sometimes not. The other side of the question is can you succeed by giving? Givers tend to mentor others or give knowledge away for free at their own financial detriment.

Without giving too much away, the answer to Grant's question is not so clear cut. There appear to be advantages and disadvantages to both sides. This book helps the reader to look internally to see if they are a giver or taker, or if they cross back and forth. Grant helps the reader to see what kind of person they become as they reach for success.

I really liked this book. It made me look at myself and success in a new way. Grant does not try to judge givers or takers - at least not too much. He leaves the path to success up to the reader. He favors one side over another, but even he admits it is not always clear cut. This is not a self-help book per se. Rather, it is just an attempt to understand something that is often grey.

Book Rating: 5 stars, a must read business book.

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

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