Give and Take – A Revolutionary Approach to Success

Givers,Takers And Matchers

June 19, 2014 Leave a comment

People differ in their preferences for reciprocity. Accordingly they can be divided into Givers, Takers and Matchers. Takers are people who, when they walk into an interaction with another person, are trying to get as much as possible from that person and contribute as little as they can in return, thinking that’s the shortest and most direct path to achieving their own goals.

At the other end of the spectrum, are Givers,looking to help others by making introductions, giving advice, providing mentoring, sharing knowledge,volunteering,giving their resources without any strings attached,etc.Very few of people are purely takers or purely givers. Most hover somewhere in between. That brings us to the third group of people, who are Matchers. A Matcher is somebody who tries to maintain an even balance of give and take. If they help you, they expect you to help them in return.They keep score of exchanges, so that everything is fair and really just.

The Givers are over represented at the bottom of the pyramid of success. By putting other people first, they often put themselves at risk of burning out or being exploited by takers.But also Givers are over represented at the top of most success metrics.In sales, the most productive sales people are actually those who put their customers’ interests first. A lot of that comes from the trust and the good will that they have built, but also, the reputations that they create. Read more of this post

Filed under Entrepreneurship, Theory, Tool Kit Tagged with Adam Grant, five-minute favour, Give and Take – A Revolutionary Approach to Success, Otherish, postaday, psychology, psychology test, setting boundries

Strategic Giving

April 4, 2013 1 Comment

Adam Grant, 31, is the youngest-tenured and highest rated professor at Wharton.He is the author of a new book titled “Give and Take – A Revolutionary Approach to Success” which will be released on April 9.

Grant’s research divides people into three categories:

Givers: Give without expectation of immediate gain; they never seem too busy to help.
Matchers: Go through life with a master chit list in mind, giving when they see how they will get something of equal value back and to people who can help them.
Takers: Seek to come out ahead in every exchange; they manage up and are defensive about their turn

Most people fall into the matcher category — but givers, Grant says, are over represented at both ends of the spectrum of success: they are the doormats who go nowhere or burn out, and they are the stars whose giving motivates them or distinguishes them as leaders.

Much of Grant’s book sets out to establish the difference between the givers who are exploited and those who end up as models of achievement. The most successful givers, Grant explains, are those who rate high in concern for others but also in self-interest. And they are strategic in their giving — they give to other givers and matchers, so that their work has the maximum desired effect; they are cautious about giving to takers; they give in ways that reinforce their social ties; and they consolidate their giving into chunks, so that the impact is intense enough to be gratifying.