Adam Grant Quotes

If we want a better original idea, we must generate our own before we screen others' suggestions.

This is what I find most magnetic about successful givers: they get to the top without cutting others down, finding ways of expanding the pie that benefit themselves and the people around them. Whereas success is zero-sum in a group of takers, in groups of givers, it may be true that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

When you put off a task, you buy yourself time to engage in divergent thinking rather than foreclosing on one particular idea ...

People tend to have one of three 'styles' of interaction. There are takers, who are always trying to serve themselves; matchers, who are always trying to get equal benefit for themselves and others; and givers, who are always trying to help people.

Dissenting opinions are useful even when they're wrong. So instead of speaking to highly agreeable audiences, target suggestions to people with a history of originality.

If we create networks with the sole intention of getting something, we won't succeed. We can't pursue the benefits of networks; the benefits ensue from investments in meaningful activities and relationships.

Many people who hold giver values in life choose matching as their primary reciprocity style at work, seeking an even balance of give and take.

Givers reject the notion that interdependence is weak. Givers are more likely to see interdependence as a source of strength, a way to harness the skills of multiple people for a greater good.

When you're dealing with an ambivalent relationship, you're constantly on guard, grappling with questions of trust.

Enemies make better allies than frenemies.

According to Berkeley sociologist Arlie Hochschild, if you're feeling an intense emotion like anxiety or anger, there are two ways to manage it: surface acting or deep acting. Surface acting involves putting on a mask--modifying your speech, gestures, and expressions to present yourself as unfazed...In deep acting, known as method acting in the theater world, you actually become the character you wish to portray. Deep acting involves changing your inner feelings, not just your outer expressions of them...Deep acting turns out to be a more sustainable strategy for managing emotions than surface acting. Research shows that surface acting burns us out: Faking emotions that we don't really feel is both stressful and exhausting. If we want to express a set of emotions, we need to actually experience them.

The personality trait most associated with an interest in the arts is called openness, the tendency to seek out novelty in intellectual, aesthetic, and emotional pursuits.

Minority viewpoints are important, not because they tend to prevail but because they stimulate divergent attention and thought, " finds Berkeley psychologist Charlan Nemeth, one of the world's leading experts on group decisions. "As a result, even when they are wrong they contribute to the detection of novel solutions and decisions that, on balance, are qualitatively better".
Dissenting opinions are useful even when they're wrong.

If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse." Instead, creators ought to build a car and see if customers will drive it.

As one Wharton dean explains, "The students call it Game Face: they feel pressured to look successful all the time. There can't be any chinks in their armor, and opening up would make them vulnerable.

Good guys are most likely to finish last, but also most likely to finish first.

Negative relationships are unpleasant but predictable.

Procrastinate strategically ... Procrastination may be the enemy of productivity but it can be a valuable resource for creativity.

By looking on the bright side, we'll activate enthusiasm and turn on the go system.

Focus attention and energy on making a difference in the lives of others, and success might follow as a by-product.