I'm looking forward to reading Adam Grant's book Give and Take (aadl). Look in the March 31 NY Times Magazine for a preview, featuring a quote from the U of Michigan's Jerry Davis. At the moment I'm 33d on a list of 53 holds at the library for the book; if you're generous, and have finished your copy, please lend it to me!
The table of contents and blurb, from the AADL catalog:
Good returns: the dangers and rewards of giving more than you get — The peacock and the panda: how givers, takers, and matchers build networks — The ripple effect: collaboration and the dynamics of giving and taking credit — Finding the diamond in the rough: the fact and fiction of recognizing potential — The power of powerless communication: how to be modest and influence people — The art of motivation maintenance: why some givers burn out but others are on fire — Chump change: overcoming the doormat effect — The scrooge shift: why a soccer team, a fingerprint, and a name can tilt us in the other direction — Out of the shadows.
Using his own cutting-edge research as a professor at Wharton Business School, Adam Grant shows how helping others can lead to greater personal success. He demonstrates how smart givers avoid becoming doormats, and why this kind of success has the power to transform not just individuals and groups, but entire organisations and communities.
I'm particularly intrigued by the notion that there's a distinction that creates "smart givers" that win some unspecified game through a generous strategy that pays off for them.
Edward Vielmetti's Wordpress weblog 