Today we start reading another book called Give and Take by Adam Grant. This book breaks out of the mold of self-improvement books in that it shifts the focus from individual drivers of success : passion, hard-work, talent and luck to one that highlights interaction with others. It finds the underlying theme in effective networking, collaboration, influence, negotiation, and leadership skills. Adam Grant says that professional interactions matter. Most people operate as takers, matchers or givers. Takers are the ones who want to get as much as possible from others, matchers aim to trade evenly and givers are those rare who contribute without expecting anything in return. These styles have a dramatic impact on success. Although some givers get exploited and burn out, the rest achieve extraordinary results across a wide range of industries.
This book teaches the following:
what defines a giver, matcher and a taker
how our reciprocity style affects our networking
how our reciprocity style influences our ability to collaborate and be creative
the power in powerless communication
Social scientists have discovered that people differ in their preferences for reciprocity - the desired mix of taking and giving. Takers have a distinctive signature - often taking more than giving and tilting reciprocity to their advantage. They take the world to be competitive and in order to be better than others, they self-promote and make sure they get plenty of credits for their benefits. The opposite of a taker is a giver. Unlike takers who are self-focused, givers are other-focused, paying more attention to what other people need from them.  These two groups differ in their attitudes and actions towards other people. A taker will help others strategically when the benefits outweigh the personal costs. A giver will help whenever the benefits to others outweigh the personal costs.
A few of us are also in the middle unlike these two ends of the spectrum. We become the matchers striving to preserve an equal balance of giving and getting. Matchers operate on the principle of fairness. They protect themselves by seeking reciprocity and the relationships are governed by even exchange of favors. Giving taking and matching are three fundamental styles of social interaction.
While all three categories have their advantages and disadvantages, the givers are the ones with higher risk and rewards.
When givers succeed, it spreads and cascades. When takers win, there's usually someone else who loses.
Takers are often met with guarded interaction and withheld trust and help. To avoid this, many takers disguise themselves as givers or matchers. Luckily takers leak clues or more precisely 'lek' clues.  'lekking' refers to a ritual in which males show off their desirability as mates. In CEO kingdom, takers do a dance that looks remarkably similar.
Networks have become more transparent which lets us observe reputation and lekking.
We take  a closer look at Reciprocity next. Reciprocity is a powerful norm but with two downsides - first, people on the receiving end may feel manipulated and second it may form closed groups. Matchers for instance are vulnerable to the latter where previously burned bridges may skew their networking. As these disadvantages of strict reciprocity accrue over time, they can limit both the quantity and quality of networks that takers and matchers develop.
Reciprocity can be improved with a dimension of creativity and takers have  a knack for generating creative ideas and carrying them in the face of opposition because they are confident about themselves. Givers are also creative and we can gain a rich appreciation by studying the habits in collaboration.
In western culture, we extoll independence as a symbol of strength and collaboration as a sign of weakness. Takers demonstrate this as they see themselves superior to and separate from others. Givers reject the notion that interdependence is  a sign of weakness. A defining feature of how givers collaborate is they take on tasks that are in the groups best interests. In fact across a variety of industries and sizes, studies have shown that the more giving the employees are the better the quality of the products and services. This is referred to as expedition behavior - a term coined by National Outdoor leadership School. Contrast this with the responsibility bias. When partners overestimate their own contributions, it is known as the responsibility bias and takers demonstrate this.