#22 Adam Grant: Givers, Takers, and the Resilient Mind

The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish

Farnam Street

Business, Investing, Entrepreneurship

4.7 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 21 September 2017

⏱️ 88 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Are you a giver or a taker? Have you ever struggled to find work/life balance? How do you build resilience in yourself, your team, or your children?

I tackle these topics and many more in this interview with my special guest, Adam Grant.

In this interview, we cover a lot, including:

How to tell if you are a giver or a taker (Spoiler: if you just told yourself you’re a giver, you might be in for a rude awakening)
How Adam filters down hundreds of ideas and opportunities to the select few he focuses on
How to tell if your business idea is a winner or a huge waste of time
Why “quick to start and slow to finish” is great advice for budding entrepreneurs
How to nurture creativity and resilience in your children (or team culture)
How to create positive competitive environments that bring out the best in people
Adam’s two core family values and how he instills them in his children
“Mental time travel” and how it can make you resilient to any challenge or obstacle
Why “how can I be more productive” is the wrong question to ask (and what to ask instead)
How Adam and I each address the topic of work/life balance

And so much more.

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Welcome to the Knowledge Project. I'm your host Shane Parrish, the curator behind the
0:12.4	Furnham Street blog, which is an online community focused on mastering the best of what
0:16.8	other people have already figured out. The Knowledge Project is a place where we look
0:21.2	at interesting people and uncover the frameworks they use to make better decisions, live
0:26.1	life and make an impact. On this episode I have one of my favorite people, Adam Grant.
0:32.2	Adam has been Wharton's top-rated teacher for so many years, they should just name the
0:36.2	award after him. He's also one of the most influential management thinkers. Oh, and
0:41.2	in his spare time he's written New York Times bestselling books, Given Take, Originals
0:45.6	and Co-authored Option B with Cheryl Sandberg. We talk about the differences between
0:50.6	givers and takers, what he learned about coming up with creative ideas, and how he fosters
0:55.6	resilience in his kids. We also explore the replication crisis in psychology and how he
1:01.0	manages his work-life balance. Adam's answers will change how you see yourself at work,
1:06.3	how you parent and how you live. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.
1:13.0	Before I get started, here's a quick word from our sponsor.
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	...

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