WHY GIVERS WIN: Adam Grant Revisits 'Give and Take'

The Next Big Idea

Next Big Idea Club

Self-improvement, Arts, Books, Society & Culture, Education

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 3 April 2025

⏱️ 67 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We’re often told that success comes down to talent, hard work, and luck. But Adam Grant's research suggests that view is missing something crucial. In today’s installment of Next Big Idea Classics, Adam revisits his 2013 bestseller “Give and Take,” explaining how our interactions with others determine who thrives and who doesn’t. 💿 For Adam’s previous appearances on the show, click here 🎙️ And check out our classic interviews with Daniel Pink, Kim Scott, and James Clear

Transcript

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0:00.0	LinkedIn Presents.
0:05.5	I'm Rufus Griscombe, and this is Next Big Idea Classics.
0:10.5	Today, Adam Grant on why helping others drive success. For decades now, there's been growing evidence that nice people, people who are kind, generous, we might
0:39.3	call them givers, are happier. They have stronger relationships. They even live longer.
0:45.5	Sure, you may say, but are givers really cut out for the ruthless world we live in?
0:50.7	Why does so many merciless takers rise to the top? I'm thinking of everyone from
0:55.7	J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller to the young Steve Jobs and the more recent Elon Musk.
1:01.6	In a doggy dog world, are givers what's for dinner?
1:06.6	Twelve years ago, Adam Grant, who was already a legendary Wharton professor, he was tenured at
1:11.8	28, answered this question in a seminal book called Give and Take, why helping others drives our
1:18.7	success. His research showed that, yes, givers often do land at the bottom, but they're also
1:24.9	overrepresented at the very top of the success ladder.
1:28.3	And what's more, changes in technology and culture are causing the advantage of being a giver to become stronger over time.
1:37.3	On balance, if you want to get ahead, you're better off being a giver.
1:42.3	This argument made forcefully in give and take was a huge paradigm shift.
1:48.4	The book was widely cited and inspired countless business leaders to make meaningful changes
1:53.3	to their cultures.
1:55.3	It had an impact on me personally as well.
1:58.1	It supported my growing conviction that generosity and ambition are not,
2:03.8	in fact, at odds, they're bedfellows. And it was because of this book that I met Adam Grant,
2:10.1	who went on to become one of our four curators here at the Next Big Idea Club, and who has
2:14.6	demonstrated year after year his commitment to giving to our community.
	...

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