Give and Take

During a break between soccer games, Shader turned to Hornik and said, I m working on something do you want to see a pitch? Hornik specialized in Internet companies, so he seemed like an ideal investor to Shader. The interest was mutual. Most people who pitch ideas are first-time entrepreneurs, with no track record of success. In contrast, Shader was a blue-chip entrepreneur who had hit the jackpot not once, but twice. In 1999, his first start-up, Accept.com, was acquired by Amazon for $175 million. In 2007, his next company, Good Technology, was acquired by Motorola for $500 million. Given Shader s history, Hornik was eager to hear what he was up to next.

A few days after the soccer game, Shader drove to Hornik s office and pitched his newest idea. Nearly a quarter of Americans have trouble making online purchases because they don t have a bank account or credit card, and Shader was proposing an innovative solution to this problem. Hornik was one of the first venture capitalists to hear the pitch, and right off the bat, he loved it. Within a week, he put Shader in front of his partners and offered him a term sheet: he wanted to fund Shader s company.

Although Hornik had moved fast, Shader was in a strong position. Given Shader s reputation, and the quality of his idea, Hornik knew plenty of investors would be clamoring to work with Shader. You re rarely the only investor giving an entrepreneur a term sheet, Hornik explains. You re competing with the best venture capital firms in the country, and trying to convince the entrepreneur to take your money instead of theirs. The best way for Hornik to land the investment was to set a deadline for Shader to make his decision. If Hornik made a compelling offer with a short fuse, Shader might sign it before he had the chance to pitch to other investors. This is what many venture capitalists do to stack the odds in their favor.

But Hornik didn t give Shader a deadline. In fact, he practically invited Shader to shop his offer around to other investors. Hornik believed that entrepreneurs need time to evaluate their options, so as a matter of principle, he refused to present exploding offers. Take as much time as you need to make the right decision, he said. Although Hornik hoped Shader would conclude that the right decision was to sign with him, he put Shader s best interests ahead of

This is a must read.
Robert Cialdini, author of Influence

Give and Take is a brilliant, well-documented, and motivating debunking of good guys finish last ! I've noticed for years that generosity generates its own kind of equity, and Grant's fascinating research and engaging style have created not only a solid validation of that principle but also practical wisdom and techniques for utilizing it more effectively. This is a super manifesto for getting meaningful things done, sustainably.
David Allen, author of Getting Things Done

Packed with cutting-edge research, concrete examples, and deep insight, Give and Take offers extraordinarily thought-provoking and often surprising conclusions about how our interactions with others drive our success and happiness. This important and compulsively-readable book deserves to be a huge success.
Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project and Happier at Home

One of the great secrets of life is that those who win most are often those who give most. In this elegant and lucid book, filled with compelling evidence and evocative examples, Adam Grant shows us why and how this is so. Highly recommended!
William Ury, coauthor of Getting to Yes and author of The Power of a Positive No

Good guys finish first and Adam Grant knows why. Give and Take is the smart surprise you can't afford to miss."
Daniel Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness

Give and Take is an enlightening read for leaders who aspire to create meaningful and sustainable changes to their environments. Grant demonstrates how a generous orientation toward others can serve as a formula for producing successful leaders and organizational performance. His writing is as engaging and enjoyable as his style in the classroom.
Kenneth Frazier, Chairman, President, and CEO of Merck & Co.

In this riveting and sparkling book, Adam Grant turns the conventional wisdom upside-down about what it takes to win and get ahead. With page-turning stories and compelling studies, Give and Take reveals the surprising forces behind success, and the steps we can take to enhance our own.
Laszlo Bock, Senior Vice President of People Operations, Google

Give and Take dispels commonly held beliefs that equate givers with weakness and takers with strength. Grant shows us the importance of nurturing and encouraging prosocial behaviors.
Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational

Give and Take defines a road to success marked by new ways of relating to colleagues and customers as well as new ways of growing a business.
Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos.com and author of Delivering Happiness

A milestone! Well-researched, generous, actionable and important. Adam Grant has given us a gift, a hard-hitting book about the efficacy of connection and generosity in everything we do.
Seth Godin, bestselling author of The Icarus Deception and Tribes

Give and Take will fundamentally change the way you think about success. Unfortunately in America, we have too often succumbed to the worldview that if everyone behaved in their own narrow self-interest, all would be fine. Adam Grant shows us with compelling research and fascinating stories there is a better way.
Lenny Mendonca, Director, McKinsey & Co.

Adam Grant, a rising star of positive psychology, seamlessly weaves together science and stories of business success and failure, convincing us that giving is in the long run the recipe for success in the corporate world. En route you will find yourself re-examining your own life. Read it yourself, then give copies to the people you care most about in this world.
Martin Seligman, author of Learned Optimism and Flourish

Give and Take presents a groundbreaking new perspective on success. Adam Grant offers a captivating window into innovative principles that drive effectiveness at every level of an organization and can immediately be put into action. Along with being a fascinating read, this book holds the key to a more satisfied and productive workplace, better customer relationships, and higher profits.
Chip Conley, Founder, Joie de Vivre Hotels and author, Peak and Emotional Equations

Give and Take is a game changer. Reading Adam Grant's compelling book will change the way doctors doctor, managers manage, teachers teach, and bosses boss. It will create a society in which people do better by being better. Read the book and change the way you live and work.
Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice and Practical Wisdom

Give and Take is a new behavioral benchmark for doing business for better, providing an inspiring new perspective on how to succeed to the benefit of all. Adam Grant provides great support for the new paradigm of creating a win win for people, planet and profit with many fabulous insights and wonderful stories to get you fully hooked and infected with wanting to give more and take less."
Jochen Zeitz, former CEO and chairman, PUMA

Give and Take is a real gift. Adam Grant delivers a triple treat: stories as good as a well-written novel, surprising insights drawn from rigorous science, and advice on using those insights to catapult ourselves and our organizations to success. I can t think of another book with more powerful implications for both business and life.
Teresa Amabile, author of The Progress Principle

Adam Grant has written a landmark book that examines what makes some extraordinarily successful people so great. By introducing us to highly-impressive individuals, he proves that, contrary to popular belief, the best way to climb to the top of the ladder is to take others up there with you. Give and Take presents the road to success for the 21st century.
Maria Eitel, founding CEO and President of the Nike Foundation

What The No *sshole Rule did for corporate culture, Give and Take does for each of us as individuals. Grant presents an evidence-based case for the counterintuitive link between generosity and finishing first.
Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen, coauthors of Difficult Conversations

Adam Grant is a wunderkind. He has won every distinguished research award and teaching award in his field, and his work has changed the way that people see the world. If you want to be surprised very pleasantly surprised by what really drives success, then Give and Take is for you. If you want to make the world a better place, read this book. If you want to make your life better, read this book.
Tal Ben-Shahar, author of Happier

In an era of business literature that drones on with the same-old, over-used platitudes, Adam Grant forges brilliant new territory. Give and Take helps readers understand how to maximize their effectiveness and help others simultaneously. It will serve as a new framework for both insight and achievement. A must read!
Josh Linkner, founder of ePrize, CEO of Detroit Venture Partners, and author of Disciplined Dreaming¶