Give and Take: From the author of million-copy bestseller THINK AGAIN

by Adam M. Grant

Geniuses tend to be takers: to promote their own interests, they “drain intelligence, energy, and capability” from others. Genius makers tend to be givers: they use their “intelligence to amplify the smarts and capabilities” of other people,

MacKinnon found that the creative architects stood out as substantially more “demanding, aggressive, and self-centered” than the comparison group.

Overall, the surgeons didn’t get better with practice. They only got better at the specific hospital where they practiced.

We tend to privilege the lone genius who generates ideas that enthrall us, or change our world. According to research by a trio of Stanford psychologists, Americans see independence as a symbol of strength, viewing interdependence as a sign of weakness. This is particularly true of takers, who tend to see themselves as superior to and separate from others.

Givers reject the notion that interdependence is weak. Givers are more likely to see interdependence as a source of strength, a way to harness the skills of multiple people for a greater good.

expedition behavior.

Edwin Hollander argued that when people act generously in groups, they earn idiosyncrasy credits—positive impressions that accumulate in the minds of group members.

In line with Meyer’s experience, research shows that givers get extra credit when they offer ideas that challenge the status quo.

responsibility bias: exaggerating our own contributions relative to others’ inputs.

a perspective gap: when we’re not experiencing a psychologically or physically intense state, we dramatically underestimate how much it will affect us.