Quotes from Adam Grant

Productivity is just the means to the end. If you are not all intrinsically motivated maybe it's just the wrong project

In the face of uncertainty, our first instinct is often to reject novelty, looking for reasons why unfamiliar concepts might fail.26 When managers vet novel ideas, they're in an evaluative mindset. To protect themselves against the risks of a bad bet, they compare the new notion on the table to templates of ideas that have succeeded in the past. When

Ser original no implica ser el primero... solo significa ser diferente y mejor.

To become an original, we have to be willing to take some risks. When we go against the grain to upend time-honored traditions, we can never be certain that we will succeed. As journalist Robert Quillen wrote, "Progress always involves risk. You can't steal second and keep one foot on first base.

Practice makes perfect, but it doesn't make new

When we shift our emphasis from behavior to character, people evaluate choices differently. Instead of asking whether this behavior will achieve the results they want, they take action because it is the right thing to do. In the poignant words of one Holocaust rescuer, "It's like saving somebody who is drowning. You don't ask them what God they pray too. You just go and save them.

The more reasons we put on the table, the easier it is for people to discard the shakiest one. Once they reject one of our justifications, they can easily dismiss our entire case. That happened regularly to the average negotiators: they brought too many different weapons to battle. They lost ground not because of the strength of their most compelling point, but because of the weakness of their least compelling one.

Even if your organization doesn't currently embrace critical upward feedback, holding an open season on leaders might be an effective way to begin changing the culture.

That's the nature of Power today: Change, or be changed. Learn to Thrive in a networked world, or fall.

The principle of optimal distinctiveness: we look for ways to fit in and stand out. A popular way to achieve optimal distinctiveness is to join a unique group.... Studies show that people identify more strongly with individuals and groups that share unique similarities. The more rare a group, value, interest, skill, or experience is, the more likely it is to facilitate a bond. And research indicates that people are happier in groups that provide optimal distinctiveness.

To be an original one must not only come up with new ideas but also Sherpa those ideas into the wider world, battling skepticism, incomprehension, and outright hostility in the process. . . .

When I think about voting, I can skip it and still see myself as a good citizen. But when I think about being a voter, now the choice reflects on my character. It casts a shadow.

If I had the day off and knew everyone else was voting, I wouldn't miss it. It would become a routine part of my responsibility as a citizen - like paying taxes, only less soul crushing.

Complex tasks are often better handled in the back of our mind, and that's often true of creative tasks - when you have something complex to deal with in writing or research or responding to an email. I'll start working, put it aside, and sometimes I'll wake up the next morning with a solution, or I'll find one when I exercise.

Being a nice person is about courtesy: you're friendly, polite, agreeable, and accommodating. When people believe they have to be nice in order to give, they fail to set boundaries, rarely say no, and become pushovers, letting others walk all over them.

Successful givers secure their oxygen masks before coming to the assistance of others. Although their motives may be less purely altruistic, their actions prove more altruistic, because they give more.

When you procrastinate, you're more likely to let your mind wander. That gives you a better chance of stumbling onto the unusual and spotting unexpected patterns.

Agreeable people are warm and friendly. They're nice; they're polite. You find a lot of them in Canada.

To grow, people need to be challenged.

I have two rules for a great book: make me think and make me smile.

Dissenting opinions are useful even when they're wrong. So instead of speaking to highly agreeable audiences, target suggestions to people with a history of originality.

Some of the greatest moments in human history were fueled by emotional intelligence.

If you want to be a generous giver, you have to watch out for selfish takers.

Procrastination gives you time to consider divergent ideas, to think in nonlinear ways, to make unexpected leaps.