bluishgreen12's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I thought it was a good book, it was very well argumented. It resonated a lot with my experience. I was often asked why I don't retaliate when someone does something mean to me, even if I could easily do it. Despite not being religious or spiritual my answer was always that I believe in some sort of karma-like process and that people who constantly take will not go far or be successful by taking advantage. I had no proof of this of course but it was a strong belief based on experience. Well, this booked showed me how and why that is a real thing, why takers only gain in the short term, and what role the world's matchers play in that. The book is about much more, of course, but that was one of my highlights. If there is negative I would say it is the lack of diversity in the stories the author chose, namely sports, banking, lawyers, essentially high lever/paying professions.
ferris_mx's review against another edition
3.0
A moderately interesting exposition of how givers can succeed and help others succeed in ways that takers and exchangers cannot. Also discusses some of the pitfalls of giving, and how to avoid burnout.
The first fully-fleshed-out anecdote feature a woman was on page 159.
The first fully-fleshed-out anecdote feature a woman was on page 159.
kfont42's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
The book talks about how there are givers, takers, and matchers in the world (matchers are tit-for-tat people), and how society seems to think that matchers and takers excel the most, but in reality, givers have the potential to thrive the most if they do it well. There are a lot of great concepts for good leadership, like how to lead proactive vs. reactive team members, and using powerless communication (communicating tentatively rather than definitively) to invoke loyalty and encourage participation. His books are interesting to read because he shares a lot of real-world stories, like why Michael Jordan was a terrible manager. I want to look more into the Reciprocity Ring and see if I can implement one at my company. Give and Take inspires me to want to give back even more. The book started off slow, but as a whole, it’s a great read.
sloya512's review against another edition
This book is great for those learning to lead and work intentionally with other people.
lindasdarby's review against another edition
4.0
Loved it. Yes there are parts that are long and I think were a bit of a stretch to make them part of the book but overall it was fascinating. Takers beware I am now armed with knowledge.