Bringing Humanity Back into Business

To stretch the truth only slightly, when I was Adam Grant's age, I was a student in the MBA program at Wharton. Adam is Wharton’s youngest full professor and single highest-rated teacher. Every class, he gets to stand at the front of the classroom; with me, it was only occasionally.

One day at Wharton, I had to give an impromptu Toastmaster's speech on the topic: prove that Wharton MBAs aren't money-grabbing jerks. Instead of defending MBAs, I decided to do a two-minute rant that money, power and prestige were all that matter. A female student came up to me at the end and wanted to know if I was a warped sociopath or just really good at thinking on my feet. One thing led to another, and we have now been married for 26 years.

My speech was tongue-in-cheek, but the truth is that Wharton and the business world at large does attract more than a few people who are obsessed with money rather than human relationships, and who are more focused on doing well rather than doing good.

Adam has already been a powerful but tactful force in reminding the business world that all business success starts with human relationships. In his fantastic book, Give and Take, he challenges the common wisdom that people who give of themselves end up getting exploited by others. Instead, he makes the case that highly successful givers comprise some of the world's best entrepreneurs and leaders. In an economy that increasingly revolves around understanding customer needs, givers best understand the needs of others.

I won't bore you with the details, but I've seen firsthand that Adam practices what he preaches. He reached out to me after reading one of my articles, and ever since he has been one of the most insightful and responsive members of my network.

When Give and Take first came out, I read the entire book in one day. It's been almost 20 years since a business book has so powerfully impacted me.

If you haven't read this book already, here's a preview of what to expect:

• If you are a giver, you will learn how to become much more effective in both helping others and navigating your career.
• If you are a matcher, you will learn the futility of keeping score whether others have yet returned the favor you did for them.
• If you are a taker, you will learn that your approach will be an increasingly marginal strategy as our world becomes more interconnected and transparent.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I'm anything but an impartial observer. In the days and weeks to come, you'll see me writing about projects and insights that - I hope - are fully in synch with Adam's work.

Yes, this has been a blatant plug for Adam's new paperback edition, which comes out next week and you can pre-order now. It is also a proud endorsement of an effort to reshape the business world into one that is more humane, sustainable and fulfilling. That's something I am happy to plug morning, noon and night. If the same is true for you, spread the word: Give and Take is now smaller, lighter, and cheaper... but still 100% amazing.

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Bruce Kasanoff is the author of How to Self-Promote without Being a Jerk, a simple little book about doing well by doing good.

Find Bruce at Kasanoff.com or on Twitter @BruceKasanoff.To see Bruce's articles on LinkedIn, please click the FOLLOW button above or below.

Image: The Wharton School/Flickr