Friend or Foe
by Adam D. Galinsky, Maurice Schweitzer
Category: Business & Economics

What does it take to succeed? This question has fueled a long-running debate. Some have argued that humans are fundamentally competitive, and that pursuing self-interest is the best way to get ahead. Others claim that humans are born to cooperate and that we are most successful when we collaborate with others. Here, researchers Galinsky and Schweitzer explain why this debate misses the mark. Rather than being hardwired to compete or cooperate, we have evolved to do both. In every relationship, from co-workers to friends to spouses to siblings, we are both friends and foes. Only by learning how to strike the right balance between these two forces can we improve our long-term relationships and get more of what we want. Galinsky and Schweitzer draw on original research from their own labs and from across the social sciences to show how to maximize success in work and in life by deftly navigating the tension between cooperation and competition. They offer insights and advice ranging from gaining power and keeping it, building trust and repairing trust once it's broken, and diffusing workplace conflict and bias, to finding the right comparisons that motivate us and make us happier, and succeeding in negotiations--ensuring that we achieve our own goals and satisfy those of our counterparts.--Adapted from book jacket.