I have been reading a book titled Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success by Adam Grant.
According to the Book, most people are divided into 3 categories, Givers, Takers, and Matchers.
Basically, Givers give more than they take, Takers take more than they give, and Matchers are tit for tat kind of people.
This is often observed at work places and schools. Research demonstrates that givers sink to the bottom of the success ladder for obvious reasons.
In the world of engineering, the least productive and effective engineers are givers. For most givers, going out of their way to help others prevented them from getting their own work done.
The same pattern emerges in medical school and among sales people, givers got the lowest grades and made the fewest sales.
They were so concerned about what was best for their customers that they weren’t willing to sell aggressively.
There is evidence that compared with takers, on average,
givers earn 14 percent less money,
have twice the risk of becoming victims of crimes,
and are judged as 22 percent less powerful and dominant.
If you are a giver at work, school or anywhere, you may be getting worried and probably thinking of changing your ways to be much of a taker…..
So if givers are most likely to land at the bottom of the success ladder, who’s at the top—takers or matchers?
Strangely, neither takers nor matchers are at the top of the success ladder.
Givers are also the ones at the top of the success ladder, evidence shows that most productive engineers, high-scoring medical students, sales people with most sales are givers too.
The worst performers and the best performers are givers; takers and matchers are more likely to land in the middle. Givers dominate the bottom and the top of the success ladder.
Think of great men like Abraham Lincoln, who lost many elections, withdrew from an Election he was leading to give his opponent victory, until at last he gave enough to be president of the United States.
Givers often seem to be losing, but in the grand scheme of things, they are the winners.
You can learn more about this and other amazing insights in the Book Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success. Or listen to it for free with an Audible free trial
Ultimately, what I learned was that being a genuine giver who puts the interest of others above his own opens up more opportunities.
“Research shows that people tend to envy successful takers and look for ways to knock them down a notch.
In contrast, when givers win, people are rooting for them and supporting them, rather than gunning for them.”
So, whether you are a Data Analyst, learning data analytics, or anything that you are doing or learning, give more than you take.
You can do this by helping your colleagues, teachings others new developments in your field and in many more ways than I can mention.
As you do all these, remember that some Givers are at the bottom of the success ladder, while others are at the top. Note the difference and don’t let others simply take advantage of you.
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Lets keep the conversation going in the comments.
Until next time