Works
- Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success, 2013
- Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World, 2016
In Tactics of Organizational Politics
Ideas
Powerless communication and asking for advice. Grant argues that speaking tentatively, asking questions, and inviting other views can win over skeptical audiences, provided competence is signaled elsewhere. Asking for advice is a form of influence for those without authority: the adviser takes the asker's perspective and becomes committed to the outcome.
The five-minute favor. Taking the phrase from the entrepreneur Adam Rifkin, Grant describes the five-minute favor: help that adds a lot of value to someone else at little cost to the giver, which over time builds a wide network of goodwill.
Leading with weaknesses and repeated exposure. Grant describes what he calls the Sarick effect: presenting the weaknesses of one's own idea first can disarm an audience, build trust, and leave listeners fewer objections to raise. He also draws on research on mere exposure to argue that unfamiliar ideas often gain acceptance only after people have encountered them several times.
What it explains
Grant explains how people without authority build influence through generosity, humility, and patience: small favors, requests for advice, candor about weaknesses, and repeated exposure to an idea before asking for a decision. His books are popular syntheses of research.