GIVER or TAKER

I started to read this book called “GIVE AND TAKE” by author Adam Grant.
For this blog, I am going to share my personal thoughts and reading notes based on this theme.

We all see things differently.

“GIVE AND TAKE”- Adam Grant
Highlighting some meaningful quotations picked from the book written by Adam Grant.

Good Return
“The principle of give and take; that is diplomacy- give one and take ten.” Mark Twain, author and humorist

Quotation: According to conventional wisdom, highly successful people have 3 things in common: motivation, ability, and opportunity. If we want to succeed, we need a combination of hard work, talent, and luck. (Grant)

Quotation: Every time we interact with another person at work, we have a choice to make: do we try to claim as much value as we can, or contribute value without worrying about what we receive in return. (Grant)

Quotation: Takers have a distinctive signature: they like to get more than they give.
Givers are a relatively rare breed. Whereas takers tend to be self-focused, evaluating what other people can offer them, givers are other-focused, paying more attention to what other people need from them. (Grant)

TAKERS vs GIVERS

	TAKERS	GIVERS
PROS	In Marketing, being a taker is always a lead in a team and usually this character is likely to have a loud voice. He or she gets the power to demand orders to others. They need to give one suggestion out and take ten tactics from others.	Since this type of person is very easy-going, always tolerant and willing to share things with others, he or she tends to have more friends or supporters. When they need help, these helpers are usually willing to provide assistance or help in most circumstances.
CONS	Since this type of person tends to have an aggressive personality, he or she often offends other people easily. It’s hard to find teammates to support their tactics or strategic plan because others won’t be loyal to him or her. This type of character mostly works alone.	They need to sacrifice a lot: time, money, spare time, willingness, patience, and extra workload……etc…. He or she usually lacks something in life because of their scarification at work or life. For example, spending spare time to do extra workload after work. This can cause less personal time with his or her family after work. Another weakness is that he or she often becomes a helper for others in life and living under others’ control or demand.

I am a…
70% GIVER + 30% TAKER

1. Spent Over Time @ Work without any compensation
   Purpose: I want to finish my work days before the deadline
2. Helping others for different department @ Work
   Purpose: Seeing others being so busy and wanted to give them a hand
3. Organizing some old works, files and folders from previous former co-workers
   Purpose: I want to make documents organized and easier to sort things out in the future.

70% is what I could provide in different aspects, and 30% is the purpose I have planned. The 30% Taker is the purpose of the key point- what I can take from that move or activity. For instance, I mentioned about doing something for future use at point #3. The action is that it could help me or other staff to SAVE TIME and that’s the TAKE action. 

I believe for every movement, we do have a purpose behind.

In every workplace, we are experiencing different treatments from others. Sometimes, we act differently depending on the perspective, occupation, standpoint, situation, and relationship with the speaker or listener. We rarely get treated fairly in life. At work, if your title is higher, you get a louder voice and if your position is entry level then your behaviour will be opposite.

No matter if you are a giver or taker, we should try our hardest to treat everyone equally. We all deserve to receive help and love in life or at work.