At work, at home and in everyday life, we compete and cooperate constantly, often at the same time, say business professors Adam Galinsky of Columbia University and Maurice Schweitzer of the University of Pennsylvania. The resulting tension factors into all human relationships, they add, and learning to balance our drive to compete with our compelling need to cooperate is the key to navigating life successfully. To do that, we need to understand the factors that play into how others see us as well as how we see potential collaborators and competitors.
Combining their original research with existing social and psychological studies, the authors cover a broad spectrum of situations, including how to earn trust, how to recognize deception (and why cuckoo birds are masters of the art), how to get your way by seeing it “their” way, and more. By incorporating colorful anecdotes to illustrate their points, the authors of Friend and Foe make the science easier to follow. And the occasional bullet points and short chapter summaries help clarify the advice.
by Adam Galinsky, Ph.D., and Maurice Schweitzer, Ph.D.
September; Crown Business; $27
