Friend and Foe: When to Cooperate, When to Compete, and How to Succeed at Both (Random House Business Books) - Softcover

"This book is a treasure trove of golden nuggets of information and gem-like insights into the processes that govern social exchange. We all have to cooperate and compete to succeed. Friend and Foe provides the best roadmap I've ever seen for doing so―by a mile." (Robert B. Cialdini, author of INFLUENCE)

"Galinsky and Schweitzer are star researchers and teachers. Here they use their talents to bring order to the often contradictory research on when to cooperate and compete, and they distill their insights into practical tips that anybody can use." (Chip Heath, co-author of MADE TO STICK and SWITCH)

"Two of the most respected scholars on success explain how you can get along and get ahead. Their guided tour of how to cooperate and how to compete is authoritative, entertaining, and eminently practical!" (Angela Duckworth, University of Pennsylvania)

"Friend and Foe is a fascinating voyage through the science of cooperation and competition. Discover why we compare ourselves to our Facebook friends, many gender differences are really due to power differences, and it’s usually best to make the first offer in a negotiation." (Adam Grant, author of GIVE AND TAKE)

Is it in our best interest to compete or to cooperate?

Some have argued that humans are fundamentally competitive and that pursuing our self-interest is the best way to get ahead. Others believe that we are hard-wired to cooperate and are most successful when we collaborate with others.

In Friend and Foe, leading psychologists Adam Galinsky and Maurice Schweitzer draw on original, cutting-edge research to explain why this debate misses the mark. They argue that it is only by learning how to strike the right balance between competition and cooperation that we can improve long-term relationships and maximise success in work and life.

Galinsky and Schweitzer show how holding these two forces in the right balance can enable us to turn weaknesses into strengths, to recognise deception and build trust, and to improve our powers of negotiation without alienating our counterparts. Along the way, they also offer answers to a number of perplexing puzzles, from how too much talent can undermine a team’s success, to why ending an auction at 2am can get you the best outcome, to when acting less competently can help you gain status.

This book is a guide for better navigating your social world by learning when to cooperate as a friend and when to compete as a foe – and how to be better at both.