;rant The Favor The highest-ranked professor in Wharton's MBA program reflects on latest book and growing up in West Bloomfield. Adam Finkel Special to the Jewish News O Imagine a World Without Hate. What was the earliest message your received about peple who had different religious beliefs than you? When we talk about bias, it is important to reflect on our own biases and understand where they come from. The Anti-Defamation League 100 Years of Fighting Hate. Donate Today! Our mission remains as important today as ever! 248.353.7553 www.regions.adl.org/Michigan 26 April 11 • 201 ne billion search inquiries get posed to Google each day from users around the globe; across 181 countries and 146 languages. But even Google knows they don't have all the answers. When they had an inquiry of their own, relating to the analysis of their employees' success, they probed Adam M. Grant, Ph.D. Prasad Setty, who heads Google's people analytics group, looks to Grant when they're "thinking about big problems" that need to be solved. Setty offered those remarks to the New York Times magazine, which recently did a cover story on Grant's new book. Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success was released on April 9. Grant is now the highest-ranked profes- sor (and the youngest tenured professor) in the Wharton MBA program in Philadelphia — one of the nation's most elite business programs. He has been ranked as one of the world's top business professors under 40. He is a sought-after counselor to his stu- dents and a thought leader at conferences. Now 31, Grant is in demand by govern- ment and corporate leaders alike for his advice on employee wellbeing and work- place motivation. The professor of manage- ment is a case study for career success. Metro Detroit Roots Today, he resides in Philadelphia with his wife, Allison Sweet Grant, and their two young daughters, but both he and his wife grew up in West Bloomfield. His extended families belong to Temple Shir Shalom and Temple Kol Ami. He was raised by Mark Grant, a lawyer, and Susan Grant, a teacher. Traci Grant, his younger sister, describes him as a motivated stu- dent who showcased responsibility at a young age. His grandparents are Marion and Jay Grant. He is the grandson of the late Florence and the late Paul Borock. He credits his success today to luck — and the determination he learned from athletics and his family. The benefits of generosity relating to professional success that he describes in his book can be traced to his own personal life. He mentions Florence Borock, his late grandmother, for her willingness to drop everything to pick someone up, even if it meant driving 2.5 hours in the coldest days of winter. Jeremy Rosner of Hartland, Mich., a friend from childhood, has known Grant since second grade. He described the many activities of their youth: fantasy football, trading baseball cards, base- ball, tennis, Ping-Pong, tailgating at the University of Michigan. Grant was a hard worker, too. His first job, at age 12, was as a professional magi- cian; he'd perform for more than a decade. His summer reading list, intended for three months, was completed in days. He was a 1992 Student of the Week in the Detroit Free Press, lauded for his 4.2 grade point average. Grant was a self-proclaimed disaster during his diving practice freshman year at West Bloomfield High School. Eric Best, who now coaches diving at Michigan State University, could have told him his dismal tryout didn't cut it. Grant could have walked off, intimidated by the skills of the team. So how did Grant go on to become an All-American and Junior Olympic spring- board diver? He'll tell you that it's because his coach went above and beyond to instill a fierce determination during hours-long daily practices. He became captain of the swimming and diving team. He was named the team's Laker of the Year in 11th grade and Diver of the Year in 12th grade. The National Swimming and Diving Association named him an Academic All American. His work ethic led him to Harvard University and a Ph.D. in organiza- tional psychology from the University of Michigan. Fast forward a few years, his current obsession revolves around the fabric of organizational success, including "employee motivation, productivity and satisfaction ... the profound and surprising effects of connecting employees to their impact on others; and pro-social motiva- tion within a group:" Success Is Related To Sharing In an hour-long interview with the Detroit Jewish News, Grant discussed how the world is changing in ways that increasing- ly value collaboration. Success, he says, is highly correlated to sharing. Cutthroat behavior is a short-term approach in a world where people need to build endur- ing connections. Being assertive can coex- ist with being helpful. In his book, he discusses the clear contrasts between people who are helpful with their time, wisdom and expertise, and those with a personal agenda that puts themselves before others. He believes that individuals with ambi- tious goals to meet their own objectives will do far better when they contribute value to others. Grant believes gratitude Adam Grant and collaboration set leading companies like Pixar and Southwest Airlines apart. He instructs workplaces to act generously to people that are giving and have rating systems to rank people and their skills. Ideally, organizations will develop better mechanisms for employers to both seek and give help and to screen out "takers" in the hiring process. Grant emphasizes the need for com- munities and organizations to illustrate the benefits of their mission on a personal level. In one example, he cites the dramatic effectiveness when employees of a call center raising nonprofit funds met a beneficiary of the donations. In his study, earnings per caller increased from $185.94 to $503.22. He referenced one study from Israel in his book, which showed that attaching a patient's photo to a CT scan increased diagnostic accuracy by 46 percent. Jeffrey Zaslow, whose life was cut tragi- cally short last year, lived a stone's throw away from Grant's family. The late journalist spent decades writ- ing advice columns, bestselling books and articles in the Wall Street Journal on human interest stories that often related to one's happiness or success. On the opening pages of Give and Take, Grant dedicates the book "in memory of my friend Jeff Zaslow who lived his life as a role model for the principles in this book" Many readers in the business realm can appreciate an under-appreciated truth, often quoted by Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted:" ❑ Thursday, April 18, at 6 p.m. Grant will be at the U-M campus. Register at www.centerfor pos.org/the-centerlactivities/events.