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.

InFriend 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 teams 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.

Adam Galinsky (Author) Adam Galinskyis currently the Morris and Alice Kaplan Professor of Ethics and Decision in Management at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He received his PhD from Princeton University in Social Psychology and his B.A. from Harvard University.

Maurice Schweitzer (Author) Maurice Schweitzeris a Professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He earned his PhD from the Wharton School, and he earned his B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley.