All You Have to Do Is Ask: How to Master the Most Important Skill for Success

(Hardback)

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A set of tools for mastering the one skill standing between us and success- the ability to ask for the things we need to succeed. Imagine you're on a deadline for a big project, and feeling overwhelmed. Or you're looking for a job, but can't seem to get your foot in the door. Or you're dying for tickets to a sold out concert, and all your leads have gone cold. What do these problems have in common They can all be solved simply by reaching out to a colleague, friend, or wider network and making an ask. Studies show that asking for help makes us better and less frustrated at our jobs. It helps us find new opportunities and new talent. It unlocks new ideas and solutions, and enhances team performance. And it helps us get the things we need outside the workplace as well. And yet, we rarely give ourselves permission to ask. Luckily, the research shows that asking - and getting - what we need is much easier than we tend to think. Here, Baker shares a set of strategies - used at companies like Google, GM, and IDEO - that individuals, teams, and leaders can use to make asking for help a personal and organizational habit, such as- SMART criteria for making an ask, "plus-and-play" routines that make requests a standard component of meetings, mini-games that incentivize asking within teams, and the Reciprocity Ring, a guided activity that allows people to tap into the giving power of a network.

Reviews

Over the past fifteen years, Wayne Baker has taught me one of the most important lessons of my career: The biggest barrier to generosity is not that others are unwilling to give, but that were afraid to ask. In a book thats simultaneously engaging, evidence-based, and practical, he shows how we can become more skilled at making requests and more comfortable with receiving help. His advice will put you in a better position to achieve your goals and build stronger relationships along the way.Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take, and host of the TED podcast WorkLife

Simple and eye-opening, this invaluable book by Wayne Baker shows us how individuals, teams, and organizations alike can tap the huge hidden potential available to us anytime through the powerful act of asking for help. Very useful!William Ury, co-author of the bestselling Getting to Yes, author Getting to Yes with Yourself

Gives readers stories they can relate to and tools they can apply to get and give help that will make their lives more productive and their jobs more satisfying. It shows why human communities remain important in the digital age, and how leaders can cultivate positive organizational cultures that help people succeed.Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor at Harvard Business School and author of Think Outside the Building

Sometimes our most powerful ideas are the simplest.Wayne Baker has grounded thepower of reciprocity ina book that is loaded with simple, research-basedinsights and strategies. All You Have to Do Is Ask provides usefuladvice for helping readers get more of what they want at work and in life.An absolute must-read and follow!Len Schlesinger, Baker Foundation Professor, Harvard Business School

Asking for help may be one of the hardest things individuals have to do. Yet it is critical to our success. Expert Wayne Baker creates a compelling case for why we need to leap past this internal hurdle, for when we do, the miraculous can emerge. Based on years of grounded research on generosity, reciprocity, and organizational networks, All You Have to Do Is Ask provides the practical nudges necessary to overcome our bias for self-reliance.Michael J. Arena, author of the bestselling Adaptive Space and former chief talent officer, General Motors

In his new book, Wayne Baker shares the formula for driving personal, organizational, and social change by tapping the power of our teams and networks for help. This insightful book is a must-read for anyone seeking practical and proven solutions to make our workplaces and world a better place.Noel Tichy, professor, University of Michigan, and author of Judgment and Control Your Destiny or Someone Else Will

Author Bio

Wayne Baker is Robert P. Thome Professor of Business Administration and Professor of Management and Organizations at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. He is also faculty director of the Center for Positive Organizations at the Ross School, and faculty Co-Director of Leading with Impact, a partnership between General Motors and the Ross School to provide executive education to top leaders from around the world. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and corporations, as well as a management consultant, advisor and board member of Give and Take Inc., a company he cofounded with bestselling author Adam Grant. Baker has published numerous articles in venues such as Harvard Business Review, Chief Executive , and MIT Sloan Management Review. He is regularly quoted in Forbes, Inc., and Fast Company.