Anointed: The Extraordinary Effects of Social Status in a Winner-Take-Most World

(Hardback)

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A leading organizational theorist takes us deep into the realm of humanitys most powerful invisible forcesocial statusand how it shapes everything from who we trust and what we value to which ideas and innovations change the world and who gets credit for their success.

Why does an authentic Rembrandt fetch hundreds of millions while a nearly identical painting by his most talented disciple goes for a tiny fraction of that price What makes a restaurant hot, a neighborhood up-and-coming, or a technology the next big thing Why do people often choose the same seats in recurrent office meetings Who is most likely to interrupt someone else mid-sentence Why do big name lawyers earn so much Why are health disparities so pronounced And why, when someone gets a bit ahead in life, does the small advantage so often compound

The answer to all these questions is social statusinvisible hierarchies that influence every aspect of our lives, from our health to our personal relationships and careers to how we behave in social and work settings to the tastes and preferences we form. Without it, wed be lost and paralyzed when faced with even the simplest decisions. But it comes at a steep cost: status works as a powerful amplifier, turning small initial advantages into insurmountable leads. Inequality is baked into its core.

Through compelling examples from business, economics, literature, art, fashion, and beyond, Anointed demonstrates how status cascades through society, creating winners and losers in ways that often have little to do with merit. And how new technology offers a glimpse of a more equitable future.

Reviews

"A fascinating exploration of status, and how small advantages end up compounding into vast inequalities. Anointedexposes the hidden hierarchies that govern everything from cultural fads to billion-dollar corporate mergers."Jonah Berger, bestselling author of Contagious andThe Catalyst

Author Bio

Toby E. Stuart is the Leo Helzel distinguished professor of business administration at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley. He is faculty director of the Berkeley-Haas Entrepreneurship Program and faculty director of the Institute for Business Innovation; and distinguished teaching fellow. He previously has held named professorships at Harvard University, Columbia University, and the University of Chicago. Stuart is the cofounder of a tech company and on multiple corporate boards. He has published dozens of academic papers on social status and social network dynamics. He was the long-time department editor for entrepreneurship and innovation at Management Science, and has been an editor at many prominent journals, including American Journal of Sociology and Administrative Science Quarterly.