Adam Grant

I spend a lot of my time trying to help leaders build cultures of productive givers.

Procrastination gives you time to consider divergent ideas, to think in nonlinear ways, to make unexpected leaps.

I'm a precrastinator. Yes, that's an actual term. You know that panic you feel a few hours before a big deadline when you haven't done anything yet? I just feel that a few months ahead of time.

Being a giver is not about saying yes to all of the people all of the time to all of the requests.

Originals are nonconformists, people who not only have new ideas but take action to champion them. They are people who stand out and speak up. Originals drive creativity and change in the world. They're the people you want to bet on.

To generate creative ideas, it's important to start from an unusual place. But to explain those ideas, they have to be connected to something familiar.

Kids who evolve into creative adults tend to have a strong moral compass.

Creativity may be hard to nurture, but it's easy to thwart.

Procrastinating is a vice when it comes to productivity, but it can be a virtue for creativity.

Bragging about yourself violates norms of modesty and politeness - and if you were really competent, your work would speak for itself.

When medical students focus on helping others, they're able to weather the slings and arrows of long hours and devastating health outcomes: they know their colleagues and patients are depending on them.

In the eyes of many people, giving doesn't count unless it's completely selfless. In reality, though, giving isn't sustainable when it's completely selfless.