Jamil Zaki

Cynicism is making us sick, but Stanford Psychologist Dr. Jamil Zaki has the cure--a "ray of light for dark days" (Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author). In 1972, half of Americans agreed that most people can be trusted; by 2018, only a third did. Different generations, genders, religions, and political parties all think human virtue is evaporating. Cynicism is an understandable response to a world full of injustice and inequality. But in many cases, it is misplaced. Dozens of studies find that people fail to realize how kind, generous, and open-minded others really are. Cynical thinking deepens social problems: when we expect the worst in people, we often bring it out of them. We don't have to remain stuck in this cynicism trap. Through science and storytelling, Jamil Zaki imparts the secret for beating back cynicism: hopeful skepticism--thinking critically about people and our problems, while honoring and encouraging our strengths. Far from being na ve, hopeful skepticism is a precise way of understanding others that can rebalance our view of human nature and help us build the world we truly want. Amazon Editors' Pick for Best Nonfiction Books of 2024

A year's worth of management wisdom, all in one place. We've reviewed the ideas, insights, and best practices from the past year of Harvard Business Review to keep you up to date on the most cutting-edge, influential thinking driving business today. With authors from Ginni Rometty to Robert I. Sutton and company examples from Maersk to Nvidia, this volume brings the most current and important management conversations right to your fingertips. This book will inspire you to: Reskill your organization in the age of AI Rid your company of the obstacles that infuriate everyone Understand what today's rainmakers do differently Market sustainable products effectively Choose the right sources of demand to grow your company at the right speed Use strategic thinking to create the life you want This collection of articles includes "Reskilling in the Age of AI," by Jorge Tamayo, Leila Doumi, Sagar Goel, Orsolya Kovacs-Ondrejkovic, and Raffaella Sadun; "How Fast Should Your Company Really Grow?," by Gary P. Pisano; "How to Sustain Your Empathy in Difficult Times," by Jamil Zaki; "The New-Collar Workforce," by Colleen Ammerman, Boris Groysberg, and Ginni Rometty; "Rid Your Organization of Obstacles That Infuriate Everyone," by Robert I. Sutton and Huggy Rao; "Where Does DEI Go from Here?," by Laura Morgan Roberts; "What Today's Rainmakers Do Differently," by Matthew Dixon, Ted McKenna, Rory Channer, and Karen Freeman; "The New Era of Industrial Policy Is Here," by Willy C. Shih; "How to Market Sustainable Products," by Frederic Dalsace and Goutam Challagalla; "What Does 'Stakeholder Capitalism' Mean to You?," by Lynn S. Paine; and "Use Strategic Thinking to Create the Life You Want," by Rainer Strack, Susanne Dyrchs, and Allison Bailey. HBR's 10 Must Reads paperback series is the definitive collection of books for new and experienced leaders alike. Leaders looking for the inspiration that big ideas provide, both to accelerate their own growth and that of their companies, should look no further. HBR's 10 Must Reads series focuses on the core topics that every ambitious manager needs to know: leadership, strategy, change, managing people, and managing yourself. Harvard Business Review has sorted through hundreds of articles and selected only the most essential reading on each topic. Each title includes timeless advice that will be relevant regardless of an ever-changing business environment.

Cynicism is making us sick; Stanford psychologist Dr Jamil Zaki has the cure - a 'ray of light for dark days' (Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author). For thousands of years, people have argued about whether humanity is selfish or generous, cruel or kind. But recently, our answers have changed. In 1972, half of Americans agreed that most people can be trusted; by 2018, that figure had fallen to 30%. Different generations, genders, religions and political parties can't seem to agree on anything, except that they all think human virtue is evaporating. Cynicism is a perfectly understandable response to a world full of injustice and inequality. But in many cases, cynicism is misplaced. Dozens of studies find that people fail to realise how kind, generous and open-minded others really are. And cynical thinking worsens social problems, because our beliefs don't just interpret the world; they change it. When we expect people to be awful, we coax awfulness out of them. Cynicism is a disease, with a history, symptoms and a cure. Through science and storytelling, Jamil Zaki imparts the secret for beating back cynicism: hopeful scepticism. This approach doesn't mean putting our faith in every politician or influencer. It means thinking critically about people and our problems, while simultaneously acknowledging and encouraging our strengths. Far from being naïve, hopeful scepticism is a more precise way of understanding others, and paying closer attention re-balances how you think about human nature. As more of us do this, we can take steps towards building the world we truly want.

Cynicism is making us sick, but Stanford Psychologist Dr. Jamil Zaki has the cure--a "ray of light for dark days" (Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author). In 1972, half of Americans agreed that most people can be trusted; by 2018, only a third did. Different generations, genders, religions, and political parties all think human virtue is evaporating. Cynicism is an understandable response to a world full of injustice and inequality. But in many cases, it is misplaced. Dozens of studies find that people fail to realize how kind, generous, and open-minded others really are. Cynical thinking deepens social problems: when we expect the worst in people, we often bring it out of them. We don't have to remain stuck in this cynicism trap. Through science and storytelling, Jamil Zaki imparts the secret for beating back cynicism: hopeful skepticism--thinking critically about people and our problems, while honoring and encouraging our strengths. Far from being na ve, hopeful skepticism is a precise way of understanding others that can rebalance our view of human nature and help us build the world we truly want. Amazon Editors' Pick for Best Nonfiction Books of 2024

Business success begins with trust. Trust is the basis for all that we do as leaders and as organizations. Employees who trust their employers are more productive and creative. Businesses that earn their customers' trust maintain better relationships and reap better results. Meanwhile, breaches of trust between companies and the public are becoming more frequent—and more costly. If you read nothing else on trust, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you build, maintain, and repair trust, both as a leader and as a company. This book will inspire you to:Develop trust through competence, legitimacy, and impactUnderstand the neuroscience of trustFollow through on your commitments to stakeholdersNegotiate better with an untrustworthy counterpartSee your company through the eyes of your customersRebuild relationships after a breakdown of trustThis collection of articles includes "Begin with Trust," by Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss; "The Neuroscience of Trust," by Paul J. Zak; "Dig, Bridge, Collectively Act," by Tina Opie and Beth A. Livingston; "Rethinking Trust," by Roderick M. Kramer; "How to Negotiate with a Liar," by Leslie K. John; "The Enemies of Trust," by Robert M. Galford and Anne Seibold Drapeau; "Don't Let Cynicism Undermine Your Workplace," by Jamil Zaki; "The Trust Crisis," by Sandra J. Sucher and Shalene Gupta; "Customer Data: Designing for Transparency and Trust," by Timothy Morey, Theodore "Theo" Forbath, and Allison Schoop; "Operational Transparency," by Ryan W. Buell; and "The Organizational Apology," by Maurice E. Schweitzer, Alison Wood Brooks, and Adam D. Galinsky. HBR's 10 Must Reads paperback series is the definitive collection of books for new and experienced leaders alike. Leaders looking for the inspiration that big ideas provide, both to accelerate their own growth and that of their companies, should look no further. HBR's 10 Must Reads series focuses on the core topics that every ambitious manager needs to know: leadership, strategy, change, managing people, and managing yourself. Harvard Business Review has sorted through hundreds of articles and selected only the most essential reading on each topic. Each title includes timeless advice that will be relevant regardless of an ever-changing business environment.

Business success begins with trust. Trust is the basis for all that we do as leaders and as organizations. Employees who trust their employers are more productive and creative. Businesses that earn their customers' trust maintain better relationships and reap better results. Meanwhile, breaches of trust between companies and the public are becoming more frequent—and more costly. If you read nothing else on trust, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you build, maintain, and repair trust, both as a leader and as a company. This book will inspire you to:Develop trust through competence, legitimacy, and impactUnderstand the neuroscience of trustFollow through on your commitments to stakeholdersNegotiate better with an untrustworthy counterpartSee your company through the eyes of your customersRebuild relationships after a breakdown of trustThis collection of articles includes "Begin with Trust," by Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss; "The Neuroscience of Trust," by Paul J. Zak; "Dig, Bridge, Collectively Act," by Tina Opie and Beth A. Livingston; "Rethinking Trust," by Roderick M. Kramer; "How to Negotiate with a Liar," by Leslie K. John; "The Enemies of Trust," by Robert M. Galford and Anne Seibold Drapeau; "Don't Let Cynicism Undermine Your Workplace," by Jamil Zaki; "The Trust Crisis," by Sandra J. Sucher and Shalene Gupta; "Customer Data: Designing for Transparency and Trust," by Timothy Morey, Theodore "Theo" Forbath, and Allison Schoop; "Operational Transparency," by Ryan W. Buell; and "The Organizational Apology," by Maurice E. Schweitzer, Alison Wood Brooks, and Adam D. Galinsky. HBR's 10 Must Reads paperback series is the definitive collection of books for new and experienced leaders alike. Leaders looking for the inspiration that big ideas provide, both to accelerate their own growth and that of their companies, should look no further. HBR's 10 Must Reads series focuses on the core topics that every ambitious manager needs to know: leadership, strategy, change, managing people, and managing yourself. Harvard Business Review has sorted through hundreds of articles and selected only the most essential reading on each topic. Each title includes timeless advice that will be relevant regardless of an ever-changing business environment.

'In this masterpiece, Jamil Zaki weaves together the very latest science with stories that will stay in your heart forever' - Angela Duckworth, author of Grit 'Scientific, gripping, groundbreaking and hopeful. The War for Kindness is the message for our times' - Carol Dweck, author of Mindset Empathy has been on people's mind a lot lately. Philosophers, evolutionary scientists and indeed former President Obama agree that an increase in empathy could advance us beyond the hatred, violence and polarization in which the world seems caught. Others disagree, arguing it is easiest to empathize with people who look, talk or think like us. As a result, empathy can inspire nepotism, racism and worse. Having studied the neuroscience and psychology of empathy for over a decade, Jamil Zaki thinks both sides of this debate have a point. Empathy is sometimes an engine for moral progress, and other times for moral failure. But Zaki also thinks that both sides are wrong about how empathy works. Both scientists and non-scientists commonly argue that empathy is something that happens to you, sort of like an emotional knee-jerk reflex. Second, they believe it happens more to some people than others. This lines people up along a spectrum, with deep empaths on one end and psychopaths on the other. What's more, wherever we are on that spectrum, we're stuck there. In The War for Kindness, Zaki lays out a very different view of how empathy works, one that breaks these two assumptions. Empathy is not a reflex; it's a choice. We choose empathy (or apathy) constantly: when we read a tragic novel, or cross the street to avoid a homeless person, or ask a distraught friend what's the matter. This view has crucial consequences: if empathy is less a trait (like height), and more a skill (like being good at word games), then we can improve at it. By choosing it more often, we can flex our capabilities and grow more empathic over time. We can also "tune" empathy, ramping it up in situations where it will help and turning it down when it might backfire. Zaki takes us from the world of doctors who train medical students to empathise better to social workers who help each other survive empathising too much. From police trainers who help cadets avoid becoming violent cops to political advocates who ask white Americans to literally walk a (dusty) mile in Mexican immigrants' shoes. This book will give you a deepened understanding of how empathy works, how to control it and how to become the type of empathiser you want to be.

"In this masterpiece, Jamil Zaki weaves together the very latest science with stories that will stay in your heart forever."--Angela Duckworth, author of Grit Don't miss Jamil Zaki's TED Talk, "We're experiencing an empathy shortage, but we can fix it together," online now. Empathy is in short supply. We struggle to understand people who aren't like us, but find it easy to hate them. Studies show that we are less caring than we were even thirty years ago. In 2006, Barack Obama said that the United States was suffering from an "empathy deficit." Since then, things seem to have only gotten worse. It doesn't have to be this way. In this groundbreaking book, Jamil Zaki shares cutting-edge research, including experiments from his own lab, showing that empathy is not a fixed trait--something we're born with or not--but rather a skill that can be strengthened through effort. He also tells the stories of people who embody this new perspective, fighting for kindness in the most difficult of circumstances. We meet a former neo-Nazi who is now helping to extract people from hate groups, ex-prisoners discussing novels with the judge who sentenced them, Washington police officers changing their culture to decrease violence among their ranks, and NICU nurses fine-tuning their empathy so that they don't succumb to burnout. Written with clarity and passion, The War for Kindness is an inspiring call to action. The future may depend on whether we accept the challenge. Praise for The War for Kindness"A wide-ranging practical guide to making the world better."--NPR "Relating anecdotes and test cases from his fellow researchers, news events and the imaginary world of literature and entertainment, Zaki makes a vital case for 'fighting for kindness.' . . . If he's right--and after reading The War for Kindness, you'll probably think so--Zaki's work is right on time." --San Francisco Chronicle "In this landmark book, Jamil Zaki gives us a revolutionary perspective on empathy: Empathy can be developed, and, when it is, people, relationships, organizations, and cultures are changed."--Carol Dweck, author of Mindset