It is crucial whether others cooperate with you.

Work is more like basketball or soccer than like table tennis. Oftentimes, whether you get something done isn’t up to you alone.

A few kind words in your day-to-day interactions can largely defuse the other person’s hostility and sense of competition, making them far more willing to help you in many situations.

There are many ways to secure cooperation. Ceding benefits is the costliest approach; treating people to meals costs time and money. The cheapest method? Flattery.

If you want to scale things up, you need to understand that all talent and all strength—including those currently competing against you—can be rallied to your side.