All you have to do is ask

Imagine you're under a big deadline for a project and you're feeling overwhelmed. Or you're looking for a job but can't find what you're looking for. Or you're desperately craving sold-out concert tickets and have missed all your opportunities. What do these problems have in common? They can all be solved simply by reaching out to a colleague, friend, or wider network and asking for help. Studies show that asking for help makes us better and less frustrated in our jobs. It also helps us find new opportunities and talent, opens up new avenues of ideas and solutions, and boosts team performance. It also helps us get what we need outside of the work environment. Yet, we rarely allow ourselves to ask. Fortunately, research shows that asking for—and getting—what we need is much easier than we think. Here, Baker shares a set of strategies—used at companies like Google, General Motors, and IDEO—that individuals, teams, and leaders can use to make asking for help a personal and organizational habit. These include: SMART criteria for asking for help; easy-to-use routines that make asking a core part of meetings; mini-games that stimulate asking within teams; the Exchange Circle, a guided activity that allows individuals to tap into the power of giving in a network; and more. All You Have to Do Is Ask builds on the work of other books, showing us how to activate the cycle of giving and receiving by asking for what we need.