Top Dog

Are you a carrot or a stick person? Do you Play to Win or Play Not to Lose? What is more motivating, catastrophe or success? Would we all be carrying iPhones if Apple, not so long ago, hadn't been afraid Microsoft would destroy them? And was Microsoft too comfortable to ever invent such a game-changing device? The drive to be the fittest has always been at the core of how we understand ourselves from Sun Tzu and Machiavelli to Adam Smith and Darwin, but what do we really know about it from our own everyday lives? Studying competitive arenas from the workplace, the stock market, sport to politics, the military and schools and using the latest findings in genetics, neuroscience and behavioural psychology, Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman unveil the astounding, often counter-intuitive truths about how we compete and the crucial ingredients that sometimes stand between winning and losing. Why are men typically prepared to gamble on long or even stupid odds and women aren't? Why do some less talented students consistently outperform their smarter class mates in crucial exams? Why do higher levels of testosterone actually make you less selfish and more cooperative and cognitively astute? Why do so many market-leading companies cede their top position because they become risk averse at the wrong times? Why do sports teams where the pay differential between players is greatest win more? The answer to all this and more is in New York Times no.1 bestselling author Po Bronson's new book Top Dog u The Science of Winning and Losing