David Burkus: Pick a Fight

David’s work is changing how companies approach innovation, collaboration, and leadership. He is the award-winning author of four books and offers a fresh perspective on how to improve our organizations and build better teams by blending the most current research in psychology, sociology, economics, and network science.

His books have been translated in more than a dozen languages and his work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, USAToday, Fast Company, and more. He has consistently been named one of the world’s top business thought leaders by Thinkers50 and his TED Talk has been viewed over 2 million times. He is the author of the audiobook, Pick a Fight: How Great Teams Find a Purpose Worth Rallying Around*.

In this conversation, David and I discuss why picking a fight is a powerful motivation, but important to do with wisdom. Most organizations won’t benefit from starting fights with rivals. Instead, discover one of three fights that will support a cause worth fighting for.

Key Points

Avoid fights with rivals.

Picking a fight is a powerful motivator; but leaders need to pick their fight wisely. Instead of someone to fight, they need to find a cause worth fighting for.

Three kinds of fights that are useful for leaders to engage in:

The Revolutionary Fight

The Underdog Fight

The Ally Fight

Resources Mentioned

3 Days To A More Motivated And Aligned Team

Book Notes

Download my highlights from Pick a Fight in PDF format (free membership required).

Related Episodes

The Power of Weak Connections, with David Burkus (episode 347)

How to Clarify What’s Important, with Ron Williams (episode 410)

Embrace a Just Cause, with Simon Sinek (episode 473)

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