Wayne Baker, Ph.D., author of All You Have to Do Is Ask: How to Master the Most Important Skill for Success.

Wayne Baker and Bill Ringle discuss the art of asking others for assistance and overcoming the most common obstacles for small business leaders.

Interview Insights

Key 3 Takeaways from this Episode

Research shows that when we can ask for help, we are less frustrated at work or home.
Sometimes we don’t ask because we think no one is willing or able to help. Research shows the opposite: people are willing and able to help if you ask them.
Getting the support, we need to achieve our goals at work and for all the rest of life is too often inhibited by difficulties we face in asking for it.

Show Notes

Wayne describes how his father encouraged him, particularly how it helped Wayne ask for help from a middle school French teacher who he found intimidating. [1:35]
How Wayne became the Director of the Center for Positive Organizations. [4:06]
Ways that positive psychology publications influenced his work. [6:22]
Wayne talks about positive deviance and reflective best self. [7:10]
Most people will help you when you ask, his research and experience have shown. [12:50]
Wayne describes a model for making an effective request. [15:13]
Wayne shared an example of a person who applied this practice [16:46]
The reciprocity ring is explained. [24:50]
Wayne tells about the “rapid-fire session” and how it can be used. [29:50]
Wayne describes the glow of giving. [32:30]
My Quest for the Best Lightning Round begins [33:17]

Expert Bio

Authored by Wayne Baker

Recommended book: Achieving Success Through Social Capital

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He has contributed to Harvard Business Review, Chief Executive Magazine, and Sloan Management Review, focusing on social capital, social networks, generosity, and positive organizations. A frequent guest speaker and management consultant, Baker is a co-founder and board member of Give and Take Inc., developers of the collaboration technologies based on principles in All You Have to Do Is Ask.

Prior to joining the Michigan faculty, he was on the faculty at the University of Chicago business school. He earned his Ph.D. in sociology from Northwestern University and was a post-doctoral research fellow at Harvard University.