The Evolution of Cooperation

Read this book if you say, “Let’s find a win-win solution.”

Sadly, most aspiring leaders misuse and abuse the term “win-win.” Instead of considering it a strategic option that should be thoughtfully applied, they treat it as a moral virtue. They then espouse win-win while striving for what I call “win-no-lose”—the hope that “we” win but “they” don’t realize they lost.

This makes building coalitions and collaborating terribly difficult precisely at the time in history when we desperately need to do these well. The book is full of surprising insights (like why turning the other cheek—advocated by most religions—doesn’t work).… show more.

In a computer game where individuals interact by either cooperating or defecting, what strategies would be most successful?

Axelrod asks that question with a famous 1970s computer tournament where “agents” adopt specific strategies to compete in classic repeated Prisoners’ Dilemma games.

In telling the story of his unique tournament, with its varied competing strategies and outcomes, much is revealed about strategy attributes and their strengths and weaknesses: we learn that it pays to be nice (but also forgiving).

The book’s main act, however, is when these and other tournament variations are shown to offer insights all around us; about arms… show more.

I like this book because Robert Axelrod has put powerful empirical research around what I have been researching for years—the power of collaboration and positive reciprocity.

While it is easy for people to get the need to embed a collaborative spirit into their deals, unfortunately, many companies fall victim to saying cooperation on the one hand and then turning around and playing hard-ball negotiations on the other. Axelrod’s pioneering research on the "Prisoner's Dilemma" shows the consequences of what can happen if individuals don’t take a path of cooperation and make short-term I-win-you-lose-decisions. This book is a must-read for anyone… show more.