Survival Through Cooperation
- Homo sapiens survived while other hominins went extinct due to our ability to cooperate and show empathy.
- Success should not be about competition but about working together and caring for each other.
- Example: The Zuni tribe’s race showed cooperation triumphs over competition.

Actionable item: Encourage collaboration over competition in teams and organizations.

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Importance of Social Connections and Inclusion
- Two types of social ties: strong ties (close relationships) and weak ties (acquaintances with diverse perspectives).
- Weak ties provide novel information and promote innovation and opportunities.
- Diversity in teams only benefits when followed by inclusion, meaning everyone feels equally welcomed and valued.
- The "Cyberball Experiment" showed that social exclusion causes pain similar to physical pain, highlighting why inclusion matters.

Actionable item: Foster inclusive environments where everyone is included and feels psychologically safe.

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Psychological Safety in Teams
- Study by Amy Edmondson found teams with inclusive and safe atmospheres report errors and learn from them, unlike formal teams that hide mistakes.
- Google’s research on 180 teams confirmed that psychological safety is the top factor for high performing teams.
- Psychological safety means people feel safe to be themselves, to speak up, share ideas, or admit mistakes without fear of punishment.

Actionable item: Create psychologically safe workplaces where mistakes can be openly discussed and learned from.

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Embracing Failure and Learning From It
- Failure is part of success, and many major innovations (Viagra, Post-its, Slack) came from unexpected results.
- Encouraging acceptance of failure leads to creativity and innovation.

Actionable item: Normalize failure and treat it as a valuable learning opportunity.

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Impact of Expectations and Bias (Self-Fulfilling Prophecy)
- Study showed teachers’ expectations influenced students’ IQ growth even when names were random, demonstrating self-fulfilling prophecy.
- Expectations affect performance positively or negatively in education and workplaces.
- Biases and stereotypes are often unconscious but influence opportunities (e.g., lower callbacks for job applicants with foreign or female names).

Actionable item: Be aware of and actively counteract implicit biases; support all team members with positive expectations.

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Paying Attention & Mental Health Awareness
- The importance of paying genuine attention to coworkers rather than jumping to conclusions (e.g., attributing laziness instead of understanding personal struggles).
- Mental health issues are common and affect everyone, regardless of status.
- Raising awareness of mental health and encouraging asking for help is crucial.
- Poland has a high suicide rate and professional burnout; call to change stigmas like “boys don’t cry”.

Actionable items:
- Promote mental health awareness and compassion in the workplace.
- Encourage open conversations and offer support.
- Use simple tools like asking “How can I help you?” to better understand individuals’ needs.

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Critique of Work Culture Focused on Continuous Success
- Modern culture, especially on platforms like LinkedIn, pushes constant productivity and success, often at personal cost.
- Reminder: Life is more than work; long hours won’t be remembered by loved ones.
- Being kind—to others, oneself, and even technology—is what sustains us.

Actionable item: Foster a more balanced work culture that values wellbeing and kindness over relentless productivity.

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Final Key Messages
- Cooperation and empathy gave humans an evolutionary edge; continue this legacy in modern organizations.
- Inclusion and psychological safety improve individual relief and organizational success.
- Awareness and action against biases and mental health stigma are essential.
- Failure is a plot twist, not the end—embrace it.
- Kindness is a fundamental survival skill in an increasingly mechanized world.