Marcus Lemonis is a CEO, self-made millionaire, serial entrepreneur and star of CNBC's "The Profit." Yet for all of his success, Lemonis didn't learn about business from books, which he thinks are a bit "outdated."
There is one book, however, that he says is worth reading: Adam Grant's "Give and Take" had a profound impact on Lemonis.
In the book, the Wharton business school professor and New York Times bestselling author breaks people into three categories at work: givers, takers and matchers.
"It really talks about the different types of people that exist in the marketplace and in the universe," Lemonis told CNBC. "There are people who give of themselves and they make sacrifices and they don't wait for things to happen to them.
"And there are other people, and you know who you are, who are just takers, who just want to get a free ride or want to get a free introduction or want to get the best deal — and they forget that there's a balance there."
The third category, matchers, expect to give and get. "If you're a matcher, you believe in tit for tat, and your relationships are governed by even exchanges of favors," Grant writes in the book.
Grant makes the argument that professional givers, those who help others in the workplace without an expectation of getting anything in return, end up being the most successful.
To be sure, Lemonis isn't the only one who is a fan of Grant's work. The book has received widespread praise from other successful entrepreneurs, authors and celebrities.
Determining whether someone is a giver or taker affects how Lemonis interacts with people.
"I usually spend a good amount of time when I meet people quietly determining whether I think they're givers or takers," he said. "And it will tell me how to negotiate with them and how to navigate around them. If I notice that they're takers, I'm going to be a lot tougher than I would be if they were givers. A lot tougher."
