The Power of Nice

This weekend I wrapped up a short little book by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval, entitled The Power of Nice. It boasts being a national bestseller with the foreword written by television host Jay Leno. The authors run a huge advertising agency out of New York called The Kaplan Thaler Group. They are responsible for things like the Toys 'R Us Jingle and the Aflac duck.

I don't know about you, but I could always use some help being nicer. The basis of this book is the idea that "nice guys" don't finish last. It argues the exact opposite and gives several good tips and reminders on how being nice to others can take you a lot further in your career.

I enjoyed the book a lot up until I approached the end. You see Chapter 5 of the book is all about why you should "Help Your Enemies". Well, then I get to Chapter 8, "Shut Up and Listen". The first story is how these ladies took a CEO of a competitor out to lunch...just to talk. Their point was, if you'll be nice and take interest in others they will divulge a lot of information that you can use to better yourself. So, what did they learn from this CEO? They learned about some leads that they were not aware of and went after them. This CEO and his company were already making plans to pitch ideas when these ladies swooped in and took it away from them. Do you see the problem I have now?

Was that nice? Was that helping your enemies? It sounded more like manipulation to me. I don't know, this other CEO could have been a jerk and had it coming, but what if he wasn't such a bad guy. Didn't they just break their own rules on being nice? Anyway, I feel bad that my review is not "nicer" because most of the book is good. I just need clarification on that story. That's all.

I'd still add it to your list since it is so short.