The Power of Nice

Finished December 13
The Power of Nice: how to conquer the business world with kindness written and read by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval
The authors and the CEO and the president of Kaplan Thaler Group, one of the fastest-growing ad agencies in the US. They cite their own experiences as well as those of others to illustrate how being nice doesn't mean being walked on, but means being respectful and thoughtful of others. They talk about saying "yes" and how it doesn't always mean that you committ yourself to doing yet another thing, but that it can also mean helping those asking to find the right person that can help them. The examples given here are great at illustrating how the concept works, and the "nice-cubes" offered throughout give workable exercises to help you down the path of niceness.
The book encourages us to be more aware of how our behaviour affects others and to act in a way that we can respect in order to feel good about ourselves no matter what happens. I try to do this, but found ways to think about being nice that I can work harder at.
A great, thought-provoking read with insight and humour.