Book Summary: The Power of Nice How to Conquer the Business World by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval

The Kaplan Thaler Group is a billion dollar advertising company. The founders attribute their success to hard work and the “power of Nice.” Any book written by business women who make a billion is worth reading. Some things to consider when being NICE: Nice is luckier in love, Nice makes more money, Nice is healthier, and Nice spends less time in court.

Why is this important to me?

I do not want to waste your time. The goal is to provide you with high-value content that you can use today. Two critical points for fostering teamwork are sharing credit and being nice.

Jay Leno, the host of the Tonight Show, celebrated his 10th anniversary by awarding each staff member $1,000 for each year of service. He did it out of his own pocket. Some members have been with him the whole time and there are 175 people working on the show. Jay is the best nice guy. The show’s title is “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” not The Tonight Show STARRING Jay Leno.” This subtle difference sums up the entire book.

Linda interviewed Warren Buffet and read in his biography that he loves Cherry Soda. When she met him, she gave him a Cherry Soda and her response was “Linda, I’ll tell you anything you want to know because you brought me a Cherry Soda. Simple gestures can move mountains.”

The Power of Nice consists of 10 chapters and is an easy to read book. For reasons of time, I will outline three key concepts

Sweeten the deal: When working with clients or prospects, feed them. This simple gesture will earn you more business. Your concern must be genuine and not false, otherwise people will see right through you. We are unique with all of our sales calls and service installations in our business. We bring bagels, muffins, and coffee to every engagement. I can tell you with certainty that we are the only company in our space that does this and I can tell you that this helped us win four of our biggest deals in company history. People want to work with a considerate team.

Help your enemies: Business is circular and you never know where people end up or who they can influence. If you’re striving for win-win relationships and you know your competitor can service one type of account better than you, then you should pass the business on to them. You never know what the future holds. George Washington insisted that prisoners of war be treated well. He knew that after the war, these people would be neighbors to the soldiers. Today’s enemy is tomorrow’s ally.

Shut up and listen: active listening builds rapport and you can’t learn when your mouth is moving. Listening and asking questions gives you the luxury of helping people figure out their problems without criticism. You also want to tell the truth because if you’re pretending to be nice, people will smell it from a mile away and won’t work with you. People want to work with people they like.

The Power of Nice is a book worth reading. In a fast-paced world, simple principles are sometimes forgotten. Being nice to people will help you come full circle. Emerson’s Law of Compensation basically says that if you want more, give more. Real donors are NICE and kind people.

I hope you have found this brief summary useful. The key to any new idea is to work it into your daily routine until it becomes a habit. Habits are formed in as little as 21 days. One thing you can take away from this book is to question your criticism. Instead of being critical or attacking someone’s behavior, ask a question about the outcome. If the window is open, don’t say “Close the window,” but ask “Is it cold in here?” The result will be the same: a closed window.