I saw a piece in the paper this week about a book that was just published entitled "The Power of Nice." The authors are advertising execs who claim to have become successful by being nice instead of being cut-throat, backstabbing sharks.
This Being Nice philosophy is somewhat counter to the popular culture of competitveness, being the best, doing what Machievelli would do. I like the sound of it, but I am a bit skeptical. If I had to compile a ranked list of factors for success, "niceness" would appear very near the bottom, if at all.
In my experience I have noticed that not many nice people get put in charge of things. The rewards system of most organizations favors the individual who can concentrate on a single-minded organizational goal without sentimental regard to personal/human considerations. Like a good chess player, the future leader must sacrifice some pawns to capture a knight. And so on.
I am not saying I like it. I am just saying that's how it is.
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