Nice Guys Can Get the Corner Office: Eight Strategies for Winning in Business Without Being a Jerk

by Charles C. Manz, Timothy R. Hiltabiddle, Russ C. Edelman, et al.

Book Overview

How to succeed without being an SOB?or a pushover Many people suffer from Nice Guy Syndrome, held back from higher levels of success by being too selfless at work. It's a tricky problem, because if... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1591842093
• ISBN13: 9781591842095
• Release Date: July 2008
• Publisher: Portfolio
• Length: 274 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.7" x 8.1"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

A Great Read!

The strategies offered in this book are very insightful. The fact that the strategies are backed by an incredible amount of research with real-life, successful, nice guys makes it all the more compelling. As an 18 year entrepreneur, I recongnized many of the things that I wished I had known about myself and my coworkers long ago. A fantastic read!

Excellent Concepts in a Well Organized

Much praise to Edelman, Hiltabiddle and Manz! They have put together a very interesting look at a syndrome typically found in life but not investigated until now within business. The book is delivered through the "Nice Guy Bill of Rights" with one chapter dedicated per Bill. In their delivery the authors have struck a great balance between stories, effective quotes from C-Level interview subjects and general tutelage. The book is laid out very clear and provides chapter by chapter summaries recapping the critical concepts. The organization and consistency in how they've presented the book is perfect for the "on-the-go" target audience. A great business book for any "Nice Guys" but also a very good read for anyone in business to help understand the syndromes that face "Nice Guys".

Eye opening observations and solutions for the hyper-nice.

My wife and I have struggled and argued for years about being too nice in our own business and in our relationships with neighbors, friends, and even some of our extended family members. I have always thought my wife was guilty of being "Too Nice" during interactions with our contracting company's customers and our subcontractors and vendors. I ordered the book and intended to read it first, so that I could convince her to read it, in hopes she might "see the light" and tighten up her instincts and behaviors to better protect the interests of our core family and our business. WOW did I get a surprise! I had intended to quickly skim the book, highlighting all the sections that I thought could be helpful to my wife. Two chapters in, and I found myself reading slowly and highlighting many of the sections ....not for her....but for me instead. With each new symptom of "over niceness" and each corresponding example story, I realized that I too, was touched by symptoms of the nice guy syndrome. I am guilty of often taking criticism of my work as a personal criticism of me..... I do go to great lengths to avoid conflicts.......I have even been known to get periodic bouts of "navel gazing" and "speak up diarrhea". This book is wonderful because each chapter is complete and discusses the common behavioral weaknesses along with practical strategies and solutions for each issue. The insights from the corporate executive interviews are excellent and highlight the benefits of addressing these problems at the individual level as well as the corporate organizational level. "Nice Guys Can Get the Corner Office" is well organized and the three authors styles, blend together to make a seamless, easy reading book, that gives those of us who are afflicted with too much niceness, the genuine hope and real tools and expectations that we can use to improve ourselves. By the end of the book I felt truly entitled to my eight listed specific rights and I feel confident that I can apply them in my everyday life at work and around my town. My wife has started reading the book and I hope she will discover the she too is entitled to reducing her concessions to others without losing her nice girl reputation. If these ideas gain momentum in corporate America, a lot of nice people will feel and perform better at work and ultimately be more successful in living a truly "Nice" life. Well done Russ Edelman, Timothy Hiltabiddle, and Charles Manz!

Readable & Actionable!

So you feel stymied by the cut throat, politicized environment that you work in? Are concerned whether people's perceptions of you are affecting your career? This book is a must read! I found the examples real and credible, the style enjoyable, and the organization easily accessible for the inevitable need to reference it. You'll find yourself making annotations on how you can affect your own behavior and take control of your career. Kudos to Edelman, Hiltabiddle, and Manz on a well written guide for the rest of us, especially for nice-guy technical gearheads that are concerned about that step into management.

Being "nice" and results-driven are not mutually exclusive.

Up front, I need to clarify three key points. First, as Edelman, Hiltabiddle, and Manz explain in their Introduction, the word "nice" includes many positive, desirable attributes and is not about being weak or soft. They make several distinctions between being "nice" and "too nice." Also, their use of the word "guy" is not meant to be gender specific. Virtually all of the information [and advice] in this book is directly relevant to both men and women in the business world. In fact, 46 percent of the people surveyed for this book were women." Finally, it soon became obvious to me that "corner office" is used as a symbol for career success and has little (if anything) to do with the physical location of an executive's office. This book can be of substantial benefit to both an executive who has a "nice guy" among her or his direct reports, and, to any "nice guy" who is currently frustrated by her or his career success thus far. Most of the material was generated by the authors' interviews of 22 CEOs, founders, and thought leaders whose responses supplemented, challenged, and confirmed the authors' thinking. They and their affiliations are identified on Pages 7-9 and their input is quoted throughout the narrative to help clarify a key point. It should also be noted that the authors conducted more than 350 surveys and obtained a statistical assessment from these surveys. For example, one of the data points is that 61% of the participants believe they are "too nice" in business and that 50% of them indicated that their managers are "too nice." Others will have their own reasons for praising this book. Here are three of mine. Edelman, Hiltabiddle, and Manz make brilliant use of several reader-friendly devices while devoting a Separate chapter to each of eight strategies recommended for "winning in business without being a jerk." These devices include Stories, Motives and Symptoms, Inventory, Controls, and then a Summary of key points at the conclusion of each chapter. Readers will appreciate these devices (especially the Summaries) because they will facilitate, indeed expedite frequent reviews of the key points later. I also appreciate the fact that the authors have drawn upon an abundance of real-world experiences (theirs as well as their interviewees') because their focus throughout the book is on what achieves the desired results, what doesn't, and why. Presumably the information and advice they provide will help at least some executives who are "too nice" to become somewhat more effective but, in my opinion, the same information and advice will be of much greater value to other executives who are "nice" and more likely to make appropriate changes in how they interact with others. On Page 3, Edelman, Hiltabiddle, and Manz contrast the Old definition of "nice" (i.e. "A conditioned, well-intentioned approach to relationships") and the New definition of "nice" (i.e. "A constructive and consciously chosen approach to relationships"). Whereas so