More Champagne, please

It was an early-morning flight to Brisbane.  The severe storms in Sydney meant delays, long queues and grumpy passengers.  The crew came around offering coffee and tea.  The man next to me, with a smile and cheeky glint, said “Any Champagne, please?” The hostess replied, laughing: “It’s a bit early for the C word!” They bantered back and forth and soon everyone around them was.  She returned shortly after and pressed a bottle of Champagne into his hands and he was delighted.  Ahh – it does pay to be charming!

Nobody knows this more than Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval, who work in one of the toughest industries: advertising.  They share their success secrets in their New York Times bestseller The Power of Nice.

Kaplan and Thaler believe our culture propagates social Darwinism: a ‘me versus you’ mentality.  They moved to the top of the industry by behaving contrary to conventional wisdom: by being nice.  They have, over a decade, built up the Kaplan Thaler Group to one billion in billings, using chocolates and flowers rather than pitchforks and spears.

It’s a simple yet powerful philosophy. They also agree ‘nice’ has an image problem.  Nice gets no respect.  Kaplan and Thaler convincingly argue, however, that nice is the toughest four-letter word you can use in business, as it means moving forward with clear-eyed confidence when you place other peoples’ needs equal to your own.

Nice people do finish first.  (And enjoy the Champagne!)

What is your experience?  Do nice people finish first?