A brand new concept

In the January/February 2008 magazine of WOMEN IN BUSINESS (a publication of the American Business Women's Association) I just learned of a new book -- The Power of Nice by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval.

They have major points:

1. Positive impressions are like seeds - they grow.

2. You never know how a small act of kindness can reward you many times over.

3. People change - You need to be nice to everyone you meet -- plumbers, security guard, cleaning person and NOT just your superiors and peers. The cabdriver today maybe a wealthy businessman in the future and he might use your services if you were nice to him when no one else was!

4. Nice must be automatic - faking nice won't work. It must be an automatic response in order to be sincere.

5. Negative impressions are like germs. You might not see the immediate impact of your negativity but it might fester and grow into something really nasty.

6. You will know -- Niceness is a powerful force and it can literally take on a life of its own. Random acts of kindness spread and grow. You will be repaid many times over for your random acts of kindness.

We should all do 5 nice things each day. Such as say thank you, ask your friends about their lives, donate money to charity, compliment a stranger. See how good you feel!

Model yourself after the kind of person you admire. Be the person you admire.

When I was a kid my dad had a plaque that said --
IT'S NICE TO BE IMPORTANT BUT IT'S MORE IMPORTANT TO BE NICE.

I still have that plaque. It seems that my dad was way ahead of his time!