Nice Companies Finish First

The era of authoritarian cowboy CEOs like Jack Welch and Lee Iacocca is over. In an age of increasing transparency and access, it just doesn't pay to be a jerkto employees, customers, competitors, or anyone else. In Nice Companies Finish First, Shankman, a pioneer in modern PR, marketing, advertising, social media, and customer service, profiles the famously nice executives, entrepreneurs, and companies that are setting the standard for success in this new collaborative world.

He explores the new hallmarks of effective leadership, including loyalty, optimism, humility, and a reverence for customer service, and shows how leaders like Jet Blue's Dave Needleman, Tony Hsieh of Zappos, Steve Jobs of Apple, Ken Chenault of Amex, Indra Nooyi of Pepsi, and the team behind Patagonia harness these traits to build productive, open, and happy workplaces for the benefit of their employees, themselves, and the bottom line.

Shankman is the founder and CEO of The Geek Factory, Inc., a marketing, branding, and PR company with clients worldwide, including AmEx, the US Department of Defense, Walt Disney World, and many others. He is the author of Can We Do That?!, which has been named one of six "must read" books by PR Channel; Nice Companies Finish First; and Zombie Loyalists. He is a frequent speaker at such venues as South by Southwest and The Public Relations Society of America.

Shankman sits on the advisory boards of several companies, as well as on the NASA Civilian Advisory Council.