Case Incident 1 THE RISE OF THE NICE CEO? 1. Do you think Sutton is wrong and that the contrasting fortunes, and personalities, of Nardelli, McNerney, and Immelt are coincidental? Why or why not? 2. Do you think the importance of being “nice” varies by industry or type of job? How so?
3. How comfortable would you be working in a culture like that of Success Factors, where a certain level of “niceness” is part of the job description?
4. Do you think being “nice” is the same as the Big Five trait of agreeableness? If so, do you think companies should screen out those who score low on agreeableness?
5. Earlier we discussed the fact that entrepreneurs score significantly lower than managers on agreeableness. How would you reconcile this finding with Sutton’s point?