Life's too short to be pissy. Too many people in our personal and professional lives seem to have a perpetual scowl, and go through life assuming others are out to get them.

Your business is competitive, and your rivals want to eat your lunch. Politics are at play in your office every day. Meanness is everywhere.

But life's too short to engage in that. And just because you decide to be nice, instead of mean, doesn't mean you're giving up competitive advantage of business opportunities.

Take Linda Kaplan, for example. Her ad agency is responsible for the AFLAC duck (like it or not) as well as the slogan "I don't wanna grow up, I'm a Toys 'R' Us Kid." Her ad agency is one of the fastest growing in America.

She's also the author of The Power of Nice: How to Conquer the Business World with Kindness. In it, she proves that a wholly different attitude in the office, with customers and clients, and even amongst competitors can not only be a powerful differentiator, but can also actually win far more business and success than you'd think. Look no further than Linda's own agency to find a great example.