Mean People Suck: How Empathy Leads to Bigger Profits and a Better Life

Brenner’s book presents an explored yet compelling perspective, challenging traditional corporate beliefs in hierarchy and strong-man behavior through his strong emphasis on empathy. His approach, melding data with heartwarming stories, highlights the tangible benefits of embracing a more human-centric corporate philosophy — including its often-overlooked impact on customers and their behavior. 

Moreover, the message resonates universally. While primarily focused on corporate settings, the essence of the book—the importance of kindness and understanding—is applicable to various aspects of life, a point the author himself delights in underscoring.

While Brenner’s central message is praiseworthy, the book falls short in providing sufficient strategies for implementing its core values into corporate culture. “Mean People Suck” offers plenty of valuable advice on how to conduct oneself as a boss, middle manager, employee, or simply as an individual. However, it somewhat fails to synthesize this guidance into a cohesive framework for understanding, interpreting, and actively participating in corporate culture, or integrating it with existing structures. 

Additionally, in our opinion, Brenner relies too heavily on anecdotes from his business and personal experiences to support his arguments and build his evidence base. While this approach certainly enhances the book’s readability (as expected in a book about empathy), we would have appreciated more concrete case studies, statistics, and examples from various disciplines. 

Lastly, the universal applicability of Brenner’s approach may be questioned in some industries, markets, or cultural contexts where workplace dynamics significantly differ from the Western corporate settings that he primarily references.

Are you happy? Like your job? Most people report low engagement and enthusiasm in their careers. And point their finger at a negative work culture, a mean boss… co-worker… or customer. Mean people suck. 

Some leaders believe that they need to be mean in order to be effective. Their lack of compassion creates negative relationships that lowers performance and profits! 

Michael Brenner’s “Mean People Suck“ uses real-life experience and proven research to show why instead of blaming others, we can look inside ourselves, and learn how to use empathy to defeat “mean” in every situation. This insightful guide shows leaders, and employees how more emotional communication increases profits and enhances lives. You’ll learn: 

• Why employees are unhappy and the power of empathy to turn things around. 
• How organizational charts disengage employees by neglecting the human element. 
• Why empathy seems counter-intuitive to success. 
• The secrets to a happy, meaningful, and impactful career. 

If you’re ready to enjoy a more gratifying professional and personal life, this book’s stories and proven tips will help get you there – even if Mean People Suck.

“Mean People Suck” is an ideal read for managers, HR professionals, corporate leaders, and anyone aspiring to gain a deeper understanding of the significance of workplace culture. Those seeking to revamp or influence their organization’s ethos will find this book particularly enlightening. Additionally, it can prove beneficial to individuals interested in fostering and improving relationships in their personal lives. 

For a more in-depth exploration of the importance of empathy in workplace environments, consider reading “Radical Candor” (Senteo Review) by Kim M. Scott. In this book, Scott identifies the four most common types of behavior and advocates for a combination of empathy and straightforwardness. 

You might also find interest in “Tribal Leadership” (Senteo Review), where David Logan and co-authors identify the five main groups of people that tend to form in any size organization. The book helps leaders advocate for stronger communication and emphasizes the importance of maintaining clear values of caring and consideration for the people around you.