NEWBURYPORT — Four years ago, Newburyport resident Russ Edelman and an account representative had just finished an unproductive sales meeting with a client.

"I asked him, 'What did we leave with?'" Edelman said. "If we invest time to meet with a client, we should take that opportunity to pursue new opportunities."

He'd been involved in business for more than 20 years and was noticing a trend.

"We both suffered from bouts of Nice Guy Syndrome," Edelman said.

It was after that meeting that an idea crystallized in Edelman's head. He approached fellow Newburyport resident Tim Hiltabiddle with the concept, and both agreed that nice guys were struggling in business. Over a couple of beers at Not Your Average Joe's, the two penned the "nice guy bill of rights" on a napkin, which empowers nice guys to be more aggressive and decisive.

In February 2006, their first article, a fictional account told from a nice guy's point of view, appeared in the Harvard Business Review. Shortly thereafter, an agent picked up their book proposal (co-authored by Charles Manz), and in July, Penguin Portfolio published "Nice Guys Can Get the Corner Office: Eight Strategies for Winning in Business Without Being a Jerk."

The authors interviewed more than 20 top executives, including Bert Jacobs of Life is Good, Jon Luther of Dunkin' Donuts and John Pepper of the Disney Corporation, as well as dozens of average nice guys to prove that "nice" doesn't mean "weak." In fact, it may be the most underrated and overlooked attribute in business today.

"We're trying to redefine 'nice' from someone who just tries to please everyone, to effectively and authentically nice, which is empowering," Hiltabiddle said.

Edelman and Hiltabiddle are co-founders of the consulting firm Nice Guy Strategies (with their co-author, Charles Manz), which hosts talks, workshops and seminars discussing some of the same strategies featured in the book. Hiltabiddle is also an actor, graphic designer and a member of the marketing team at the Firehouse Center for the Arts, as well as being a partner and Chief Creative Officer in a marketing firm. Edelman is an entrepreneur with two successful technology-consulting companies to his credit.

"We're coaching nice guys to be more balanced," Hiltabiddle said. "Nice Guy Syndrome gets in the way of tough decisions and job situations."

The book gives a look at why being a nice guy in business and life has more advantages than suggested by the conventional and outdated business idiom: "Nice guys finish last."

"Overly nice guys struggle because they want to please 100 percent of people 100 percent of the time," Edelman said. "They want to be popular. But you can't make everyone happy all the time."

The authors interviewed over 350 people and found that 61 percent struggled with being too nice. The book features strategies and prescriptions to overcome Nice Guy Syndrome. The authors found that half of people surveyed think their managers are too nice.

"People in the business world can't take things personally," Hiltabiddle said. "You want to be a good listeners and accept criticism, but you have to coat yourself with a little bit of Teflon."

Edelman said you can learn from the jerks you work with.

"There's positive virtues in a jerk: They're more assertive, they define specific boundaries, and they speak their mind," Edelman said. "We're trying to teach overly nice guys to learn from jerks without becoming one."

If you go

What: "Nice Guys Can Get the Corner Office" authors talk and book-signing

Where: Jabberwocky BookShop, 50 Water St., Tannery Mill No. 1

When Thursday, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m.

For more information: 978-465-9359 or jabberwocky.booksense.com