Two books argue that people are born with the traits that make them succeed or fail in the workplace. One relies primarily on primate studies, the other on fledging genetic research.
On the other side, two authors contend - as business book writers usually do - that future managers can be made by mastering specific traits. One outlines a way to think differently, and the other suggests ways to build on mental qualities.
Debate over nature and nurture may never be settled, but the book that breaks the tie - in nurture's favor, at least for now - is a fable involving marshmallows. Really.
But before we get to that, let's examine the arguments, starting with nature.
In the most entertaining of the current crop of books, "The Ape in the Corner Office" (Crown $25), Richard Conniff, a longtime nature writer, argues that it is silly to expect people to be much better than chimpanzees, given that "by some estimates the difference between our two species may be a matter of fewer than 50 genes out of perhaps 25,000 shared in common."
Still, he understands that people may not like owning up to the fact that in our words, not his, "I'll be a monkey's uncle," may hit too close to home. As Mr. Conniff puts it: "One reason management consultants have generally refrained from pointing out the remarkable and instructive similarities in hierarchical behavior between humans and other primates is to spare the feelings of the executives who hired them."
Still, Mr. Conniff contends that we should pay attention to the way apes live, so we know what kind of behavior to expect not only from the boss, but also from the person in the next cubicle, in order to increase our chances for success in the corporate jungle.
Not surprisingly, some primate research is contradictory. Citing the cooperation that exists among apes, Mr. Conniff writes that "nature built us to be nice," yet he is quick to point out that in any group of monkeys, the aforementioned hierarchies are clear, and that apes constantly battle for status.
What does all of this mean for us? Mr. Conniff writes that work groups should remain intact from one task to another, because people, like apes, are social animals who get along better when they know one another; that employees should expect hierarchies, despite all talk to the contrary, and that people need to pay attention to nonverbal cues, just as primates do.
Another author also makes a case for nature over nurture. In "Instinct" (Warner Business Books, $24.95), Thomas L. Harrison, the chief executive of Omnicom's diversified agency services, writes that whether we succeed at work depends in large part on our DNA.
Although he relies primarily on anecdotal evidence, Mr. Harrison, who began his working life as a cell biologist, argues that it is inevitable that our genetic makeup is a factor in our success: "After all, the basic genetic code we all share controls everything from eye color to our risk of having certain diseases. It only makes sense that those genetic instructions might also affect how each individual's brain absorbs and responds to what is going on around it."
Edward F. Droge Jr. begs to differ. In his book "Your Intelligence Makeover" (Free Press, $22.95), he contends that no matter our genetic gifts, we can all learn to be smarter and more effective. Much of the advice does not break new ground. His suggestion for how to make a speech, for example, is, "tell them what you are going to say, say it, and tell them what you said."
Still, he presents a self-improvement plan that is practical. His focus is on bettering your reading speed, memory, writing and presentation skills - things that are bound to produce the highest return on your mental investment. He suggests that as you go about trying to read faster, practice on material you need to read anyway.
Jim Canterucci, a motivational speaker, delivers his message of self-improvement differently in "Personal Brilliance" (Amacom, $21.95). He says success - no matter how one defines it - will come more easily if people concentrate on developing their awareness, curiosity, focus and initiative. He then devotes the rest of the book to explaining how to do just that.
In the best of the books this month, Joachim de Posada suggests that hard work, dedication and passion can help people achieve just about anything, regardless of how they were hard-wired at birth. The title of his book, "Don't Eat the Marshmallow ... Yet" (Berkley, $19.95), comes from a study conducted at Stanford in the 1960's.
In the study, each member of a group of 4-year-old children was given one marshmallow and told that if he could resist eating it for 15 minutes, as he sat in a room by himself, he would receive a second marshmallow for showing restraint. Some children were able to resist, but others weren't.
But the real point, according to Mr. de Posada, became apparent 10 years later when a subsequent study showed that the children who were able to wait were doing better in school, had superior relationships with their peers and managed stress more successfully than those who ate right away. Mr. de Posada builds off of this study to conclude that while we can't always control events and circumstances, we can control our behavior. And if we focus that behavior on what is truly important - long-term goals, as opposed to immediate gratification - we will be far more successful.
Business parables are hard to tell well. If you make the characters interesting, the lessons can be lost. If you ignore the narrative, choosing to hit people over the head with your message, they will stop reading. With the help of the writer Ellen Singer, Mr. de Posada manages to walk this fine line by telling the story of the fictional billionaire Jonathan Patient and his chauffeur, Arthur, a young man who at the beginning of the book believes in instant gratification, but who eventually sees the light.
Nurture wins in the end. At least this month.
