Study Shows That Sucking Up Really Does Work at Work

Research by Ithai Stern at the Kellogg Business School confirms that flattery or sucking up is effective in professional life. Not only that, but there's an art to it.

What Stern and his co-author James Westphal of the University of Michigan found was that there are seven fundamentals in the art of sweet talk. Those who perfect these tactics wind up in the boardrooms of the Fortune 500. Surely, if you just get a little good at them, you can at least land a decent job or attract some new clients or customers.