The title of Jack Mitchell's new book for business owners and managers is nothing if not provocative. "Hug Your People" sounds like a recipe for being regarded as eccentric at best -- and at worst, being slapped with a lawsuit for sexual harassment.

But in fact, Mr. Mitchell is counseling more (or less) than just throwing your arms around people. As his Web site, www.hugyourpeople.com, puts it: "A hug is not just a physical embrace. It can be different things for different people at different times."

Some examples of a "hug": giving a firm handshake or a warm hello, swapping the latest joke, opening early or staying late with someone to help him finish a project.

Mr. Mitchell's philosophy could be summed up by saying, "Play nice." And in fact, Mr. Mitchell talks about building a "Niceness Culture" within an organization, and offers five principles for doing so, which he boils down into one word each: nice, trust, pride, include and recognize.

"Nice" starts with hiring nice people, and looking for that quality before looking at skills: "It's very rare that someone with great skills can transform himself from a nasty to a nice person," he said.

He calls trust the most important principle: "Without it, you don't really have anything."

Pride is the sense of being an integral part of the business, or as he says of his employees, "They feel they are the store."

"Include" means involving employees in company strategy and decision making. "Involve everyone and everyone will feel invested in the outcome."

"Recognize" means acknowledging employees in ways beyond showing them the money.

The book is largely based on Mr. Mitchell's experiences as chairman and CEO of Mitchells/Richards/Marshs, a three-generation family business that operates men's and women's specialty stores in Connecticut and New York, and he dedicates it to his employees. It's also a follow-up to his first book, the 2003 best seller "Hug Your Customers."

Mr. Mitchell concedes that much of what he has to say could be considered common courtesy and common sense. The problem, he said, is that they are not so commonly practiced.

"I think it's perhaps that a lot of people think it's about being tough and rough," he said. "I think there are businesses that are doing this, but there's not a lot taught in business schools about this type of caring environment."

Jim Dittmar, professor in the department of leadership studies at Geneva College, welcomes Mr. Mitchell's message.

"We still have a very deep legacy of a command and control form of management and leadership that began in the early 20th century with Frederick Taylor's view of scientific management," he said. "A very strong legacy that we are trying to displace with a view of people as individuals who bring very particular strengths to the workplace."

Jay Liebowitz, an associate professor in the John F. Donahue Graduate School of Business at Duquesne University, said that while he was not familiar with the book, "I like the idea," and noted that no fewer than five other books with similar themes have been published since 2002.

"All of these books convey the importance of talent management -- that in our global knowledge economy, company executives need to realize how important their people are to the success of the business.

"In general, business people have one of three philosophies: shareholders come first, customers come first or employees come first. I firmly believe that companies that carefully hire good people and then put them first by training them, developing them, appreciating them and rewarding them ... those employees will do a fabulous job for the customer."

Mr. Mitchell will speak about the benefits of a "hugging culture" when he appears at Larrimor's, 501 Grant St., Downtown, at 5:30 p.m. today for a presentation and book signing.

And, no doubt, to give hugs.