Tim Sanders sent a Valentine to the business community in our February 2002 issue ('Love Is the Killer App'). Since then, readers have responded with an enthusiastic embrace. In a season of scandal and unrelenting bad news, Sanders has gotten more than 3,200 emails from every corner of the business world (and he has responded to all of them) -- fervent testimony to his simple but provocative message: 'Nice, smart people succeed.' Sanders was contacted by senior executives from the world's biggest global companies, free agents from small-town America, and high-tech entrepreneurs alike. 'They have not only been sharing intensely personal stories about work and success,' says Sanders, 'they've also been proposing deals, pitching movies, and offering up best practices. It's amazing stuff.'

Sanders hasn't merely opened the floodgates of emotion among businesspeople; he has also exposed a robust connection between compassion and results. During Sanders's 'Winter of Love' tour following the February 14 publication of his book, Love Is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends (Crown Business), he discovered that 'Yahoo and Southwest are not the only companies to practice love as a business model and succeed.' His favorite example: Barton Protective Services, a security company that lists 'Love' as a core value on a card carried by every employee. Love must really be the killer app for Barton's security guards: Barton boasts 95% account retention. On his tour, Sanders also made stops at Hallmark, Microsoft, and Starbucks.

And we love this: In May, two people who met through the Company of Friends, Fast Company's readers' network, got married in Geyserville, California. Roy King III, 27, and Amy Middelburg, 30, first met at a London CoF meeting in 1999.

To stay in the love loop, email Tim Sanders or visit the Web.

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