I'd rather be nice than successful
You can be nice all the time, but that doesn't mean you'll be effective all the time.
It's crazy to me that we engineers are so focused on hacking systems but seem to denigrate hacking personal interactions as if it's something dirty blah blah[0].
[0] copied from my other comment.
I think that's the whole point too, there's a lot of details but in the end - if you're nicer than the other guy, he'll exploit that.
In yet another set of words - which while funny is actually exactly the same concept:
batman: i'll always beat superman, he has a strong weakness.
people: kryptonite?
batman: no, he's a nice guy, i'm not.
I reckon that it's more than 'being an asshole' It's about being yourself. If you are an asshole then be one. If you're a nice guy, be one.