HOT CORNER

A consumer’s guide to the best and worst of sports media and merchandise. Ground rules: If it can be read, played, heard, observed, worn, viewed, dialed or downloaded, it’s in play here. One exception: No products will be endorsed.

What: “Never Wrestle With a Pig”

Author: Mark H. McCormack

Publisher: Penguin Books

Price: $14

Although the author is in the sports and celebrity management business, this 286-page paperback self-help book applies to those in about any business. It’s filled with tips and ideas for building a business and a career.

Maybe the first thing that needs to be explained is the title. On page 62 is this tip: “Never wrestle with a pig. You get dirty and only the pig enjoys it.” Translation: Don’t waste time arguing with people who love to argue for the sake of argument.

The author, Mark McCormack, is the founder and chief executive of International Management Group, a sports and celebrity management organization with a client list that includes Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer, Venus and Serena Williams, Derek Jeter and Bob Costas.

Fifteen years ago McCormack wrote his first book, “What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School.” It reached No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list. This is McCormack’s 12th book. It was previously published under the title “Staying Street Smart in the Internet Age.”

If there is an underlying theme, it is the need for people skills and relationships in a society dominated by the Internet and cell phones. Technical skills are important, but so are people skills.

“At some point, people may be so reliant on technology, they won’t even feel the need for human contact,” McCormack writes. “After all, if you can get your message across via e-mail, who needs face-to-face contact?”