Robert Sutton, Stanford University professor and author, may just be hitting the height of his celebrity.

The publicity and attention his new book, The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't, is at its peak, with his recent appearances on CNBC and NPR's Talk of the Nation. It seemed like everywhere you looked, there was Sutton, talking about why there should not be jerks at work.

"You've caught me in my 11th minute of fame," he jokes. ...