Category: Workplace Etiquette

Stand Up!

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Failure to Stand Could Mean a Failure to Succeed

Several years ago upon entering my daughter’s high school guidance office for an appointment, two male students and their belongings were sprawled and strewn across all the available seating.  They ignored me and continued to address each other as though no one else were present.  I almost asked them to remove their jackets, backpacks, books and other paraphernalia to make room for me to sit, but I was so fascinated by their behavior that I opted to wait and see if their manners would kick in.  They didn’t.    

Failure to stand on certain occasions can damage your brand. Just as people will remember a poor handshake, they will also recall if you failed to stand when meeting them.

The Three E’s Might Outweigh the Three R’s

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A Degree Is Not Enough

A study conducted by the Carnegie Institute of Technology has prompted a recent flurry of articles in Forbes and other news sources, websites and blogs. According to the study, 85% of a person’s financial success is due to his or her “personality and ability to communicate, negotiate, and lead,” and only 15% is due to “technical knowledge.” Although the study was apparently published in the 1970s, I’m happy to see it being discussed because these findings reinforce the need for business etiquette training to enable people to network effectively and build relationships. In other words, it supports the premise that the Three E’s – Etiquette, Ethics and Empathy in the Workplace – and Life – are just as important as, and might even outweigh, the Three R’s - Reading, writing and arithmetic. 

Your Most Powerful Secret Weapon

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 One of the most iconic symbols of our time is the Smiley Face. It’s been around since the 1960s with many variations, including the ones that people draw after their signatures or the ones in email emoticons to indicate that a statement is meant in a friendly manner. But why is it that so many people know to use Smiley to indicate kindness and friendliness in the written word, yet don’t use their natural smiles in person-to-person contact?

Generations at Work

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Much has been written and discussed regarding the generational differences in the workplace, so I thought it might be helpful to identify what have become the names and birth-year spans of the generations of the 20th- 21st Centuries.  Please keep in mind that those born close to the generations before or after their own will often share those respective characteristics, as defined by historians, marketers and various individuals throughout the years.  For example, a Gen Xer born in 1978 might exhibit many qualities of a Gen Yer. (Among experts there are also some variations in the year-spans of each generation.)

A New You for the New Year

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Time for a Change

Each new year ushers in hope for renewal, for reinvention, for change. This particular New Year marshals in a sense of urgency beyond the usual determination to get organized, lose weight, exercise more, improve finances, learn a foreign language, take better care of one’s health, stop smoking, study harder, travel more, contribute more time and money to charities and so on.

This year, students and young professionals are more deeply concerned than ever about wrapping up high school successfully and getting into college, graduating from college, paying off student loans, landing that first real job, keeping that job, moving into their own place, getting on the right career path, and advancing on that path or making career changes.