Small Business Success Strategies

Business Etiquette: Should You Take Your Leftovers at a Business Lunch?

Cynthia Lett, our official Business Etiquette Expert, talks about whether you should or shouldn't take the leftovers at a business lunch.

 

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Social Media Etiquette: 7 Unwritten Rules

Social media seems easy especially because the barrier to entry is low. You can be up and running on any social media platform in minutes, and usually for free. In reality, social media is hard for exactly the same reason. When the barrier to entry is low, the barrier to attention is high. The fundamental path to succeeding with social media is to consistently contribute meaningfully--engaging with you should make the lives of those engaging more meaningful. The bonus would be to achieve this without adding costs to the others. As you think through your social media strategy, here are seven unwritten rules of social media etiquette.

Read Cynthia Lett's entire article Social Media Etiquette: 7 Unwritten Rules

Cynthis Lett, Our Official Business Etiquette Expert

Etiquette for International Business Success

In the early 1980's when I started to plan international meetings we thought about freight forwarding, negotiating in foreign currencies, airlines to collaborate with, tax deductibility, finding something for the participants to enjoy while they were in that exciting location and producing a positive experience that would not be forgotten. The most important part of the experience was one we did not pay attention to -- international business etiquette.

Going global was the buzz-word of the day. Companies sought new markets outside of the United States and associations sought new membership. But there was a problem. We didn't think we had a problem. We as Americans thought that all we had to do was the same thing we were doing at home but in a different language. Using that belief we made lots of mistakes.

Read Cynthia's entire article Etiquette for International Business Success

Cynthia Lett, our official Business Etiquette Expert

Five Skills Students Need To Be Successful In Business

For a while I have been interested in how to teach students before they reach high school the skills they will need to be successful in their social and work lives. This article by Heather Wolpert-Gawron who teaches middle school language arts and coaches speech and debate in California’s San Gabriel Unified School District, caught my eye and I thought it would be interesting to you too. ( She blogs at TweenTeacher and is a member of the Teacher Leaders Network.

Read Cynthia's entire article Five Skills Students Need To Be Successful In Business

Cynthia Lett, our official Business Etiquette Expert

Texting While Watching a Movie

OK – I will date myself by saying that when I was a teenager and went to the movies, I was actually interested in what was showing on the big screen in front of me.  The only distraction I might have enjoyed was the popcorn on my lap and a cute boy’s arm around my shoulder.  Today there is a growth in bad manners and ignorance of the rights of other movie house customers – texting, calling, surfing the Internet – all going on while the movie is playing.

Read Cynthia's entire article Texting While Watching a Movie

Cynthia Lett, our official Business Etiquette Expert

Will Education Improve if Etiquette Doesn’t?

Recently, President Obama spoke about the plight of education in the United States and how spending more money will improve it.  I agree that there are many schools which are underfunded and additional capital will improve the facilities and number of available resources for the children.  However, it is my opinion, that schools will not succeed across the board until the kids are taught to respect their teachers and what they are learning.  When I was growing up, respect for our teachers was utmost.  We curtsied (yes curtsied) to them, we moved out of the way as they walked down the halls, we always said ” hello”, Miss or Mr. or Mrs. So and So as we passed.   It would never have occurred to address our teachers or administrators by their first name.  We respected that they had authority and that we had to defer to that authority in order to make our education process work.

Read Cynthia's entire article Will Education Improve if Etiquette Doesn’t?

Cynthia Lett, our official Business Etiquette Expert

Silver Serving Utensils

We are often asked by our clients and readers about proper serving utensils for formal (and sometimes informal) meals.  Here are a few common and yet not so common serving utensils that are part of most sterling silver services.


SILVER SERVING UTENSILS

Read Cynthia's entire article Silver Serving Utensils

Cynthia Lett, our official Business Etiquette Expert

Claiming You Are The Best?

All ego aside, can you claim you are the best in the world  at what you do?  Do you really know your competition and their level of expertise so well that you can judge your superiority over theirs?  Sometimes the claim comes in the words, preeminent, finest, best, leading expert, or foremost.

Recently I received a question through the column I write about the proper etiquette of claiming you are the best at what you do.  My opinion is that no one can claim they are the best at what they do unless they have been judged by the world as such.  Even in our business, the business of teaching etiquette and protocol, there are practitioners who claim that their company is the best – better than all the others who do the same work.

Read Cynthia's entire article Claiming You Are The Best?

Cynthia Lett, our official Business Etiquette Expert

The Etiquette Book for the Rest of Us

True confession time -- I hate the topic of etiquette and I hate etiquette books. They're preachy, academic, and not relevant to me in my day-to-day business . . . EXCEPT this one.

"That's So Annoying" is the ultimate guide for the rest of us -- folks that live in the real world who are savvy business pros. This book is 100 percent aimed at YOU if your success depends on the way you speak, listen, act (and react), communicate, and behave in your day-to-day dealings of business and life. (And trust me, it DOES!)

The book's content is engaging, smart, funny, and incredibly useful and relevant to any level of professional in any industry.

Read Cynthia's entire article The Etiquette Book for the Rest of Us

Cynthia Lett, our official Business Etiquette Expert

Is Protocol Part of Your Competitive Mix? Why Not?

Protocol by itself is not a competitive advantage. It’s the professional application of protocol principles and techniques to a specific event that makes it a competitive advantage. How many times have you heard the question, “What’s the right protocol for this or that?”  Not knowing the answer can cause you to inadvertently offend a key client and possibly sabotage a long developed business relationship.  Not knowing the answer can also greatly undermine your first meeting with an important client. If protocol is not part of your competitive mix then you’re leaving yourself vulnerable. Allow me to illustrate with some examples and personal stories.

When I was Chief of Protocol for a Fortune 500 international company, a colleague who worked for a major international technology company called to ask how to handle a visit by a high level technical evaluation delegation from Saudi Arabia.

Read Cynhia's entire article Is Protocol Part of Your Competitive Mix?  Why Not?

Cynthia Lett, our official Business Etiquette Expert