Business Etiquette

The Mitchell Organization develops customized programs for individual clients and organizations. Our workshops teach business etiquette in a format that is entertaining, information-filled and interactive. We teach the rules of 21st Century etiquette, why they are important, and how best to practice them.

Consider what studies by Harvard University, the Carnegie Foundation, the Stanford Research Institute and Google have concluded: success in getting, keeping and advancing in a job depends 85 percent on people skills and only 15 percent on technical knowledge and skills.  Qualifications are important; you won’t get the interview or job without them.  But most hiring and promotion decisions come down to the way people present themselves, which means relationships.

It’s clear that if you want to succeed, you must master business etiquette. The unspoken rules for business behavior are different from what you were taught as a child.  Those rules evolved from the Code of Chivalry, which called for deference to others based on gender and/or age. Relationships in the business world are based primarily on rank, similar to the military.

How you behave toward a peer or toward someone of a different status varies with the type and style of the individual business. The behavior expected in a bank, for instance, tends to be more formal than it would be in an advertising agency. By contrast, the city room of a newspaper makes an advertising office seem up-tight.

Our motto has always been that good manners mean good relationships and that’s good for business.

 

Relevant Articles: