Guest post by Chris DiFonzo, Co-Founder and CEO of Opendesks, LLC
It's true, where to seat a prince for dinner as a guest in my home never became relevant. Still, those professional etiquette workshops that "the man" made me take had value. Shake, even if someone is visibly sick? Yes! Lift your glass when being toasted? Nope. Arrive late for calls and meetings? Obvious.
Then what gives? Lateness, lack of follow up, and lack of formality are prolific today, even among enterprise consultants, salespeople, managers, and executives. The worst thing about perpetually more casual behavior in business is it's a death spiral. Business culture is organic, not static, and our daily interactions either raise the bar or push it down.
Entrepreneurs, freelancers, and creative independents, this is an opportunity to differentiate ourselves. I'm calling myself out and asking you to join me. Let's set the example by bringing back (a little) decorum.
Three basics to get us going:
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Say what you're going to do, and do it. A simple formula - learn it and live it. Your word matters; treat it like a contract. Think before making commitments. Once made, follow through.
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Thank people. Walt Disney was known for writing handwritten thank you's daily. Try it for your most important ones, it feels great and people remember. Always formally thank customers and people who refer business to you. Failure to appropriately thank others is lazy and tragic. (Self-disclosure: A little behind on thank you's myself; I'm going to start catching up today.)
- Learn names and use them. If I had a dollar for every time I've heard, "I'm not good with names;" I'd be a gazillionaire. Excuse, copout, laziness. Make it a point to learn people's names and use them, it's fundamental. The first rule to remembering names (and anything) is intent to remember. When we care enough to remember, it's amazing how easy it usually is.
Perspectives on business etiquette vary widely, by person, culture, and organization. Whatever your perspective is, consider applying a little more protocol, formality, and decorum. Digging deep, I recall from those workshops, this final point: It's always acceptable to use one's culture as a reason to be more formal, but never as an excuse to be less so.
- Chris DiFonzo
