The Etiquette Advantage [Hardcover]

They don't teach this stuff in business school.

This isn't a rulesy book. The etiquette isn't handed down as law or must-dos; rather it is practical, real, down-to-earth, useful advice for everybody who needs to succeed in a professional or corporate environment. There is LOADS of practical information in these 550 pages: everything from how to write a Policies and Procedures Manual (information I might actually need if my business keeps growing) to the proper use of business cards (and how to make them look good). The book is also, dare I say, moral or ethical in its viewpoint: it posits that doing things courteously, considerately, thoughtfully and honestly, is THE SAME AS doing them in a way that helps you be a winner. I like that. I think it's true.

You can use the book either as a read-through or as a spot reference. For example, if you're about to go to your first trade show or convention, read the four pages on the subject, and you'll know EVERYTHING you need -- including such details as precisely where to wear your name tag. (This, like all the information given, is in here not for propriety's sake but for real reasons; the best place to wear your name tag is the place it best communicates your name.)

Even an old hand at grammar found a few useful tips in the excellent sections on business writing. Ah, if only everybody who corresponds with me had read this, I would be needing a lot less aspirin.

Although I didn't personally need the chapter on finding a job, I think it's as good as any I've seen -- thorough yet not extreme, giving advice that you can actually take.

Buy it for your office and keep it where everybody can read. You'll see people picking it up all the time, I'm sure.

Besides preparing them for their first encounters with formal behavior in "informal" business situations (often in job interviews), this book we believe will serve as a useful reference for them as they advance into management. The book is well-organized and well-written. It covers a number of very specific situations that, even if they never occur in one's direct experience, convey the elements of common sense and consideration that underly all etiquette.

The authors thankfully avoid spending time on how to arrange the seating at a state dinner or how to address the Belgian ambassador, a common mistake in books of this genre. What they offer is practical, useable advice on the types of real social interactions that occur in business. A very useful book and well worth the price. Definitely five stars.