Business Class: Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work [Hardcover]

Jacqueline Whitmore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0312338090 | ISBN-13: 978-0312338091 | Edition: First Edition

Have you forgotten a person’s name two minutes after being introduced? Have you wondered which fork to use or how to discreetly pay the check while attending an important business dinner? Have you insulted an international client by mistake and didn’t realize it until it was too late? Making these types of errors can get in the way of getting ahead. However, these faux pas can be avoided by exercising a little bit of business etiquette.
Business etiquette is a powerful, practical, and profitable skill you can use when it most counts to get a job, keep a job, or succeed on the job. It is a set of rules and guidelines that makes your professional relationships more harmonious, productive, manageable, and meaningful.
International etiquette expert Jacqueline Whitmore provides tips, tactics, and cautionary tales—gleaned from the experience of a multitude of successful CEOs and top managers—as well as information on how to:
· Be more polished and professional in the boardroom or at the dining table
· Master the art of mingling, networking, and remembering names
· Communicate effectively via technology
· Keep in touch, nurture professional relationships, and turn contacts into contracts
· Write effective thank-you notes and send the perfect business gift every time
· Be more “global-minded” and enhance international relationships
Business Class will teach you the nuances of treating colleagues, clients, and customers with courtesy and respect, which in turn will increase your visibility, credibility, and profitability.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A much-needed primer for professionals in today’s business environment because whether you realize it or not, good manners and proper protocol can make or break a promising business relationship.” —Tony Alessandra, Ph.D., co-author of The Platinum Rule

“How you treat others and how you conduct yourself are not casual imperatives. They are important, and if you agree, then this engagingly written book ought to entice you to its pages.” —Jack Valenti, former president of the Motion Picture Association of America

From the Back Cover

Advance Praise for Business Class

“Readable, spirited, and chock-full of excellent information. Anyone in business, at the bottom or at the top, could benefit from this book.” —Letitia Baldrige, author of New Manners for New Times: A Complete Guide to Etiquette and former White House Social Secretary in the Kennedy Administration

“Fills a gaping void in contemporary business leadership grooming and constitutes an overdue and easy primer for success-oriented commercial leaders.” —General Alexander M. Haig, Jr., former White House Chief of Staff, former NATO Commander, and former U.S. Secretary of State

“People make decisions about you based on your manners and comportment; this book shows you how to make and maintain a positive impression every time.” —Brian Tracy, author of TurboStrategy: 21 Powerful Ways to Transform Your Business and Boost Your Profits Quickly

“A practical, straightforward, commonsense guide to essential business conduct.” —Joanne Gordon, author of Be Happy at Work: 100 Women Who Love Their Jobs, and Why

“A treasure of how-to’s about being a thoughtful, sensitive, and effective human being.”—Judy B. Rosener, Ph.D., author of America’s Competitive Secret: Women Managers and professor at the graduate school of management, University of California, Irvine

“An invaluable guide filled with helpful etiquette solutions for your personal and professional life.”—Charles P. Garcia, CEO of Sterling Financial Investment Group

“A must-read book for all business operations, small or large, that depend on a clientele and employee attitude to make the difference between profit and loss.”—Lee Ellis, former vice president of CBS and Gannett Publications (USA Weekend)

“Whitmore covers everything from e-mail to formal dinner parties with a warm, friendly style that makes reading the book enjoyable and remembering her advice easy.”
—Carolyn B. Elman, CEO of American Business Women’s Association

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (June 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312338090
• ISBN-13: 978-0312338091
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #55,418 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > Business & Investing > Business Life > Etiquette
  • #91 in Books > Education & Reference > Etiquette

More About the Author

Jacqueline Whitmore is the author of Poised for Success (St. Martin's Press, November 2011) and Business Class: Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work (St. Martin's Press, July 2005).

She is an international etiquette expert, a certified speaking professional, and the founder and director of The Protocol School of Palm Beach, a premier business etiquette consulting firm which has served hundreds of multinational corporations and associations including Sprint, Office Depot, Ernst & Young, Bloomingdale's, Royal Caribbean, Burger King Corporation, Deloitte, and the U.S. Department of Defense, just to name a few.

Jacqueline ranks as one of the most widely quoted etiquette experts in the United States. Her advice is sought by numerous publications including The New York Times, USA Today, Glamour, Time, Fortune, Cosmopolitan and O: The Oprah Magazine. She has appeared as a guest on a variety of national radio and television shows including National Public Radio, ABC's 20/20, CNN, FOX News, Anderson Cooper's AC360° and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Prior to starting her company, Jacqueline served as the protocol officer and assistant director of public relations for The Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach where she handled all VIP media requests and launched and facilitated the Employee Executive Etiquette Training Program.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every Salesperson and Executive In America Should Own This Book, July 9, 2005

By 

Dave Lakhani (Boise, ID United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Business Class: Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work (Hardcover)

I love this book!

There has never been a more timely book than Business Class, it contains the easiest, most current, and best advice avialable on business etiquette. One of the things I liked most about the book was how easy to read, learn and apply the lessons are.

If you read this book you'll sell more, build better and deeper relationships and feel more confident than you ever have no matter what the business setting. I consider myself very well versed in business etiquette but I was amazed at what I didn't know about current rules.

I can't tell you how many business situations I've been in where people simply had no concept of proper etiquette.

In reading the book, I learned many things and will definately be more prepared and appropriate as a result. I had no idea for example that if your fork fell on the floor at a restaurant that you should leave it and ask for another rather than picking it up and asking for another. I also didn't realize what the appropriate thing to do was when a woman walks to the table in a business setting (you'll be surprised, your mom and dad may have given you bad advice).

Jacqueline does an amazing job of covering every conceivable business situation and shows you how to handle each appropriately and with grace.

If you ever go to business lunches, dinners, mixers, networking events, or interact with clients in any way I strongly recommend this book. You'll be amazed at the power and confidence you feel after reading it.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First Ten Pages I learned Important Information, August 8, 2005

By 

Janet E. Spurr (Marblehead, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Business Class: Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work (Hardcover)

As a true Yankee, I believed I knew all of my manners, but within the first ten pages, of Business Class, I was surprised and kept learning more page by page. I even read parts of the book out loud to corporate girl friends while at the beach. After reading some of the other reviews, I think this is the perfect gift for my college neice and nephew as well as many other friends and business associates. Thank you Jacqueline for bringing back manners in a world that is sometimes too much in a hurry. Please write a book on cell phone etiquette, one which we can pass out to most of the world.

27 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Overrated, April 20, 2006

By 

Avellanas (McHenry, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Business Class: Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work (Hardcover)

I was really looking forward to reading this book after going through the Amazon.com reviews for this book. I was really disapointed because much of it is common sense. The author goes on and on about the importance of good etiquette, but you probably wouldn't be reading this book if you didn't know that already.

I did learn a few pointers, but not enough to recommend this to anyone.