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Gyan Gurus - Talent & Careers

To survive and to succeed  (View Comments)

Walter E Vieira is a senior management consultant who started India’s first Marketing Consulting Company (MAS) in 1975. He offers consulting and training services to companies in India, S E Asia, Africa and USA, over three decades.

Posted On Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at 01:20:34 PM

After you finish your studies, and school and college is way behind you, you realise that there is far more to life and success than just grades at exams. So you will find that those who were the top graders in college, sometimes do poorly in the work-world; and those who perhaps scraped through, are the ones who shine.  Why should this be so?

Because in the real world of work, the great emphasis at the entry point and the lower rungs is on technical skills. As one goes higher up the ladder, one needs to go beyond technical skills – which are a ‘given’.  You need to have a large dose of human skills – in addition. And then there are those very few, perhaps 15 per cent of the population in the company, who will have developed ‘conceptual skills’. This is the ability to look at the whole picture; to have a ‘helicopter view.’  To see how one decision will affect not just me, or my department, but the whole company and then perhaps the whole industry.  These are the people who make it to the top – who are THC managers.  They finally become Presidents and CEOs of companies.  Of course there may be some exceptions. There are those who got there by guile, deceit, fraud or influence. By climbing on the backs of others, with spiked shoes. But these are still the exceptions!

Therefore, young people must know even before they venture into the work world that there are 6 basic principles of business etiquette, which have been enunciated by Gary Yukl – as the foundation for good human relations in corporations and in society. These 6 key etiquette rules will improve your Business Etiquette Quotient and help you to get ahead in whatever job you do, or aspire to.  These rules benefit people at all levels – from administrative assistant to manager to vice president to CEO.  And in all sizes of companies, whether a corporation of 50,000 employees to a business of your own which you run from your house. And these rules apply also beyond the corporate world, to professionals, like doctors, lawyers and self employed entrepreneurs.

And what are the six principles?

1. Be on time - Be punctual by sensibly scheduling appointments.  It’s the little things that add up. Show respect for other peoples time and their own pre occupations.
2. Be discreet - So that you are sensitive to the impact that information might have on those working with it, as well as what the competition might do if they find it.
3. Be courteous, pleasant and positive – and this is irrespective of the pressures on you or your company. Spread joy and cheer to lighten up the environment.
4. Be concerned with others, not just yourself - People’s careers are ended, stalled or reversed because they lacked concern for others.
5. Dress appropriately – First impressions are first impressions. You only make one. It is good to look, listen and pick a role model. This always helps.
6. Use proper written and spoken language -  Because people who can express themselves clearly are always at a definite advantage.

If one inculcates these rules in behaviour, even before entering the work force - it will be a great lead over the others in the race.

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