Excellence in Business Communication, 13th Edition
Chapter 3. Collaboration and Business Etiquette
"There are plenty of frustrations that crop up during your workday.
Take a look at Douglas Conant's manifesto.
"Your days are filled with what seems like endless sit-downs, conversations, and brainstorming sessions.
"The reason brainstorms devolve into groupthink has to do with the way memory works.
Shana Lebowitz relates the story of how Doug Conant (photo, left), former CEO of Campbell Soup Company, continually reached out to employees and what it inspired.
"Internal communication has a lot in common with healthy living.
"I am not a medical expert, but I know communication plays a major role in the overall well-being of both the team and the organization.
"Recently, a marketing firm called to solicit my business.
"Here are 10 things you must avoid doing if you're going to any kind of dinner party: .
"Congrats! You’ve landed your dream internship or you’ve been officially hired for your full-time job.
"Everyone is enjoying the food and conversation when someone decides to take out his phone — not for an urgent call, but to check email, Instagram, and Facebook.
"The strength of cyberspace is in its numbers.
"Manners matter," begins Kathleen Elkins (photo, left) in a piece at BusinessInsider.
"To help employees understand how office etiquette varies, UK office-supplier Viking reached out to 18 of their international employees who have worked in countries that range from Germany to the US.
"As it turns out, some recent scientific research suggests that it is possible to draw inferences about someone's personality based on his relationship to his phone.
"Etiquette might seem old-fashioned, but it's also an essential business tool.
"Finally, after all that negativity, some positive advice.
"You will, however, be judged by the quality of your writing.
"In meeting notes and minutes, you must state each action item, who is to complete it, and the deadline or due date.
"Executives tell me their teams make decisions all the time.
We are not the center of cyberspace.
"It’s called social undermining, and it may seem harmless enough, but it can take an emotional toll.
From Seth Godin.
"Devil’s advocates tend to pop up just when a project is about to launch.
"In real life, most people are fairly law-abiding, either by disposition or because we're afraid of getting caught.