Sometimes we take it for granted, because we live here, but do you know the right business appearance etiquette for the United States?
After looking into some research (which is what people from other countries would have to do before traveling to do business in the U.S.) I found some interesting advice for how to dress in a business setting in the U.S.
Do you follow these etiquette tips?
- Business suit and tie are appropriate in all major cities. Wear dark colored business suits in classic colors of gray and navy. For an important formal meeting, choose a white dress shirt, for less formal a light blue shirt will still give you a conservative appearance.
- Women should wear a suit or dress with jacket in major cities. Wearing classic clothing and classic colors of navy, gray, ivory, and white will ensure you give a confident and conservative appearance.
- Rural areas and areas with extremely warm summers have more informal wardrobe requirements.
- Women may wear a business dress, or skirt and blouse, in rural areas.
- Men may conduct business without wearing a jacket and/or tie in rural areas.
- The formality of a meeting, even in rural areas, may dictate a sports jacket and tie for men. The same formality will require a woman to wear a dress, possibly with a jacket.
- Casual clothing is appropriate when not attending a work related meeting/dinner. Building a casual wardrobe using classic lines and colors (navy, gray, camel, ivory and white) will give you a look that is stylish and professional even when you are relaxing.
- Clothing, whether formal or casual, should be clean and neat in appearance.
- Men may generally wear jeans or khaki pants with a shirt for casual attire. Normally they can be paired with either dark urban shoes or dress shoes.
- Women may wear comfortably fitting slacks with a casual shirt. Wearing jeans or shorts, even in a casual setting, may be inappropriate for the city. It is better to err on the conservative side if you are not sure.
Even if you are not traveling to the United States to conduct business, but are instead conducting business over video or web conferencing, it's important to know how to look. If you're from the United States, you should be prepared to look appropriate for your meeting.
What other tips do you have for business appearance etiquette? Would you agree or disagree with the tips above? We'd love to hear from you! Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!
Do you know who falls in the category of "Generation X"? If not, you're not alone. This generation, frequently forgotten between the Baby Boomers and the Millennials, is still out there working in the workforce and probably on the way to be the next group of leaders.
The term generally includes people born from the early 1960s through the early 1980s, usually no later than 1981 or 1982.
What's so special about this generation? They were defined by events such as the 1973 oil crisis, 1979 energy crisis, 1980 election of Ronald Reagan, 1986 Chernobyl disaster, 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, 1987 Black Monday, 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War among other things.
Generation X may be a smaller population than Baby Boomers or Millennials, but they hold great influence in today’s organizations. People in this generation are the all-important bench strength for aging leadership. According to Harvard Business Review, it's important to keep them around. To do that, here’s how to keep them engaged.
-
Develop corporate chameleons. Gen-Xers like to continually learn. Rotate some of these promising employees through different functions on a regular schedule. This will keep things fresh for them and for your company. It will also prep them for leadership roles that require broad experience.
-
Bring them out of the shadows. Put this generation in charge of high-visibility projects. This will spotlight their abilities. Another option is topartner them with Baby Boomers who can enhance their careers.
-
Test their wings. Many Gen-Xers have an entrepreneurial spirit. Foster this interest and let them take responsibility for a company-sponsored venture. Give them room to fly while still being there to oversee the project. Let them run a company-wide meeting or conference call to test drive a leadership function.
Have other stories or ways in which to keep this great generation engaged and geared up to take over once the baby boomers leave the workforce? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook!
Picture yourself on a Friday afternoon, watching the clock tick by ever so slowly.
Maybe you have one more meeting or conference call in the sleepy afternoon hours, but you're just not sure how you're going to make it!
Never fear! We've got some great ways to find productivity in the midst of your procrastination. The infographic posted below gives some great tips on how to increase your focus to get things done when it really matters. Technology and traditional methods mixed together will turn your dragging afternoons into productivity power houses. Check out all the tips below, and if you want even more, head over to Fancy Hands' Tumblr where this was found.
How else do you stay productive in the midst of procrastination? Share with us in the comments below or on Facebook!
Conference calling can be hard. There are a lot of options out there, and it's not always easy to know which service is right for your business. Here are a couple of videos we put together about how easy Budget Conferencing can be, and how to use it.
Let us know what you think! If you have any questions, feel free to visit our website.
When deciding on new employees or business partners, one of the factors most managers look at is intelligence. The question is, how do you measure intelligence?
What most people think of first is the basic IQ test. According to Forbes, Albert Einstein’s was estimated at 160, Madonna’s is 140, and John F. Kennedy’s was only 119. What does an IQ test measure, anyway?
IQ tests are used to indicate the logical reasoning ability and technical intelligence of a person. Forbes says that "a high IQ is often a prerequisite for rising to the top ranks of business today. It is necessary, but it is not adequate to predict executive competence and corporate success."
This is where the other forms of intelligence come in. Have you heard of EI, MI, or BI? That's emotional intelligence, moral intelligence and body intelligence. All factors you should consider with the people you could work with.
Emotional Intelligence:
This is probably the most well known of the three types of intelligence. EQ is all about being aware of your own feelings and those of others. It means regulating these feelings in yourself and others, using emotions that are appropriate to the situation, self-motivation, and building relationships.
Moral Intelligence
This type of intelligence deals with a persons integrity, responsibility, sympathy, and forgiveness. The way you treat yourself is the way other people will treat you. The old Hindu word "Genshai" encompasses this as well. The term means "never treat anyone, including yourself, smaller than they really are." It is said that if you treat yourself with high regard, you will treat others that way as well. Keeping commitments, maintaining your integrity, and being honest are crucial to moral intelligence.
Body Intelligence
This type of intelligence reflects what you know about your body, how you feel about it, and take care of it. Your body and body language is constantly telling you things; are you listening to the signals or ignoring them? Are you eating energy-giving or energy-draining foods on a daily basis? Are you getting enough rest? Do you exercise and take care of your body? It may seem like these matters are unrelated to business performance, but your body intelligence absolutely affects your work because it largely determines your feelings, thoughts, self-confidence, state of mind, and energy level.
A person with these different types of intelligence traits are also great people to represent your company on audio or web conference calls. Just something to keep in mind!
What other types of intelligence traits do you look for in potential partners? Let us know in the comments below or on our Facebook page.
Are you hosting your first conference call?
Don’t fret, here are some helpful tips to keep in mind:
- Just as you would if you were the host of an actual meeting, arrive early and greet each of the call participants. When everyone is available and ready, begin the call.
- Introduce yourself as the host when beginning a phone call, even if you know most of the people it can be different hearing a voice instead of seeing a face.
- Don’t put your phone unless you absolutely have to, and if you do, use *6. If you put people on hold without using this function, your participants will hear music and they will not be able to proceed with the call until your return.
- Create and agenda and stick to it. Working from various places can mean different schedules, so be respectful by giving everyone and time frame and sticking to it. Creating an agenda of what you need to talk about can definitely help keep you on task and on time.
- Find a quiet space. Don’t distract others or yourself with background noise and chaos.
- State when you are ending a call. Clearly state when a call is ending and stay on to make sure everyone has. If there are still people on the line when you end the call, you will be billed for any lingering time.
For more information, and other tips, visit the
Budget Conferencing website.
Overacheiver? To-Do List all marked with deadlines of TODAY? Over-promising? Under-acheiving?
Are you being realistic?
Sometimes we need to take a step back from our priorities, responsibilities and obligations. Sometimes we need to say the words "I can't get this all done" ... at least not all at once.
Here's some great advice from Peter Bregman in his book, "The Biggest Myth in Time Management."
"If you’re like most people, you’re overwhelmed with how much you have to do and frustrated by all the things you can’t finish. The reality is that there isn’t enough time to do it all. Once you admit that, you can explicitly choose what you are going to do. Instead of letting things haphazardly fall through the cracks, you can intentionally push unimportant things aside and focus on the things that matter. Don’t instantly react to the needs that land on your desk; make deliberate choices that will move you toward your goals. You also need to make conscious decisions about what not to do."
We'd love to hear from you. How do you organize your tasks to get it all done? Leave us a comment or let us know on Facebook!
Visit Budget Conferencing to find out more about how our services may help you or your company.
With yet another political election coming up this year, it's important to know how to act and react to the unavoidable political discussions that will be taking place in your office.
If you're a manager, you may want to lay some ground rules for politics not to be discussed during important meetings, conference calls, or other important productive times of the day. Yet, you of course cannot tell your employees not to talk amongst themselves about the political topics of the day.
So - what's the basic rule of discussing politics in the office?
DON'T.
What happens if it comes up? Follow these tips from Entreprenuer Magazine.
1. Don't Rock The Boat.
If you're near the low end of the totem pole, many experts agree that the best way to diffuse a political argument is not to begin one in the first place. If you work in a culture that's primarily conservative or liberal and you do your best to stand out and make your views known, chances are, you're not going to fit in for long.
2. Respect everyone's views, even if you disagree.
"My main suggestion is to exercise caution, common sense, restraint and respect," says Forni. "I think this is what is incumbent upon an entrepreneur, a boss, to embody civility. Political debate in the workplace is always potentially divisive, and the role of the boss is neither that of squashing the free expression of ideas, nor that of transforming the workplace into a town meeting."
3. No subliminal politicizing.
When it comes to airing your political views, subliminal politicizing--subtly pushing your political agenda to your colleagues or employees--doesn't work, and can sometimes just make them upset and not want to communicate with you at all. Because no matter how subtle you think you're being, you're not--in general, people aren't stupid.
Have you experienced people talking politics at work? How did you handle it? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter.
With the business world starting to operate not only internationally, but also across cultures, it's important for managers to know how to handle confrontation with these new dynamics.
With services such as what we offer at Budget Conferencing - audio conferencing, web conferencing and operator assisted conferencing - international teams are becoming part of the new norm in the business world. Boarders are disappearing with the digital revolution, but one boarder still remains: cultural boarders.
With some cultures embracing confrontation and others staying as far away from it, managers have a hurdle to pass by getting teams to work together, handle confrontation and still progress forward.
How can they do this?
Erin Meyer of the Harvard Business Review has some great ideas.
Here are her tips:
- Do your preparation. In many Asian cultures the default purpose of a meeting is to put a formal stamp on a decision that has been made before the meeting in informal pre-meetings. In Japanese this is called Nemawashi. The tendency rings true to various degrees in China, Malaysia, Korea, and Thailand. If you lead a team with members from one of these countries, try making one-on-one phone calls before the formal meeting to hear the real deal.
- Depersonalize the confrontation. Instead of asking people to express their opinions and challenge one another's ideas in a meeting, ask team members to send all their ideas to a nominated third party before the meeting and have that person create a list of ideas without stating who had the suggestions. This way, participants can confront each idea during the meeting — without confronting the person associated with it.
- Change your language. You might try following the advice of Sean Gilbride, an American living and managing in Mexico. He says: "I soon learned that if I wanted to encourage team debate it was important to use phrases like 'I do not quite understand your point' and 'please explain more why you think that', and to refrain from saying 'I disagree with that' which would shut down the conversation completely."
Have experience working in groups that have varrying views on confrontation? We'd like to hear from you. Comment below or let us know on
Twitter and
Facebook.
Sitting down at a fancy dinner table with rows of silverware, plates and glasses can be quite intimidating! Especially if the person sitting across the table is a current or potential business partner or client.
Would you know what to do?
Don't worry, we've got some great tips that will make your dinner go smoothly and the business deals flow like the wine!
Here are 5 things to keep in mind when going to a business dinner:
1. Sitting - You should not sit in your seat until your host or hostess has done so. If there is no host, then you should wait for the senior or oldest person at the table to sit first before you sit in your seat.
2. Napkins - As soon as you sit down at the table, your napkin should be unfolded and placed on your lap. To really impress, fold it in half once with the open end of the fold facing away from you. Don't ever tuck your napkin in to your shirt. You aren't at a backyard BBQ.
3. Starting to Eat - Don't pick up your fork and begin eating until your host, hostess, or senior person at the table begins. Most importantly, even if your food comes first and starts to get cold, don't start eating until everyone has been served. If there are a large number of guests, the host may indicate that you may begin before everyone is served. If this is the case, then you should begin.
4. Drinking - Never order your drink until the host or hostess orders first. That will be your indication of what type of business dinner will commense. If the host orders alcohol, you are free to order a glass as well. If they stick to soft drinks or ice tea, follow suit.
5. Thank You - after the meal, it's important to verbally thank your host, while also sending a written thank you letter to their office.
Next time you find yourself not in a conference call, but in an actual dinner meeting, remember these 5 important tips!
Have any other tips or stories of good and bad experiences at a business dinner? Let us know in the comments below or on our Facebook page!