Business manners for men

Learning to have good manners almost innate makes life easier at home and in  business. Young men who want to become executive material must do more than apply themselves to the procedure of their jobs. They must school themselves in social as well as in business manners if they want to move ahead. They must learn how to dress, how to conduct themselves in various social and business occasions, how to communicate their ideas to others in brief, well-chosen language.

Gone are the days of the pen and communication by letter only. Business pace is fast, and the courtly manners of old-time business offices are often impractical now, and only few expect them.

• In business a man does not rise when his secretary enters his office although if she is newly assigned to him as his personal secretary he does rise to greet her and to shake her hand.

• If he is at his desk and a superior man or woman enters, he rises and remains standing until his guest is seated or leaves.

• If a male co-worker enters his office, he does not rise unless perhaps, to greet him after an absence, for gentlemen always rise to shake hands, even with a man, or excuse themselves for being unable to do so for some other reason.

• If a woman executive is in the group joined by a man, he  who makes the introduction rises, unless he is the chairman, as do the other men at the meeting if the group is of reasonable size. Otherwise only the men in the immediate vicinity of the woman to be seated rise for specific introductions.

• A superior man or woman calling upon another employee may of course smoke, without asking permission; but an outsider may not smoke in the office of someone else unless he is asked to do so. It makes for a bad impression for such a caller to ask permission to smoke if he is there in his own behalf.

• In leaving a room in a business office, a man always steps back to allow his superior to go first. From the standpoint of superiority, the top executives certainly have the privilege of leaving before the women, but    I have noticed that even in business, most gentlemen step aside, no matter what their capacity, to permit the women present to go first. It’s not  a bad idea, as it will be a reminder that women take precedence in this respect in social life.

• The rule that a woman precedes men through doors is a set one although he enters an unlighted room first to turn  on the light.

• A really experienced and urbane executive keeps his relations with his secretary on a friendly but purely business basis even after years of association.

• If in the office a first-name precedent has already been set, at least the man refers to the women on his staff as Miss so and so to visitors to the office.

• It is only human for a man to want his secretary to be neat, attractive and if possible pretty. But the more attractive she is, the more – for his own and her protection – he must treat her with careful, polite objectivity. The quickest way to trouble, a straight line into the maze of gossipy officemates, is for a man to pay more than business attention to his secretary. 

In travelling with a secretary:

• In making reservations at a hotel for an executive and his secretary, the firm name should be used. It should be made clear that the two should be assigned to different floors and if a mistake is made by the reservation desk, correction should be made by whoever signs the register.

• If a man and his secretary are travelling together, the man may well offer to take his employee to dinner if otherwise she faces dinner alone. But he should be careful if he is married or she is, to avoid any but the most dignified restaurants. 

It is a good thing in business to be able to speak out fair and valuable criticism without thought of close friendship. Staff promotions too  are better handled when the owners are on relatively formal terms with all employees rather than intimate with a selected few. To paraphrase Ben Franklin, “Love your business associates but don’t pull down your hedge.”