Yes, Mary Crane & Associates has officially relocated from cold and snowy Denver, CO to New York, NY, where, believe it or not, the weather’s been even colder and snowier over the past two months. Not to worry. My clients’ requests for new programs have kept my fingers limber and warm, as they’ve danced over keyboards creating new PowerPoint presentations. I’ve had the opportunity to address a number of new topics, including the following:

 

No, “office morons” are not the words I typically use when I refer to the newest employees entering today’s workforce. Bloomberg BusinessWeek, however, recently used that descriptor in “Breakdown in Business Etiquette Skills Bandwagon.” The article notes that because Millennials spend more time interacting with computers than co-workers, they often lack basic business skills, including how to dress, shake hands, and manage a business lunch or dinner.

 

Of course, Millennials are hardly alone in exhibiting bad behavior. Now that wireless communication devices have become ubiquitous, people of all ages text and take phone calls throughout client meetings. In today’s extremely competitive environment, these bad behaviors can become deal breakers.  

 

While most clients have requested a customized version of our “Rules of Engagement” program (key components include: making the most of networking events; managing business meals; appropriate workplace attire; and netiquette), I’ve seen a growing interest in one-on-one coaching. This reflects, I believe, employers’ attempts to provide personalized services to the promising performers they’ve retained during the recent recession.

 

By the way, I consistently find that whether I present in a law firm, corporate or school setting, the program participants most interested in business etiquette training are new immigrants and first generation professionals. This growing group of employees seems extremely intent on acquiring each and every skill that will help distinguish them in the workplace.

 

As to more senior employees, their need to be familiar with international protocol has never been greater. Has your organization recently opened an office in China, India or the Middle East? If yes, you must ensure the professionals who staff those offices are familiar with the local culture and customs. As New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman wrote in “The World is Flat,” “Just to survive, we must learn how to work with and respect the customs of other cultures from knowing the proper form of address to appropriate gift giving to knowing that a businesswoman visiting Saudi Arabia covers her arms.”

 

 

Earlier this month, in response to a question about Deutsche Bank’s position on corporate boards and gender quotas, CEO Josef Ackerman said the financial institution prided itself on its promotion of diversity. His reply was a little surprising given that Deutsche Bank has been unable to find one woman to take a chair on its all-male 12-member board. When this was brought to his attention, Ackerman stated, “I hope that someday will be more colorful and prettier too.”

 

Every time you think we’ve taken two-steps forward, someone takes one big step back!

 

In preparing for a keynote speech I made to a group of women law students and lawyers, I recently spent a good chunk of time examining the roadblocks women may experience in the workforce.

 

If you happen to be a so-called “attractive woman,” the news is pretty good. Research consistently indicates that “attractive women” fare well at work. On average, they earn 4% more than their “plain” counterparts, and they receive more attention from their bosses and mentors. In contrast, being overweight can be particularly costly for women employees. One study found that women who are obese earn on average 17% less than women whose weight falls within the “normal” range.     

 

By the way, the research finds near unanimous agreement as to the attributes that individuals see as “attractive.” For women, key characteristics include: facial symmetry; unblemished, light-colored skin; an hourglass figure; European facial characteristics; and conventional “white” hairstyles. (Men benefit from extra height.)

 

However, if you are an “attractive women,” you may experience more difficulty gaining entry into the workplace. One study compared callback rates for men and women. Attractive men who included a photo with their résumé received callbacks twice as often as male job candidates who submitted résumés without a photo or who included a photo of a man defined as “plain-looking.” When an attractive woman included a photo with her résumé, HR representatives viewed the job candidate negatively, stating the woman candidate was attempting to “market herself via her appearance.”

 

Here’s what’s really depressing: The researchers noted that in nearly all cases the HR representative who made the callback decision was a woman between the age of 24 and 39. They attributed the negative reaction to jealousy at work

 

More recently, several clients have asked me to address the following issue: How do women better position and promote themselves at work. As one client stated, “We’ve done programs on women and communications. And quite frankly, we’ve concluded that women are pretty good communicators. Where women are challenged is in promoting themselves.”

 

 

 

For years I’ve heard the complaint that our nation’s best schools graduate students who, while book smart, have no practical business skills. This has been especially true for members of the Millennial generation—a generation that was actively encouraged to skip after-school and summer jobs and instead to focus on activities that might burnish a résumé. As I’ve told more than one employer, Millennials have been encouraged to scale mountains and excavate ruins. However, few have clocked-in at a job, spent significant time communicating face-to-face with anyone, or received anything other than positive feedback.

 

I’ve listed below the key characteristics that employers tell me they currently seek in their newest employees:

To this, I would add that every graduating student and every new employee requires special training in how to “sell” themselves and their ideas. The days are long gone when someone could get ahead by simply doing the work that’s handed to them. To really succeed, new employees must self-motivate and demonstrate genuine confidence in presenting and promoting their thoughts.

 

If you need to build employee confidence and simultaneously provide developmental opportunities that will help your employees better promote their ideas, try this: Offer presentation skills training and require your employees to participate in public speaking opportunities. (In the case of law firms, bonuses should be tied to the number of public speaking engagements professionals make.)

 

I’ve done one-on-one presentation skills coaching with any number of clients, and let me tell you, it works. I’ve seen presentation coaching transform a law firm associate from a good worker—but one with limited growth potential—into an associate who suddenly found herself on the partnership track. To increase the likelihood that students will land the jobs they most desire, schools should provide similar training opportunities.

 

 

If you received my November 2010 Update, you know that I set a one-year goal of achieving a perfect score on the Army Physical Fitness Test. By the end of last year, it became apparent that I’d be able to achieve that goal. So, I’ve upped the ante in two ways. First, I’ve decided to chase the highest score ever achieved on the military fitness test. That means that by Veterans Day 2011, I’ll need to knock out a lot more sit-ups and push-ups and considerably increase my running pace. Second, in an attempt to take my mission nation-wide, I’m in search of corporate sponsors who can transform my little project into a national fund-raising effort. I’m hopeful that in the future we’ll help underwrite scholarships for the children of servicemen and women who have lost their lives in combat.

 

Stay tuned, and in the meantime, join me. Drop and give ‘em twenty!