University Etiquette Male Grace Over Power Surviving the Parent Company

Outclass the Competition
by Harold Almon baesoe.com

Men, in business, you will learn to say to yourself, “Grace over power.” Grace: getting approval will win out over showing power. Show that you can be more graceful than powerful. When a thing appears to be difficult, request help. Say, "Grace over power." Do the thing again with more implied force, with more ingenuity, and in a more relaxed fashion.

Show generosity whenever possible. Show style over your ability to spend. Maintain your principles over your passions. Be seen, communicate; say, “Thank you.” Every once in a while, polish a halo: catch other people doing right, and say, "Looks nice!" Share the responsibility for matters of consideration for those in a given environment. Make eye contact. Say, “Please,” “Bless you,” “Thank you,” and “Excuse me,” at given opportunities.

Practice being kind, people remember it. Correct a fault, if you are responsible for the existence of it. Perform the correction without bringing undue attention to the incident or to yourself. Recover quickly. Learn to smile.

Keep a private life separate from your business life. Do not gossip. Keep oneself and one's supervisor out of office politics.

When an event happens that is too embarrassing to be considered tolerable, ignore it. Pretend that the event did not happen. Act accordingly, at least for the moment.

When you are the brunt of a verbal tort, be ready and able with a funny verbal retort. Smile if a retort is not forthcoming. Leave when you cannot smile. Avoid being rude, loud, losing temper, or betraying patience in public. Each indicates a fall from grace.

Learn to excuse and remove yourself, instead of getting ill or displaying agitation, by a circumstance. Say, “Got to go.” Keep the mindset, "No problem”or “Never mind. It does not matter." (I know. It does matter. For this, there is - later.) For every affront, my mother use to say, “A cow is going to need its tail more than one time, to shoo the flies away.” (It means they will need you again.)

Practice, acceptable (funny) retorts. Your mission is to get approval. OK, now you can stay. Remember the rules. They can be more important than the activity.

In Surviving the Parent Company, you will learn that imperfect friends will always be better than perfect strangers. Ultimately, people will always be more important than floors, and the Ginny Biter's rule applies on matter and energy: “If it does not matter, do not waste the energy.” Welcome home.