I thought I’d heard it all, until while listening to the Manager Tools Podcast while laying out a residential intersection, I was somewhat suprised to hear that there were a set of “rules” for how to behave at a business lunch. Obviously many of the managers I’ve worked for have never thought that these were important.
However, many of the tips given in this great two part series are pretty much common sense, some are mainly directed mainly at a North American audience, but there is lots to learn when the meal is secondary to the meeting, such as where to sit, when to talk business, tipping, what not to eat, how and when to pay and how much to drink.
Good business practice demands good relationships – with customers, suppliers, team members, and bosses. And good relationships usually means breaking bread together. So, are you up to speed on how to have a business meal? Or even worse, HOST the meal yourself?
You are? GOOD! Then you already know when to start talking business, and whether it’s different at breakfast, lunch and dinner. You know how much alcohol to drink, and how many glasses of wine there are in a bottle. And the ideal way to pay for a meal, or what to do when the check comes. If you know all THAT, then we bet you also know where to seat your guests, and yourself, whether there are 2 or three of you. And, of course, what to order, and what NOT to order. Soup, you say? NO.
And if you’re not sure… that’s why there’s a Manager Tools podcast covering all that and more.
If you haven’t heard these guys, serve them up in your player of choice, subscribe on iTunes or juice and stay up to date with their management-hacks to get the most out of yourself, your team and life as a manager.
Technorati Tags: manager, management, podcast, etiquette, business, eating, Manager Tools,
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Mike Thomas
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Your post reminds me of Your post reminds me of something I read earlier this week. Here in Japan, Nintendo has released a game for the DS handheld that is all about business etiquette. You’re given different business situations and have to decide how to proceed. The example I saw was how should the seating arrangement be when four businessmen have to share a cab with each other. The answer, apparently, is that the highest-ranking member should sit directly behind the driver. Pretty cool!