Etiquette

In a business setting, etiquette boils down to be able to present yourself so that you will be taken seriously. This also applies at the dinner table. Some of these are a given, but just in case they're not, here are a few tips on how get through business lunches and dinners:

Napkins:
- Place your napkin on your lap as soon as you sit down. 

- If you have to leave the table during the meal,leave your napkin on your chair or to the

right of your plate.

- Do not use your napkin to wipe your face (or nose!). Use it to gently dab at your mouth.

Utensils:

- Use utensils from the outside - in. 

- The"rest"position for your utensils is crossed on your plate, with the fork tines pointing down. - - This tells the waiter that you are not finished. 

- Never leave the spoon in the cup or soup bowl after using it. Put it on the saucer.

Passing Items:
- If you are asked to pass something,(e.g.salt and pepper,rolls),don't use it/take some
first before passing (unless the person requesting it invites you to).

Eating:
- If soup is too hot, wait for it to cool before eating. Don't blow on it.

- Break off small pieces of bread or roll and butter and eat a piece at a time.

- When eating meat, cut and eat one piece at a time.

Let's eat!

Being Sustainable

Our sustainability executive has been working very hard to make the case competition even more sustainable this year. Take a quick peak at some of the sustainable initiatives that are going on this year and feel free to make some suggestions!

Blow the Competition Out of the Water

Need to differentiate yourself from the competition? Or ever wonder why Microsoft sells Office instead of Power Point, Excel and Word separately? Totally unrelated ideas right? Incorrect. What they both have in common: Pattern number 9. Kainhan Krippendorff, a blogger for Fastcompany.com, explains it wonderfully in his article, but essentially is boils down to this: If everyone is selling apples... sell apple pies!

Take a look at these questions and see how you can apply pattern number nine to separate yourself from the competition.

1. How could I aggregate the parts to create something new?
2. How can I disaggregate things to create new things?
3. What does my competition offer, and how can I make my approach more appealing?

Check out the full article here!

Part II

Sir Ken Robinson's follow-up talk for TED, also hilarious and amazing!

But How Does That Make You Feel?

Is it okay for people to show emotions at work/ in front of your team? I mean, openly demonstrating feelings like happy, sad, angry, scared, excited, that sort of thing. How far can displaying emotions go before you lose your edge? Check out this article from bnet.com gives two ideas on how to manage emotion in the workplace.