March 1, 2007
Manners and Kindness in the Law Firm
Lydia Ramsey is a business etiquette speaker and trainer and the founder of Manners That Sell, a firm offering keynotes, seminars and workshops to corporations, professional associations, government agencies, and colleges and universities. As Lydia explains it, “My business etiquette presentations are designed for organizations that want their people to be at ease in any business situation and to represent them well in the marketplace.”
A number of managing partners have indicated a “lack of polish” among some Generation Y associates entering the law firm. But etiquette is not just about introductions and table manners. Manners do sell. People do want to do business with people they like, and people like nice people. Etiquette is about being nice and, we might even say, kind.
If improving etiquette within your firm interests you, sign up for Ramsey’s free Business Etiquette Newsletter.
In her January 2007 newsletter, Lydia Ramsey wrote on the importance of kindness in business referencing Ed Horrell’s new book, The Kindness Revolution: The Company-Wide Culture Shift That Inspires Phenomenal Customer Service. She wrote the following:
“From the rampant indifference that we all encounter on a daily basis, he recommends that companies, large and small, switch to an attitude of kindness. He's not suggesting that the boss simply tell everyone "to be nice." He states that kindness starts at the top and penetrates every level of the organization. When everyone within a company treats everyone else with courtesy, respect and compassion, that attitude automatically gets passed on to the customers.”
How true that is. I have always lived by the rule the Common Courtesy is a job requirement. The notion of kindness kicks it up another notch.
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Filed under Firm Culture by Tom Collins
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