As a certified public accountant, I’m required to earn at least 80 hours every two years of continuing professional education credits.
asserted
I → require → credits
Many other professions and trades, including lawyers, healthcare professionals, engineers, electricians, plumbers and certain contractors, have similar requirements.
asserted
professions → include → requirements
It’s a good idea.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
These professional requirements often also include ethics training.
asserted
requirements → include → training
That’s a good idea too.
asserted
That → ’ → ?
But just getting a refresher on ethics isn’t enough.
asserted
getting → get → ethics
Something else is needed – something that’s even more important: etiquette.
asserted
that → need → ?
One venture capital firm is trying to address that problem.
asserted
firm → try → problem
According to a recent story, the firm conducts an “etiquette finishing school” for startup founders and tech entrepreneurs so that they can “learn how to dress and socialize, as well as how to overcome their fear of fish eggs”.
uncertain
they → accord → eggs
Among the topics covered are the importance of wearing a suit and tie to a presentation, understanding how to “approach different rooms”, selecting wines and how to eat caviar.
asserted
importance → cover → caviar
While I’m sure this may be important for some, it’s completely valueless for most.
uncertain
it → ’m → most
Etiquette goes way beyond fish eggs.
asserted
Etiquette → go → eggs
It’s becoming a critical management skill.
asserted
It → become → ?
The Encyclopedia Britannica defines etiquette as a system of rules and conventions that regulate social and professional behavior.
asserted
that → define → behavior
Etiquette isn’t just about dressing or socializing – or eating caviar.
asserted
Etiquette → dress → caviar
It’s about saying please and thank you.
asserted
It → ’ → you
It’s about being on time for meetings.
asserted
It → ’ → meetings
It’s about putting your phone away when having an in-person conversation and letting another driver merge in front of you in traffic.
asserted
driver → ’ → traffic
Etiquette means keeping your shoes and socks on your feet during a flight and not bringing a smelly food on the plane.
asserted
Etiquette → mean → plane
It’s holding the door for the next person.
asserted
It → hold → person
It’s listening to your music in a public place with earbuds.
asserted
It → listen → earbuds
It’s not commenting on a person’s appearance, skin color or sexual orientation.
asserted
It → comment → appearance
It means understanding and respecting another person’s point of view, regardless of how much you disagree.
asserted
you → mean → view
Etiquette is simply learning how to live and work with people who are different from you.
asserted
who → learn → you
This type of training is needed now more than ever.
asserted
type → need → training
Women make up roughly half the workforce.
asserted
Women → make → workforce
Four generations can find themselves working under the same roof.
asserted
themselves → find → roof
Employees have different religions, sexual orientations, political beliefs and ideas about what constitutes acceptable behavior.
asserted
what → have → behavior
Everybody has their thing.
asserted
Everybody → have → thing
How owners, managers and colleagues respond to someone else’s thing is etiquette.
asserted
respond → respond → thing
For a business to succeed, managers need to not only be versed in their technical requirements, but they have to be skilled at understanding cultures, religious beliefs, political leanings, attitudes, backgrounds and modes of dress.
asserted
they → succeed → dress
A conservative Christian manager needs to know how to respectfully manage a Muslim employee.
asserted
manager → need → employee
A progressive manager needs to know how to respectfully manage a Maga employee.
asserted
manager → need → employee
A 25-year-old needs to work with a 65-year-old – and vice versa.
asserted
old → need → old
This isn’t about making everyone nicer.
asserted
everyone → make → ?
It’s about making people easier to work with … and therefore more productive.
asserted
people → ’ → ?
One big step would be to expand on that VC firm’s “etiquette finishing school” idea.
asserted
step → expand → idea
But to better know how to behave with others who are different.
asserted
who → know → others
And why not start with the millions of professionals in this country who are required to take continuing professional education in order to maintain their business licenses?
asserted
who → start → licenses
But if we’re already forcing professionals to spend dozens of hours in classrooms, I’d happily trade four of them for something that might actually make us better at dealing with one another.
uncertain
us → force → one
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
