Book Title:  The Etiquette Edge:  The Unspoken Rules for Business Success

Author:  Beverly Langford

Publishing Company:  American Management Association

Year:  2005

# of Pages: 192

ISBN #:  0-8144-7242-7

$14.95 USA 

4 Stars 

Reviewed By: Deborah Ground Buckner 

No one in the business world should need to read a book like The Etiquette Edge by Beverly Langford.  Unfortunately, many people do.  In short chapters and plainspoken text, Langford sets out many of the basic rules everyone should already know, or, as a vice-president of a major technology company put it, “the things my mother taught me.” 

Simple courtesies such as saying “thank you,” “please,” or “I'm sorry,” replying to correspondence, following through with a promise, concluding one telephone call before beginning another are often woefully neglected in the business world today, all with the excuse that “I'm just too busy.”  Langford drives home the point that no one is too busy for common courtesy, and often, just following a few simple rules can save hurt feelings and resentment, thereby increasing efficiency in the long run. 

With chapters such as “Credibility: Creating It and Keeping It,” “Develop Your Gratitude Attitude:  Say 'Thank You' and Mean It,” “Praiseworthy Praise:  Giving Compliments that Count,” Langford concludes each lesson with “The Bottom Line,” identifying the major points to remember. The chapters end with an “Action Plan” and a promise that “Over the next thirty days, I will stop . . . I will start . . . and I will continue. . . .”   

Basic rules of courtesy are also applied to technological innovations.  For example, my favorite chapter is “Convenience or Curse?  Is It Time for a Cell Phone Reality Check?”  Langford includes such nice rules as “put the phone in silent mode” (Langford must be attending the same plays and concerts I am!) and “have private conversations in private” (what am I to think when the man at the next gas pump shouts into his phone about his plans to break up with his girlfriend later in the day?).  Urging readers to keep technology in perspective, Langford reminds us to “[a]ccept the fact that you don't have to be constantly connected.” 

In a chapter entitled “E-Mail:  Think Before You Send,” Langford reminds us that e-mail can often be interpreted differently than it is intended (why do you think emoticons have been invented?) and urges one to review before sending a message, even encourages leaving it in the “Draft” file for a while.  

There are also helpful chapters on job interviews, handling personality problems in the workplace, learning how to leave a job, and learning how to help another through grief.   

This book is much more than a guide to business success.  It is a guide to life success, for becoming a better person can help anyone be a better person in the workplace. If you're looking for a gift for the graduates in your life, this would be perfect. It also might be a good idea for personnel managers to see that the book mysteriously appears in employee break rooms.  It will be read, and the work environment will be improved as a result.