Studies have shown that 93 percent of what is believed about people in business is based upon visual messages, not on credentials or on the content of conversation. An invaluable resource for today's job market, How to Gain the Professional Edge, Third Edition helps readers answer a multitude of questions about behavior, attitude, and image to improve professionalism and open doors to advancement and career success. This new edition has been updated to discuss evolving social media and technology, greater awareness of interpersonal issues in the workplace, and changing fashions. Chapters include: Critical First Impressions Do You Hear What You Are Not Saying? The Attitude Advantage Social Graces in Business Places Maximize Your Relationships Details Make a Difference You Are What You Wear Tune into Technology. Perfect for young readers preparing to enter the job market or workers who want to hone their professionalism and advance their careers, this informative eBook provides the tools, skills, and techniques to help people achieve their professional goals.

Which fork should you use to eat the salad at a business lunch? What does business casual really mean? What's the one thing it's important not to do when meeting a Japanese businessperson for the first time? Good social skills are critical to success in today's competitive business world. Excellent manners not only grease the wheels of commerce, but an employee's positive professional image rubs off on the company and improves its reputation. The Essential Guide to Business Etiquette, a practical guide for interacting effectively with colleagues, customers, and business associates, details the social skills necessary to ensure personal and professional success. Good manners are like gold in today's fractious business environment—and thus provide an edge in getting and keeping new business. The Essential Guide to Business Etiquette features 14 chapters covering the most critical areas that can help people succeed in the climb up the corporate ladder. From the basics of getting off on the right foot during the job interview to handling office politics to dining etiquette, this book covers everything today's businessperson needs to know to navigate the tricky world of etiquette whether at home or abroad. Learning to operate with grace in the business world could not be more important. Every day, poor manners ruin deals, derail promotions, and harm customer relations.

Get a practical, actionable, three-step process to build and leverage important relationships Most people know instinctively how to build positive, long-lasting relationships with spouses, friends, and even co-workers–but few of us know how to consciously and systematically build and maintain positive business relationships. For years, The Relationship Edge has successfully shown people how to build personal relationships and repair damaged ones with a proven three-step process. This completely updated third edition offers a fresh perspective on that process and includes more contemporary case studies, as well as how to build and nurture relationships online. Develop the right mindset–understand that personal relationships are vital to business success, both offline and online Ask the right questions–discover the common ground you share with others Do the right thing–be truthful and straightforward or you'll undermine the goodwill you've worked so hard to build Jerry Acuff, the author, has a proven record of success with previous editions of The Relationship Edge With real case studies and step-by-step guidance, The Relationship Edge, Third Edition offers the tools and advice you need to develop strong, rewarding relationships with customers, co-workers, and managers. Jerry Acuff's latest version is packed full of practical, concrete information on the mechanics of interpersonal relationships in the business world, all designed to have you doing business better and more productively than ever.

The new context and character of public service - shifting values, entrepreneurship, information technology, multi-sector careers - require enhanced technical, ethical, and leadership skills. This concise and readable work describes what it means to be a consummate professional public servant. It sets standards for everyone who conducts the public's business and links them with performance management, human resource administration, and information technology skills. The authors identify the ethical foundations of public service and how to integrate them in practice. They also address individual leadership, what it means, and how it is based on a foundation of technical and ethical skills. Filled with original illustrative examples and case studies from government, the non-profit sector, and business, The Professional Edge is an ideal supplement for any introductory course in Public Administration or Ethics in the Public Service.

The new context and character of public service - shifting values, entrepreneurship, information technology, and multi-sector careers - require a 'skills triangle' of technical, ethical, and leadership abilities. This concise and readable work focuses on these three essential skills, and describes what it means to be a consummate professional public servant. Essential reading for both professionals and students, "Achieving Competencies in Public Service: The Professional Edge" sets standards for anyone who conducts the public's business, and links them with performance management, human resource administration, and information technology skills. Filled with original illustrative examples, case studies, and exemplar profiles, the book is an ideal supplement for any introductory course in Public Administration.

The U. S. is losing its competitive edge in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Thomas Friedman warns that America is not producing enough young people in STEM fields that are essential for entrepreneurship and innovation in the 21st century (The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, 2005). Blue ribbon commissions and influential business and national leaders have issued reports on the seriousness of the situation but little collective effort has been made to advance solutions to the STEM crisis. Increasing the Competitive Edge in Math and Science lays out actions that can be taken by K-12 teachers and administrators, by higher education faculty and administrators, and by policy makers working collaboratively in school through college (K-16) partnerships to prepare American youth for meaningful participation in the twenty-first century science and technologically-based economy. If the steps described in this book are followed in states all across the Country, the resulting actions can help America to regain its competitive edge in science and mathematics.

The Talent Management Handbook explains how organizations can identify and get the most out of “high-potential people” by developing and promoting them to key positions. The book explains: 1. A system for integrating three human resources “building blocks”: organizational competencies, performance appraisal, and forecasting employee/manager potential 2. Six human resources conditions necessary for organization excellence 3. How to link your employee assessment process to career planning and development The Talent Management Handbook will help you design career plans that boost employee morale, as well as create and sustain excellence in your organization. It is full of simple, efficient, easy-to-follow methods for assessing, planning, and developing high-value people to meet your organization’s current and future needs. And it will help you combine your organization’s diverse human resources activities into a single, cogent system. Featuring best practices from leading companies as well as contributions from field experts who hold top positions in such leading HR consultancies as AON Consulting, The Hay Group, Hewitt Associates, Right Management Consulting. Sibson Consulting, and Towers Perrin, The Talent Management Handbook is an authoritative resource for creating and maintaining excellence in your organization through people management.