Rather than the usual “I wish I had known this at the start” lists, these are small, sometimes perhaps surprising lessons about how business works when people do it. Some look like simple etiquette at first, and some are about money or the team.
1. As a guest and as a host
The first few tips are small things, yet they say a lot about you before you have said a word about your work.
- Accept when you are offered something. When you meet at someone else’s office, a glass of water is enough. The person offering feels like a better host, so the meeting can start on a more positive note.
- Ask where to put your glass. At the end of the meeting, ask where to leave the glass or cup you drank from. They will almost always tell you to leave it and they will clear it away, yet it feels good when someone does not leave a mess behind.
- Push your chair back in. When you get up from a table, push the chair back in and do not walk out of an untidy room, especially when you are visiting someone on business. Though this may be nonsense and just me.
- Prepare for your guest. Before someone comes to you for a meeting, ask whether they drink coffee and, if so, how they take it. Buying some sugar-free almond milk and a little honey costs next to nothing, yet for them it is a very kind gesture.
2. The people you work with
- Shake hands with everyone. At the start and end of a business meeting we usually greet each other with a handshake. I have met many people who would not shake hands with women, and to this day I do not understand why. Shake hands with every participant, or with none of them.
- They work with you. Never think of your people as people who work for you, because they work with you. Lead by example, since you cannot expect more than what you put in and do for them yourself. Loyalty can only be earned, never bought, and in the long run it can be your greatest strength.
- Don’t call them employees. Even if, under the contract, you are someone’s employer, do not call them an employee. When you talk about them, say colleague or team member, or use the name of their role. You both know that legally their salary comes from you, yet calling someone an employee can sound belittling, and it needlessly reminds them of the contractual relationship between you.
3. Negotiation and relationships
- Find common ground. When you work with someone, or are negotiating, often the most important thing is that the other person feels at home and at ease. Skip the obligatory small talk, look for common ground instead, and do not narrow the conversation drily down to the one topic you are meeting about.
- Watch the response time. If an offer or a presentation goes unanswered for too long, it usually means bad news. If one of your quotes has been out for a while without a reply, it is probably too expensive, and if it is accepted suspiciously quickly, you probably underpriced it.
4. Money
- An invoiced amount is not yours yet. Do not count on it being paid, or paid on time. Most of the time it will be, but you never know, so only count on it once the transfer has arrived.
- Money is not there just to be spent. Save it and invest it, and do not look at it only in terms of what it can buy. When you spend on tools or specialists, look at the long-term benefit, because that is one of the ways an expense turns into an investment.
5. Work, life and people
We work in order to live, and that order is easy to forget when there is a lot of work. Whether you do it alone or with a team, try to find out as soon as you can how to make that true in your own life.
And finally, the one I consider most important. If there is noise inside, there will be noise outside too. Work on the voice you hear in your head, and the voice others hear from you will become much more pleasant as well.
Everything else I left out either deserves its own article or simply did not come to mind. If only one of the thirteen stays with you, I hope it is the last.
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