Best business etiquette books according to redditors
We found 102 Reddit comments discussing the best business etiquette books. We ranked the 38 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 102 Reddit comments discussing the best business etiquette books. We ranked the 38 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
I would HIGHLY recommend reading this book, "The essential guide to customs and culture India" - culture smart series by Becky Stephen http://www.amazon.com/India-Culture-Smart-Essential-Customs/dp/1857335252
This was the best guide for stuff like: eating food (always with your right hand), how to greet people properly, when to make eye contact, etc. As a woman, I found this the most helpful because it was clear about what was expected of me.
And again, India was the best place I've ever been.
The Japanese Mind: Understanding Contemporary Japanese Culture is one hell of a primer on Japanese culture and society. It goes into the historical significance of how and why Japanese society functions in the way that it does and puts everything into context. Here's a list of some of the topics (copied straight from Amazon because I'm too lazy to type up my own list):
>Among the topics explored: aimai (ambiguity), amae (dependence upon othersÆ benevolence), amakudari (the nationÆs descent from heaven), chinmoku (silence in communication), gambari (perseverence), giri (social obligation), haragei (literally, ôbelly artö; implicit, unspoken communication), kenkyo (the appearance of modesty), sempai-kohai (seniority), wabi-sabi (simplicity and elegance), and zoto (gift giving), as well as discussions of child-rearing, personal space, and the roles of women in Japanese society.
This is a damn interesting book and I can't recommend it highly enough.
Buy this book and read it from cover to cover if you want to understand what is unique about the modern Japanese mind/culture. The book was written by Japanese, and it was incredibly helpful to understand my (then) Japanese girlfriend. We eventually got married and she confirms that the book is spot on.
Adjust demeanor and appearances as required. It's called marketing yourself. Presidents do it. In fact, there are entire books that aim to teach you just that.
TL;DR Wall of text, Warsaw specific info on salaries and renting flats, some cultural advice, Poland = Great.
I see there's some really good advice but usually from people outside Warsaw and Warsaw is really quite different from the rest of the country. I lived there for 10 years so I'll offer some hints.
As an American graphics designer at a decent company, you can easily make around 8000 PLN before taxes. Being an American and having experience from there will give you the upper hand if you apply for a job at an international company. I don't exactly know what tax rules apply to non-Polish citizens so you have to figure that out for yourself but it's around 5500 PLN if Polish tax laws apply. Anyway, applying for a graphics design job will get you much more money than teaching English, simply because there is a lot of people already doing that. I think you can expect somewhere around 4-5k before taxes so not really worth it in your position.
Renting a flat is quite tricky. Warsaw is big and public transport quality varies depending on the place you're at but is usually very good. Assuming your husband will be working in downtown (Śródmieście), you'd want to rent a flag in Śródmieście, Żoliborz, Ochota, Mokotów, Wola, maybe Wilanów or Praga Północ (avoid Praga Południe, they sound similar but are very different). Avoid northern and southern outskirts because you'll be stuck in traffic and overcrowded buses that will take an hour to get you to your workplace. Targówek, Bemowo, Białołęka, Bielany, Wawer should rather be out of the question. Ursynów goes both ways because metro (subway) is there so if you can rent something near a stop then it's ok but sucks otherwise.
You might be used to long commutes from the US but it's entirely possible to spend 40 minutes a day or less on commuting both ways so don't waste your time.
Someone has already mentioned gumtree.pl for renting a flat (renting a flat in Warsaw is here). szybko.pl is also very popular in Warsaw. There are two ways to rent a flat, either directly from a person owning the flat or through an agency. If you rent through an agency, you'll have to pay them a hefty amount for doing simply nothing since you yourself found the ad. It usually amounts to around 1 monthly rent. Landlords will also expect an upfront security payment of 1 monthly rent, as a sort of insurance for anything you might break in the apartment while you stay there. You also need to know that a lot of apartments are rented without the furniture, even if it's there on the photos, you need to look in the description. I assume you don't speak Polish so this might be hard for you. In this case, I would suggest contacting an agency, like metrohouse - I know this one caters to English speakers but there surely are others and asking them to find offers that might be interesting for you could be a good solution. You'll have to pay for that service of course but if you find an ad on a website yourself and it's from an agency, you'll pay either way so that's an option to consider.
Rent prices differ tremendously. You can have a big apartment in an unsafe neighborhood for dirt cheap but you won't be happy about it because it's far, far away from any civilization and well, unsafe. You should be able to rent something really comfortable for around 3000 PLN or less a month, with furniture and all the home stuff that you need (dish cleaner, fridge, sometimes a tv, also washing machine; be aware that each apartment has its own washing machine but we do not usually have dryers). Utilities are usually paid separately and will amount to ~300 PLN a month if you don't have children, this includes electricity, water, heating. You will need an Internet connection as well, in most of the places it's cable provider UPC, you can get Internet without the TV if you want. It's not expensive, 30 Mbps will cost you around 60 PLN. One more thing to remember is parking. There's a paid parking zone in downtown and extends to other places too so if you get a flat in that area (here's a map, everything in red and blue is paid parking zone), you will either need a parking garage or work something out with the landlord (it's possible to get a pass for your car if you live in the zone but it's quite some paper work to do so be clear about it with your landlord if you need it).
Overall, you'll need around 8500 PLN after taxes to live comfortably, including your student loans. That's not really that much for two people but might be a lot for only one. You said your husband got a good job offer so I'm assuming it's somewhere around that. 3000 PLN for flat and utilities, 2300 PLN for your student loan and ~3000 PLN for very comfortable living.
Now about how it's like in Poland - I'm Polish so I might be biased :) Warsaw is also quite different from the rest of Poland so I'll offer two views for you. You'll be OK in Warsaw, it's a really nice city, a lot of people speak English, even at local shops. The food is great and quite cheap, although some things might be expensive to get, like good steak. I really loved the city itself but it depends on what you like, and some people hate it. It's a fast paced, crowded (not as much as LA or NY of course, but still) but very active. If you enjoy partying, you'll find it more difficult than in other more tourist friendly cities (Cracow, Wrocław) but there are a lot of great clubs, pubs and restaurants around downtown. There's a lot of great things to see there but that's for another post, you can also get a lot of info on the Internet. One nice thing is that you're only around 6 hour drive (by car or train) from the Baltic sea to the north or Tatry mountains to the south. Even closer are the Mazurian lakes (north-east). Poland is quite a beautiful country although obviously not as diverse as US. It's only as big as New Mexico, and considerably smaller than California (Texas is twice its size). In three hours (by train, longer by car) you can get to Cracow which is a very well known tourist destination, a lot of things to see here and around the city (Auschwitz concentration camp museum, Wieliczka Salt Mine and a number of things in Cracow itself).
As I said, Warsaw is quite different from the rest of the country. In small towns and villages it's possible you won't find anyone speaking English so if you're lost and want to ask for directions - tough luck (less of a problem now with GPS and Google Maps). They will be also far less tolerant. You didn't mention race but it can be a problem if you're not white, even in Warsaw but obviously less so than in smaller cities or towns. But generally everyone are quite friendly, unless they do not look friendly and first impression won't usually fail you here. Even if they don't speak English, everyone will try to help you out, maybe they know someone who speaks it and they'll call them and pass you the phone so that you can ask questions or something.
Someone else mentioned the weather so you should know already. It's way colder in winter but around the same in the summer as LA, here's temperature and humidity comparison between Warsaw and LA for the past 5 years.
One more thing I wanted to tell you is to be aware of cultural differences. Americans are often seen as obnoxious and for a good reason. Yelling at restaurants and laughing loudly so that the people in the pub across the street can hear you will make other people want to stab you with a blunt fork multiple times. Keep your voice down around other people. "Customer is always right" is not always the rule, just because you're paying for something doesn't mean you get to boss or badmouth the clerk. Be polite. Sorry if this offends you but I have really seen numerous Americans behave this way. Also, tipping rules are not as strict as in the US, you should tip waiters, pizza delivery guys and taxi drivers but not hairdressers and in general, it's not 100% mandatory. If you're not happy with the service, you don't tip. I generally suggest this book, it's about business interactions but a lot of it translates great to everyday life. It's not about Poland specifically so you might find it interesting for other reasons.
In general - the opinions I've heard about Poland, and Warsaw in particular, are almost always positive, including from Americans. Not only from tourist point of view, also expats claim Poland is great. If you want to try something else, it can be a great experience for you. If you both get jobs, you will live very comfortably with a lot of expendable income (for Polish standards) but you won't save any substantial amount in USD simply because we don't make nearly enough here ($30k a year is a good salary in Warsaw and great elsewhere). Our beer is cheap and girls are beautiful (though that may, or may not, be relevant to you) so come along!
A haircut is a perfect chance to work on small talk skills. It's a vital skill for networking and just all around advancement in both your personal and professional life and everyone should try and overcome their anxiety around small talk.
I don't normally go for self-help books but this book has really helped.
Quite haircuts are great but the hairdresser is a perfect opportunity to practice. Captive audience and regular contact (assuming you go to the same person each time).
Politicians, advertisers, pseudoscientists, business managers:
A particularly sickening (and extreme) example is a text written in Nazi Germany in the early days of the Holocaust. Back then, the extermination of Jews was not yet done through the use of gas chambers; rather, Jews were put in the back of a van into which the exhaust fumes were fed. The text in question describes how to make these 'killing vans' more efficient in killing people, but manages to describe the entire 'upgrade' without ever referring to the end result: mass murder.
Great article, something I've been thinking about a lot lately. There's a great book on this called Why Business People Speak Like Idiots: A Bullfighter's Guide. It's really made me think about how to phrase things in the way a human would rather than going for the overly formal, adjective-laden meaninglessness that corporate employees, especially in technology, get trapped by.
The goal he alluded to is to be heard when you have something to say and to strip out all the jargon-y crap that gets in the way of that.
> I have no idea what influence it has on Japan's current statistics of violence.
In that case you haven't read hardly enough about Japan. As a start, I suggest this book, and this is a later edition from Tuttle, can't vouch for it.
I'm going to answer what I think about the effects because I only have anecdotal evidence about Seoul and workaholism; I've only heard spoken with someone who said that they interviewed Hyundai employees and that they truly were living in just robot-routine efficiency. Hyundai is one of the Chaebols (kind of like Keiretsu in Japan), so big corporations might be the signal.
I can definitely confirm that I really feel for some of my friends working in Tokyo who have cray cray hours. One of my friends in particular is in a kind of situation and has the kind of talent and career going that really motivate me to be a builder and try to get in position to hire these awesome people into something that doesn't espouse bushido or whatever. I don't believe that corporations are an end unto themselves at all. That is insanity. More on that.
There are many foreigners working at "typical" Japanese companies for a variety of reasons including having a spouse and needing to get a work visa, which is a complicated situation depending on your skills or if you aren't married and can't simply use residence to maintain your location if you're basically a freelancer/entrepreneur type. For these people, the steady paycheck isn't the only trap. You might get a five year visa, but if you quit the job, there goes your visa. Sounds fun? Ask about visas if you need basic help and I can give you lawyer contact info if you need more.
Expats do everything, like getting on "foreigner" teams, trying to work at startups or just newer companies like Rakuten and Cyber Agent etc, and the worst part to me was just thinking, how can they (most of my Tokyo friends are aspiring entrepreneurs) possibly bootstrap with so little free time? Rakuten is supposedly different in so far as trying to go intrapreneur and having began as a startup. I'm skeptical for no particular reason. A lot of those operations feel predatory since they're operating like incubators in a land of no competition. You get good valuations as an investor when you're an oasis in the dessert.
To really express how absurd the view of companies and identity is in Japan by western standards, you have to read this. I did Tokyo Startup Weekend International, and our concept was basically sharing economy with working moms and stay-at-home moms for babysitting. We tried to pitch the service. People answered that they wouldn't trust the service at all. We changed our pitch to just connecting moms within individual companies, such as Mitsubishi etc with over 50,000 employees or something. I shit you not, one of our testimonials was that, "if it's someone within the company, then I can trust them." And we won. The contrast between company and non-company was kind of alarming.
To sum up the situation facing an expat working at a Japanese company: more hours, less pay, visa trap, and a society where a lot of the success is utterly committed to this religion. In that sense, I have heard that Seoul is similar. You work at big companies to get money, prestige etc, and in Seoul they might respect seniority even more than in Japan. There's a lot of rules about age in Korea. A lot of social forces that drove the Japanese companies to be weird exist in Seoul, but again I haven't talked to people working at typical companies as much.
I met an American at Narita airport who was just about to go to work at Rakuten. We had a good conversation and exchanged emails. Not to mean anything bad about the guy, but I could definitely tell he was super green and fresh out of college, so any job was going to be exciting. I don't think he knew a lot about Japan, but the enthusiasm about the culture will at least keep him going for another year or two.
The area I was living in is called "Ichigaya" and it's like a river of suits in the daytime. I found it to be a very oppressive feeling compared to Kyoto where I did study abroad. Later I started getting further out of the center of Tokyo and it was much more organic feeling. The area around Asakusa was totally different than anywhere else, with outdoor seating and more of a giant street picnic feel whereas the rest of Tokyo strikes me as hyper-commercial and unwelcoming. I only stayed in Asakusa one day because I realized my visa expired the next day and I had to get to an airport and on the phone with my lawyer immediately to be sure I wasn't going to look like I was trying to flee immigration.
Here's a cool book if you want to know the specifics of expats at really traditional Japanese companies. It's been a while since I read it, but it did inform my decisions.
My thinking currently ( its developing so it changes all time) we are in early-middle stage. Let say if dot com bubble was from 1995 to 2001. we are around 1997-98. Trying to learn more about it to make more educated decisions.
But I might be wrong, because everything goes faster now. Good read about fast changing future :
https://www.amazon.com.br/Whiplash-How-Survive-Faster-Future/dp/1455544590
For software maybe look at Passolo or Catalyst. Haven't used either, know they're pretty popular. Maybe there's something newer, IDK
https://www.sdltrados.com/products/passolo/
http://www.alchemysoftware.com
LISA is defunct but LRC is still around https://www.localisation.ie
You also want to look at Terminology Management
http://www.cotsoes.org/sites/default/files/CST_Recommendations_for_Terminology_Work.pdf
OAXAL was designed for this sort of thing but I don't think anyone used it much.
IRL advice -
Hire someone bilingual w/native language being + residing in the country that's the localization target (don't have a Spaniard "localize" something for the Latin American market or vice versa). What country is the target? I know people in Poland, some of the Scandanavian ones. Usually it takes a team to do this correctly. You never automate translation/localization unless it barely matters.
\> business scenarios
Fair chance some of them will be offensive, unintentionally hilarious, or just not make any sense cross-culturally. Watch out for any gestures. OK sign means "You're an a--hole," for instance in about half the world. Also, in a lot of the Islamic world male-female interactions differ and it's considered a slight to shake with the left hand rather than just mildly odd/rude like in the US. Skirt length is an issue in parts of Asia. And you have to avoid anything with kings in a few countries and bones in mainland China. Also, things in the Anglosphere that are business concerns often just aren't elsewhere, so they may just be irrelevant.
Most regulations and agencies are also nationally, so that usually will be re-done. Anything HR related should just be done locally. EU member countries on the continent (as well as some former Communist countries) have an impenetrable morass of laws that you will probably need to hire a local bureaucrat to untangle. The US has pretty much no workplace and employment laws compared to most of the first world.
Read Kiss, Bow, Or Shake Hands - not the authors, no relationship.
https://www.amazon.com/Kiss-Bow-Shake-Hands-Bestselling/dp/1593373686
>I'm from Sweden were there's a long tradition of strong unions and many pro-worker policies (which I've given the impression is somewhat the polar opposite of japanese work culture), is this going to be a big cultural difference?
First of all, it depends on what kind of employment you have. If you are a sennin (usually translated as full-time or permanent) employee you have quite a lot of protections. Of course, not all employers follow the law, but if they do sennin employees are well paid and well protected. However, other types of employment, such as contract, outsourced, part-time, etc. have very few protections and these types of employees are often exploited. As a foreigner you are unlikely to be offered employment as a sennin. Most likely you will be offered a contract position and you will need to pay close attention to what the contract says. Are foreign employees treated different in Sweden? I don't know. I suppose it might be a "big cultural difference" that you are discriminated against because you are a foreign employee.
> In Sweden, we usually don't interact much with people we don't know and getting to know new people is a pretty hard business.
I'd say that's true of everywhere world. Urban, developed, industrialized society doesn't promote interaction with people. Japan is no different.
>In general, is it difficult to interact socially with people in Japan?
It depends mostly on you, but also where you are in Japan. I live in Osaka and people here are well known to be friendly and outgoing (for Japanese) so I've never struggled to interact socially with people. My experience may have been very different if I lived in Tokyo. I don't know. Maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm just a friendly outgoing guy.
>Are there any cues that might not be apparent for an outsider?
Yes. And there have been whole books written on the subject. You're not going to get a particularly definitive or comprehensive answer here on Reddit. It's better to try reading something like THIS and then come back with specific questions.
There are a number of pay-offs that have nothing to do with the social media for which Japan is popular in the West.
Here are all the local Amazon links I could find.
amazon.co.uk
amazon.ca
amazon.com.au
amazon.in
amazon.com.mx
amazon.de
Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.
Well it depends. Lots of these subreddits being handed out like r/freethought or r/changemyview only works for certain topics too.
Like I have a /cmv/ hidden because my explaining of why I posted that to the commentators that still replied is also a rule against why that topic needed to be hidden.
You sort of received your answer when I checked that thread but sadly you have to keep in mind that you are talking over the internet so someone has this vast info-dump but they usually are not the cutting edge researcher you want that's why it got derailed that way.
You want to narrow things down to stuff like this:
https://www.amazon.ca/Whiplash-How-Survive-Faster-Future/dp/1455544590
Which is how you get introduce to articles like this:
https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gear/a19411915/the-diy-geiger-counter-that-united-scientists-after-fukushima/
But with more narratives toward democracy. (Usually wisdom of the crowds versus tyranny of the masses) themes.
That's really kind of answers the point op was making. Subject is about changing his views but he ends up kind of creating a thread where sub-reddits are being advertised right now. Same issue with your post there in r/askphilosophy. You can't meta a meta topic because cross-postings don't carry over yet to other sub-reddits that well.
pumpkin
http://www.amazon.com/Gamestorming-ebook/dp/B003XDUCLS/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=3CCTG6CY40C3E&coliid=IZAHYTX3K0IFF
it depends what you are interested in to write, if you are interested in political events Thomas De Waal has written interesting books (ex: Blakc Garden) about Azerbaijan. Im sure you can find them on Amazon. If you are interested in Azerbaijani culture then you should look for this book.
http://www.amazon.com/Azerbaijan-Culture-Smart-Essential-Customs/dp/1857335449/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341356994&sr=8-1&keywords=Azerbaijan+-+Culture+Smart%21
Just this: https://www.amazon.com/Etiquette-Guide-Japan-Rules-Difference/dp/4805313617
At my current job, I haven't because I've been there for a month. But this book is a super quick read with a good chapter on asking for a raise / promotion. Basically says that it shouldn't be a sudden thing, you should be meeting with your boss regularly, setting goals that would make you deserve a raise or promotion, then when you do those things, go back to your boss and present hard data on your accomplishments and how they company has benefitted from them.
Get a textbook. I recommend these as I use them:
Kakehashi-Beginning-Intermediate
Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
Kodansha Kanji Course
You might want this Etiquette Guide
And also this website:
Memrise
Don’t Work Stupid, Coach Yourself: 40 Things Managers Won’t Tell You. A Step by Step Guide to Coach Yourself
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Q5DN87N
FREE until April 11th
> It's about ALL THE THINGS YOUR MANAGER WILL NOT TELL YOU! Learn how to survive, thrive, and succeed in the workplace, while avoiding office politics troubles and managers that can’t manage anything. You will learn decades of career secrets and build a life and profession of your choosing
>The workplace has transformed in the last 20 years because of technology, shifting social and political forces and generational differences. This book will show you how to survive, thrive, and succeed while avoiding office politics troubles and managers that can’t manage anything.
I read this book that you might find useful bro http://www.amazon.com/Power-Habit-Habits-Highly-Effective-ebook/dp/B00UW5VEE4/
The Fine Art of Small Talk
http://www.amazon.com/Fine-Art-Small-Talk-conversation-ebook/dp/B000JMKSGK
Keep up with some current events, funny news, (NPR's "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me", "Pop Culture Happy Hour", "On Point with Tom Ashbrook", and so on) helps a lot.
Archives for the links in comments:
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Different cultures perceive what we (Americans) might interpret as concrete agreements to be loose understandings. It's not about values, it's about a cultural understanding of what something is. I have colleagues from India who massage the truth about minor, typically inconsequential facts because it's perceived as easier to glide over these things than discuss inconsistencies. I don't fault them, but it's important to know that this might happen when working in that environment. I'd like to see the contact we signed with Foxconn. I'll bet our negotiators thought everything was settled but left certain parts (like what will be produced at the plant, education levels of core employees, etc.) on the table due to inexperience.
All I'm discussing is in Kiss, Bow, and Shake Hands if you want to look in to it further.
Japan's Cultural Code Words opened my eyes even after ten years of living here.
I just started Kata today.
Done: https://www.amazon.com/Fine-Art-Small-Talk-Skills-ebook/dp/B000JMKSGK
Well, for a study abroad experience, make sure you do a home-stay. As for an excellent view into Japanese culture (as well as an entertaining read), I suggest "The Japanese Mind".
Also, click the context link and see my other reply.