The Emily Post Institute

Grammy-winning superstar, entrepreneur and education advocate Mr. Armando Christian Peréz - aka Pitbull - yes, that Pitbull, gets today’s Gold Medal for Good Manners. Why? Mr. Worldwide is in the news this week, not for racy lyrics or sassy comments, but for a donation to Florida International University (FIU). The gift is part of a 10-year deal that includes a renaming of the football facility to Pitbull Stadium. 🏈 🏟 As part of the deal, Pitbull gets to host ten events rent-free annually at the stadium, and a new title, “Official Entrepreneur of FIU Athletics,” according to NBC News. We like that Pitbull wants to inspire the next generation to be successful and embrace entrepreneurship. On witnessing entrepreneurship from a young age–Miami’s explosive cocaine trade–Mr. 305 says, “I took a negative and made it a positive.” Seriously. He said that. His previous business-building ventures include: ✔ A line of fragrances for men and women, ✔ A TV development company, ✔ Partnerships with Kodak, Voli Vodka & Bud Light. Something else that caught our attention is Pitbull’s wardrobe transformation. When asked about the change to a daily display of gorgeous well tailored suits, he said, “It shows maturity, it shows growth; it shows evolution.” Friend & fellow one-name-moniker superstar Usher says of Pitbull, “He constantly is a gentleman.” (according to CNN) Armando Christian Pérez was born in Miami to Cuban immigrants and attended high school just blocks from FIU’s main campus. This isn't his first venture into the role of education advocate. His nonprofit SLAM (Sports Leadership Arts and Management) Foundation supports 14 K-12 schools in five states impacting nearly 10,000 students. SLAM’s curriculum combines sports, science, technology & media to prepare kids for college & careers. The first school opened in Miami in 2012. And because no one brings the party like Pitbull, (who GQ has called, “The hardest working man in music,” just one more of our favorite character attributes), FIU fans fully expect the university’s marching band to unleash Pitbull’s key party anthems during half-time shows come football season. So, to summarize, why is Emily Post honoring Pitbull? For the following character traits that deserve to be celebrated: 🎯 Integrity- Putting your hard earned dollars to work helping others make their own success. Is there a more convincing integrity indicator? Anyone can write a check. Directing it toward entrepreneurship education? Class act. 💰 🎯 Professional Presence - Pitbull is recognized for his relentless energy & enthusiasm. When you are dressed exceptionally well, it’s suddenly much easier to engage an additional gear or two you may not have previously thought yourself capable of. Really. Try it. 👔 🎩 👞 🎯 Gracious Hospitality - Pitbull takes his role as host seriously. He wants to provide an escape from everyday challenges & remind us to have a good time & dance. 🕺

🛠 Hard Skills vs. 🍦 Soft Skills 👨💻 Hard skills: DevOps, data analysis & UI design are the flashy rockstar talents. They get you the interview, spotlight & LinkedIn connections. 🥊 What about the unsexy yet indispensable traits like work ethic, empathy, communication and resilience? The kind of skills that don’t just make you a good worker, but a better human. 🏅 Which skill set wins? 🧠 Work Ethic > All-Nighter Work Sprints Sure, you can burn the midnight oil. But consistent work ethic? That’s the long game. It’s showing up every day ready to give 100%, even when there’s no Celsius or REIZE left in the frig. 💡 Empathy > Technical Jargon You might know every programming language, but if you can’t support your coworker who’s out to attend a funeral, can you really understand your customer’s pain points? 📢 One to One Communication > Slack Can you lead a team with built-in accountability or are you hiding behind technology to provide feedback to coworkers and direct reports? There can be real connection and transformation when you have the hard conversations face to face. 🌱 Adaptability > Mastery of One Tool The tech landscape changes faster than you can say “AI-driven blockchain solution.” Being adaptable means you’re not just a one-trick pony. You’re ready to pivot, learn and thrive no matter what gets thrown your way. 🤝 Hard skills might get you in the door, but soft skills are what keep you in the room. And eventually get you a seat at the table. Soft skills are STRONG. 💪

Today's Gold Medal for Good Manners goes to....... Shaan Puri.... Do you know Shaan? Founder, entrepreneur, investor and co-host (with Sam Parr) of the podcast "My First Million." Co-founder of the newsletter Milk Road, which he built to 250k emails in 10 months & sold for 7-figures. Married dad of 3. But why has Shaan earned the Emily Post Good Manners Gold Medal? In this week's issue of his newsletter 5 Tweet Tuesday, Shaan shared some of his Rules for Life: 1. If someone is rude to a waiter or Uber driver, they suck, do not befriend. 2. Always pour water into people’s cups at the table. It’s the little things. 3. Turn every relationship into a giving contest. Aim to give more than the other person. 4. Walk into a room or house with big "HONEY I'M HOME" energy. Nice.

Why business etiquette? 1. Table manners matter. 2. Soft skills = professional success. 3. Active listening is a teachable skill. 4. Business casual isn’t a bare minimum. 5. It’s not if you do or say something, it’s how. 6. Business etiquette fluency builds relationships. 7. It’s an intentional pursuit of professional integrity. 8. It’s not about rules, it’s about problem solving IRL. 9. Many of your younger employees are afraid to talk on the phone. 10. Your online personal brand is a reflection of your professionalism. 11. Inter-generational differences don’t have to cause workplace tension. 12. Accountability drives trust, teamwork, performance, productivity, communication, collaboration and continuous improvement.

Tipping Turmoil Frustrated by tipping culture? So are we. And so is your server. While we’ve always explained tipping as a reward for good service, The Hustle dropped an epic article this week that took our thinking in different directions. Katherine Laidlaw’s piece pulls together compelling recent media coverage and research on tipping. There's a link to a 20-minute mini-documentary on CNBC that covers tip history and the associated wage war led by Sura Jayaraman, founder of One Fair Wage. Results from a Pew survey show that post-pandemic, American’s perceive a significant increase in tip “asks,” and they’re pushing back. The ubiquitous tip screen has replaced many jars and now pops up in unexpected places, causing “tip fatigue” and “tip gilt.” That sentiment is helping Jayaraman’s efforts to bring fair wage laws to restaurant employees in the remaining 43 states that still abide by a 1940 law that allows restaurants to pay workers as little as $2.13/hour, officially known as a subminimum wage. Meaning that the customer is responsible for ensuring that employees earn a living wage from tips. That leaves little room for customers to acknowledge less than stellar service. And with people eating out more than ever, or getting meals delivered to their door, tipping is a much more frequent ask and expense. What’s your take on tipping? (To see the article from The Hustle, see the link below in the comments.) #tipping #etiquette

Don't blame remote work for "apathetic employees." The real reason employees slack is.......... Because they can. Accountability, which many of us have innately, has to be built into the job function & culture of a business. Whether it's management based or a code of personal conduct, ask each employee to commit to personal accountability for the work they are asked to do in exchange for a paycheck & benefits. Provide specific examples of what this looks like. Not returning phone calls & emails promptly makes projects drag on. Specify target dates for completion on all parts of a project, not just the final hurdle. There are thousands of ways to bake this into the business structure. When a corporate culture bakes in personal accountability, there are far fewer "apathetic employees." So before you cast blame, make sure you have policies and people in place who are constantly reinforcing what it means and what it looks like to be accountable for your job. Yes, there will be a lot of uncomfortable conversations for a while. But when you embrace accountability as a company value, you hold it up, you talk about it, you value it--employees are much more aware of how their behavior is interpreted by peers and the boss. It won't happen overnight, but it will improve over time.

There's a fine line between asking for help and figuring stuff out for yourself....... Asking your coworkers & boss constant questions has the potential to earn you a reputation as a clueless time waster. There's an easy solution....... Follow this guideline: when you have a question, see if you can google or ChatGPT the answer in 15 minutes or less. If you can't find an answer, and the not knowing prevents you from completing your work on time, go ahead and ask. Just make sure the question is worth the interruption to your colleagues. If not knowing the answer is preventing you from finishing your work, and there isn't another resource available that you have access to, ask. Just think about it first.

Did you just say something incredibly insulting at work? Like....."You need to work harder." OR "That's not my job, that's YOUR job." 🤐 Have you been on the receiving end of a completely obnoxious statement like one of these examples below? 😯 Do tell! Your story is safe with Emily Post...... But seriously, Bosses: You can avoid these nightmare situations at work. As brand manager Chris Donnelly so deftly points out it's worth investing in your communication skills if you aspire to be a leader and not just a boss. The "Leader" column statements are great business etiquette "scripts." They apply to all employees, not just leaders. Subtle changes in the way we communicate can have a huge positive impact on employee retention and job satisfaction. How would you recommend sharing these tips with your co-workers and boss? 😜

5 Crucial communication skills to master 1. Active listening 2. Awareness of non verbal signals 3. Clarity of speech 4. Respect for other’s time 5. Follow up Success comes faster and easier to master communicators.

All workplace generations are united by ONE THING.... a loathing of meetings. 😫 So says a new survey from Meeting Canary, a British Saas company hoping to use AI to improve meetings for Gen X, Baby Boomers, Millennials and even Gen Z. 🐤 Survey results show that Baby Boomers place great importance on politeness in the workplace. They are more than low-key unimpressed with any behavior that goes against basic good manners. Major trigger for the Boomers: colleagues who fail to arrive at the office or check into a meeting on time. The young ones are much more chill about tardiness. ⏰ About 40% of Millennials are cool with someone being 10 minutes late, but 70% of Baby Boomers don't cut any slack for lateness. Meeting Canary takes measurements DURING a meeting with their FiRE metric. They measure focus, inclusivity, respect and energy. We're not 100% clear on the HOW, the website doesn't yet get into specifics. Imagine having the ability to score these metrics during or even after a client or staff meeting. What would that look like? 🤔 Prospects and clients interested in business etiquette training often ask for metrics that prove there's a measurable impact. That can be tough to show with metrics. Tools like this could change that-dramatically. ⚒ We've noticed many subtle ways AI can impact manners, but this scenario landed with an explosion of ideas about future applications. Apparently, AI & etiquette are about to mix it up! 👍 We know Emily Post would be totally into ChatGPT (the free version, of course). But even in 1922, she'd lock down a sponsor STAT to hook her up with the paid upgrade. 💰 💰💰 Meeting Canary allows you to "View your FiRE score live along with suggestions to improve in the meeting side panel." 🔥 Hmmmm, who's writing those "suggestions?" And who in the meeting gets to see them in real time? Definitely gonna need some etiquette guidelines around THAT. Hey.... Anyone game for a Saas start up? Link to survey results in the comments.... #meetings #AI #etiquette