The second semester of my Georgetown tax LL.M. program is marked by a lot of procedural and practical courses. That’s one of the best things about learning from adjunct professors — they tell you how things work in practice and what traps they see other lawyers falling for.
This week one of my adjunct SALT professors shared a networking chart that she keeps a laminated copy of in her car.
Networking is a skill that I’m constantly trying to become less awkward at, so I made a point of looking-up the chart after class. (Also, if one of the leading SALT practitioners in the country tells you to read something, you do it.)
The chart is derived from the book Works Well With Others by business etiquette columnist Ross McCammon. Click on the image to enlarge.
Other Networking Resources
Most of the items on the chart seem pretty intuitive, but it’s probably helpful to have an emotional game-plan before entering a situation. The chart reminds me of a Harvard Business Review article that I keep coming back to: How To Say “This Is Crap” In Different Cultures.
The HBR article focuses on interactions between Dutch and British business people, but there are similar miscommunications between Americans from different regions (e.g. a Miamian in Minnesota.) — What’s “direct” to one person is rude to another.
Anglo-Dutch translation guide.
Also: A nice companion-piece to the HBR article is another book, First Impressions: What You Don’t Know About How Others See You — something I wish that I would have read way earlier in life and will probably re-read this weekend. 📚
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