West European Business & Social Etiquette - A Smart Guide Toward Successful Business (Paperback)

This is a stunning instructive book that guides you along the way toward doing business successfully. This book describes business and social etiquette of 17 West European countries. Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Great Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Swiss, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Ignorance may cause very uncomfortable situations, missed opportunities or even embarrassment. To avoid all of that, while doing business in West Europe, some useful guidelines will tell you how to behave the "proper" way according to the local or national "etiquette" of the places and countries in which you are doing business. Etiquette varies by country and even by region in West Europe, but there are general guidelines that help make you feel more at ease, while doing business or when socializing. When you treat people with respect and you behave in a correct way, you create a pleasant atmosphere, whether it concerns a business environment or a social one. That is what it is all about: respect the people around you and try to adjust as much as possible when you are a "guest" in another country. However, always expect the unexpected. In this book you'll find guidelines regarding major topics in business, from the first meeting until the deal is closed and everything in between. In order to become successful it tells you: what you should do and what you should not do. Apart from the YES and NO pages of each country, it provides you with some general information about the country, headlines of its history and its business profile. In addition to that you find humoristic anecdotes, describing experiences in specific countries of how things can gototally wrong (unintentionally). It also gives you practical TIPS that might help you to meet the needs of your business counterpart. Also some useful checklists on specific business situations, such as preparing presentations, agendas and pointers on how to tackle specific behavior, will guide you along the way toward doing business successfully. The anecdotes about some embarrassing situations may even put a smile on your face.