Having been delayed two hours plus at O’Hare I did a lot of people watching. It’s a great way to notice the good, bad and ugly. Today’s ugly is how folks sometimes eat.

Here are the four big uglies:

The Chomper: Chewing food with the mouth so wide open you can see the food being pulverized. It is not a pretty sight.

The Smelly: This is where the food aroma becomes a clinging odor that the clothes of the folks next to and three seats away from the eater will carry with them for the next several hours.

The Food Critic: This person needs to share with the world how good or how bad each bite tastes.

The Spiller: This person has spilled food on himself as well as on individuals in his immediate vicinity. This is because the food choice is meant to be eaten outside or behind closed doors. So, I understand that eating is a great way to cope with delayed flight frustration.

However, if you are going to eat in the waiting area don’t be one of the four uglies or at the very least if you are one, eat in a restaurant.

It is important to remember that in a critical situation, the customer is always right. Especially when the mistake is yours.

Recently, I was involved in a scenario where the client was right and the service company was wrong. After the service person validated it was an error on their part, they unfortunately continued grind about the situation. As a result, the issue got escalated to the point where this potential new client was definitely not coming back.

Here are some do’s and don’ts to ensure this does not happen to you.

Do’s
• Apologize immediately
• Offer a solution
• Present a way to atone in the future if there is no immediate solution

Don’ts
• Defend the mistake
• Make the person feel like it was his/her fault
• Make the person continue to prove they are right

If this service company had taken responsibility by using 2 out of the 3 dos, they would have obtained a new client.

In business, there is always going to be a shark.  These are the individuals who will always try and upstage you or persuade others to view themselves as smarter than you. They are always one step ahead of everyone and never hesitate to boast about how smart they are. They are usually very articulate and take no prisoners when a mistake is made. They will throw you under the bus instead of taking any responsibility for any problem. My recommendation is that unless you can be objective (stay calm), have very little interaction with them.

In yesterday’s Chicago Tribune business section there was an article about how the Nintendo Company President Satoru Iwata, voluntarily took a 50% pay cut because of a problem with Nintendo’s 6-month old 3-D game device. The amazing thing was not that Iwata took a pay cut but that he accepted responsibility for the problem.

The article also discusses Rupert Murdock who is not accepting any responsibility for the telephone hacking his News Corp employees did.

Let’s talk about how we as professionals can begin to take ownership of situations gone awry. When we do, it shows those who we interact with that they can trust us. It marks us as leaders.

That’s because it is not always easy to take responsibility. The political ramifications and collateral damage can be significant blows to a company. However, when I see leaders who do own up to problems, they command respect, enjoy a loyal following and reap prestige that lasts far beyond the time it took to solve the business problem.
 Let’s all try to be this professional.

Everyone wants to be creative and display their own style. For both men and women a question often arises about bracelets. Are they acceptable to wear? What types are considered professional? How many can be worn?

Recently, I was having lunch with a Senior Vice President and she was wearing three gold bracelets. They were narrow, fit together bangles (They did not clang against each other.) that worked well.  However, last evening I saw a man wearing a heavy gold chain bracelet. Way too flashy, the bracelet was the first thing you noticed about him.

So, the rule of thumb is that bracelets can allow you to express creativity and be a great fashion accessory. They must not be the first thing noticed about the person or be noisy. Also, one cuff bracelet is enough in a business setting.

Tattoos came up in a recent workshop. The main question was- Should tattoos be displayed or covered up? Tattoos are attention getters and very personal to the folks who get them. In most business settings tattoos are not acceptable unless it is in a very creative environment. Even then, they must be fairly non-religious, non-political and not too graphic. My recommendation is that if you want to get a tattoo have it applied in an area that is visible only to you. You do not want to be recognized just for your tattoo.

It is interesting that male TV news anchors are always wearing a suit with shirt and tie. The women, on the other hand, often wear sleeveless dresses or blouses. Does this mean sleeveless is acceptable for women in a professional setting?

For a board meeting or while in public representing your company, wearing a sleeveless dress or top is not professional. Does this mean a professional woman should be wearing a jacket at all times? Not necessarily.

Jan Fields, President of McDonald’s USA, was recently interviewed wearing a navy dress with short sleeves. She looked very professional. (See her on this YouTube link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymuEvvyKoiE.)

Save the sleeveless tops and dresses for less formal settings. Note that Michelle Obama has begun wearing a jacket or sweater over her sleeveless dress or top in conservative settings.

Dress shirts for men have come a long way from the typical cut. In fact, shirts had only one cut not too long ago. Today, men’s shirts may not necessarily come in the variety of sizes that women’s tops do with petite, misses and women sizes. But, a man can buy shirts in slim, athletic and a full body cut as determined by the chest, sides and waist sizes.

The differences are as follows:

Slim (Extra trim): Trim through-out with higher arm holes and narrower sleeves
Athletic (trim): Fitted through the chest, arm holes and sides
Full: Cut with extra room throughout the body of the shirt
Using these guidelines men should never have to worry about looking too sloppy when wearing the right shirt. They might even end up looking as elegant as Cary Grant!

Today, one of the biggest challenges for a woman is making sure she is not wearing too much or too little make-up. Not every women needs to wear foundation. Instead, a touch of blush on the cheek bones will add a finished look. The key is that the blush must look natural and not artificial.

Recently, I saw a lady wearing too red of a color. What happened was that the blush ended up forming round circles on her cheeks.

Here are some tips to help ensure blush will look natural:

• The color needs to be just like you pinched your cheeks to get a rosy glow
• Stay away from colors that have a daytime shimmer
• Remember that very few women can use red on their cheeks

A few of my favorite brands are Bobbi Brown and Mac. Their professional make-up specialists will always have you looking very natural.

In our diverse culture, many names are not easy to pronounce. I think it is absolutely wonderful when a writer writes out pronunciation in an article or story.

I think it’s also important that if you have a difficult to pronounce name, you help people you meet pronounce it. It is a very gracious act and demonstrates elegance and empathy in handling difficult names.

For example, I always pronounce my name twice and in some cases spell it out. Wil-der-muth. It also has the side benefit of quickly engaging the other person.