Book Review: “Poised for Success” by Jacqueline Whitmore

Jacqueline Whitmore is the Founder of “The Protocol School of Palm Beach”, an etiquette consulting firm committed to helping executives enhance their interpersonal skills, polish their professionalism, and improve their personal brand. http://www.etiquetteexpert.com. She gained her degree in Broadcasting from the University of Florida. She is considered as one of the foremost authorities on business etiquette and protocol in the world.

Jacqueline Whitmore delivered numerous training programs, coaching and keynotes to Fortune 500 companies, national conferences and universities. Mrs Whitmore had appearances on various national TV shows, including CNN International, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, FOXNews, ABC’s 20/20, The Fox Report with Shepard Smith, ExtraTV and CNBC, but also various Radio Talk Shows. She has been featured and quoted in hundreds of international and national magazines and newspapers including The Financial Times, The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune and many more. Jacqueline Whitmore is well-known as the cell phone etiquette spokesperson for Sprint.

Let’s not forget the prestigious Certified Speaking Professional designation (CSP) from the National Speakers Association. She is an accomplished writer who was awarded one of the “101 Women Bloggers to Watch in 2010” by WE Magazine for Women. Not just that, she is also the book author of two books, such as “Business Class: Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work” and ‘Poised for Success’ which I’m going to review in this article.

By the way, if you are wondering what one thing is that Jacqueline Whitmore likes doing in her spare time, you should know that she enjoys being involved in several worthwhile causes. The National Cervical Cancer Coalition (NCCC) and with her dog (Oliver), in “Tail Waggin’ Tutors”, a therapy dog program designed to help children improve their reading skills and build self-esteem while reading to dogs. You can follow her on Twitter @etiquetteexpert.

Poised for Success — 8 Things that I love about this book

1 — The best part of the book “Poised for success” are the personal stories and experiences shared by Jacqueline Whitmore throughout the book. They were very interesting, memorable and worth being passed on to other people. Some stories I had to share with my family straight away while reading the book. It’s highly interesting to read about the author’s upbringing and career, the mistakes she made, the strategies she applied to achieve different goals, how she met her husband and what she learnt from it, how she looked for a VIP to promote her first etiquette book “Business Class”, the reasons why she buys from certain shops, how she uses and benefits from Social Media Websites, how she got corporate clients to train their staff and some exercises that she used during her seminars in order to challenge her audience even more.

2 — The idea of including the advice and opinion of other experts from other industries (e.g. an image consultant, a wine expert and many more) I found very interesting. It definitely added value to the book and enriched it in a particular way.

3 — Poised for success is not just “an etiquette book”. It presents a mixture of very interesting topics that will help you to become generally more successful, such as:

– Image (the way you look, you behave and you talk; what your car, your resume, your business card, your photograph, your stationery, your workspace and your website/blog site says about you)

– Etiquette (how to be a great host and guest, how to be thoughtful, table manners and much more)

– How to excel in customer service

– How to conduct a healthier and happier life (this part reminded me a bit of Joel Osteen’s credo),

– The power of active listening

– How to build good relationships online and offline

– How to look, act and sound more professional (how to promote yourself more effectively)

Jacqueline Whitmore — Etiquette Expert

4 — The author also provided some really good examples when it comes to:

• The unwritten rules in a work environment
• How to approach a VIP and achieve your goal
• The analysis of famous women and men from past and present and what they did in order to stand out
• How to offer extraordinary customer service
• The cost per wearing amortizing method (why quality not quantity matters when purchasing clothes)
• How to tell a person’s background by asking a simple question

5 — Every chapter provided at the beginning some good quotes.

6 — Often interesting results from various studies, statistics and facts have been included throughout the book. Those parts were well researched and definitely helped to make Jacqueline Whitmore’s statements even more meaningful.

7 — She mastered it very well to sell her expertise in an effective, natural way without appearing too self-promotional.

8 — The author talks about “how to cultivate ‘creative manners’ by providing some examples of how to go above and beyond what is expected of you. This was the final chapter and a very good conclusion.

How would I rate “Poised for success”?

I would give it a 9.9 out of 10.

I would have given it a 10 if …

… it would have included some pictures or illustrations in Part 1, chapter 3, “The Well-dressed man”. For me personally (from a woman’s perspective) it would have been easier to understand certain concepts when it comes to men’s fashion.

Poised for success by Jacqueline Whitmore

Title of the book: Poised for Success — Mastering the 4 Qualities that distinguish outstanding professionals

Author: Jacqueline Whitmore

Year of Publication: 2011

Publishing House: St. Martin’s Press

ISBN: 978–0–312–60032–7

Number of Pages: 178

Price on Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more: $20.48 (Hardcover), Kindle edition $7.99, used and new starting from: $0.01, Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more

Content:

Part 1: PRESENCE

(Poise is presence personified, package yourself for success, the well-dressed man, the well-dressed woman, sound advice, discover and create your personal brand)

Part 2: POLISH

(Networking not working?, foster friendships instead, cultivate your VIP Relationships, hone your business hospitality skills, entertain with elegance and ease, be the world’s best guest)

Part 3: PROFESSIONALISM

(Social Media Essentials, the Likability Factor, follow through or fall back, seven unwritten rules every professional needs to know, listening: the lost link in a loud world)

Part 4: PASSION

(Rise and shine, gratitude, grace, and acts of kindness, for the health of it, fashion your life with passion)

“I’ve read many books in my life but only “Poised for success” was able to make me take action so quickly on certain things that were long overdue in my personal as well as professional life. This is a brilliant resource for any business professional who wants to make an impact on other people and stand out from the crowd. Highly recommendable! Karin Schroeck-Singh”

If you know someone who could also benefit from this book, feel free to spread the word about it. Thanks!