This blog is on vacation, or at least not yet. The silence of recent weeks has been determined not only by the classical increase of work before the holidays (customers prefer to leave after having taken their disputes or defined) but also some interesting projects for the next month and a book I wrote New on Digital Administration (which will be released in coming weeks).

Before returning to the many post started but not yet published, I would like to repeat the heading Item of the week to share with you a reflection gained in recent months of intense meetings, meetings and appointments.

The idea gave me the news on the proposal in an article in the F inancial Times managers to prohibit the use of smartphones during meetings of the Board of Directors, the idea behind the proposal is simple: the use of these devices distract managers and, consequently, could lead to bad decisions.

I tried to apply reason to my experience as a lawyer and consultant, Blackberry, iPhone and PDAs have become a status symbol of the legal profession: enabling the practitioner to access the information they need anytime and always be be found.

However, the use of these tools can damage the reputation of the health professional as it can cause a bad impression on those around him.
If you're in a meeting or a business dinner and your finger is glued to the phone, it is very difficult to conclude new agreements or forge important relationships. And even if this does not send messages, but simply that you just check that you have received new text messages or e-mail.
Constantly checking your phone, in fact, do know that whatever happens on your mobile phone is more important than the conversation you are having with people who are with you.

I then decided to report the post written some time ago by C. Allison Shields on his blog titled " BlackBerry Behavior: Is it hurting your reputation? ". The post starts from the premise that the smartphone can bring valuable advantages with regard to productivity and ease of maintaining contact with customers but, if used intelligently, can become distractions that impact negatively on the reputation of the professional.

The Shields are simple tips:
1. if you participate in a meeting, turn off your smartphone, if you must keep it on, use the silent mode, but remember not to leave it on the table because it may disturb those who are still with you (especially if the active vibration);
2. If you are waiting for a call or an important message, report it to the other participants and sit near the door so you can go out in a discreet way when you use the phone;
3. remember that those around you judge you according to your gestures, if you're with a client and check the phone, the customer will think that it is not important to you (and not something that appeals to a customer );
4. respond to an e-mail during a meeting or a business dinner can be doubly dangerous: so much for the impression you make to your audience and for the errors, especially spelling, you can commit in writing;
5. even if you think nobody sees you as you use your phone under the table, but know that there is definitely someone who has noticed;
6. rethink your priorities, what is urgent and what can wait; reasoned not only short-term (respond to an e-mail immediately, rather than an hour) but also long-term (if the customer has a bad opinion of you, you might lose it);
7. bluetooth is a great technology but it is beautiful to behold, so remove your earphones when you're with other people;
8. be careful when you use your phone even if you are not at a meeting, or on the train or the restaurant. First you run the risk of disclosing confidential information about your customers, and then the person sitting next to you could be your next partner, if you make a good impression;
9. be careful to live Twitting, can be very interesting for your followers, but before you do, make sure that does not cause problems to those who are with you. Do you believe that your customers would appreciate the tweets written by the Court with him while you're waiting for the Judge's decision?

This is common sense and some might argue that it is discounted suggestions, maybe so, but it's easy to think of our last meeting or the last train trip to see how often people tend to forget to follow these simple steps .