Treating People Well

November 13, 2017
Berman and Bernard winningly call on their experiences as White House social secretaries under, respectively, George W. Bush and Barack Obama to make a case that manners and civility can be the basis for success in work and life. The authors weave practical guidance, such as maintaining good posture and eye contact and steering clear of email after a glass of wine, into entertaining behind-the-scenes moments from their careers. The rarely seen inner workings of White House events, such as state dinners and celebrity musical performances, on offer here are highlights and include such incidents as Berman being called on to literally pull the seat out from under a foreign delegate attempting to disrupt a sensitive seating plan to Bernard dealing with a demanding White House honoree who, tired of waiting for a delayed president, threatened to walk out on his own award ceremony. The authors complement their own experiences with the humorously hair-raising stories shared with them by past White House social secretaries. The advice given throughout is sound, if not overly original, but the look behind the curtain at the rarely featured individuals who make the White House run smoothly provides a unique and rewarding insider’s view. Agent: Todd Shuster, Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary Agency.

November 15, 2017

Coauthors Berman and Bernard write from the experience of being White House social secretaries and special assistants to presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, respectively. Their roles were not only to assist in social and political functions but to ensure that attendees were taken care of and had a positive experience. With this book, they've condensed their knowledge with the aim of helping readers treat others with dignity and show a willingness to listen and collaborate. They address and elaborate on 12 cornerstones of civility, including handling conflict diplomatically, owning one's mistakes, and radiating calm. VERDICT Excellent in terms of getting the "inside scoop" on the White House and training oneself to deal with all kinds of people.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2017
Have an urge to tweet, angrily, in the middle of the night? You might wish to curb it after reading this guide to modern manners by two former White House staffers.George W. Bush administration veteran Berman and Barack Obama administration social secretary Bernard understand, as their employers did, that "each president sets a tone for the nation" and, as such, cultivates habits of "steadiness, restraint, and decency," which in turn confer moral authority on the person who practices them. By extension, these lessons from the Oval Office apply to the daily lives of each of us. Borrowing a page from Letitia Baldrige, Berman and Bernard serve up a much-needed handbook on how to navigate the mine-strewn worlds of society, commerce, and other adult realms, advising a sort of self-aware good humor ("one of the easiest ways to disarm a skeptic or potential competitor is to be self-deprecating") and a consistent application of attention, respect, thoughtful comportment, and active listening. They deliver examples taken mostly from within the diamond of the District of Columbia, writing, for instance, that Ray LaHood, a Republican who served as Obama's secretary of transportation, took an agency that was renowned for being a miserable place to work and utterly remade morale simply by listening: "his first step was to gather information and get a grasp of the most pressing issues." That's a good model to follow. The elephant in the room, of course, is the current occupant of the White House, who serves as an example of how not to behave--though the authors, of course, are much too polite to say so.There's a shortage of books of advice to courtiers in the world. This one may not be quite in the league of Judith Martin, to say nothing of Machiavelli, but it's still highly entertaining and highly useful.

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