Leadership Training

Is it just me, or does their seem to be a growing lack of common courtesy in the business world today?  (If it’s just me, you can go ahead and say it.  I’d rather someone confront me with the fact that I may be turning into a grumpy old man…)

When I was growing up, my mother & father made sure that please and thank you were part of nearly every conversation I had with an adult.

(Fortunately for me, Barney was well after my time as a toddler…)

My parents’ lessons hold true today, and are a valuable asset when it comes to talking with other people in business environments today.

I recently started a new job, and had my first prospective client meeting just a few months ago.  When I came in for the meeting, the first thing I did was to thank the manager for her time.  I knew how busy someone in her position was, and understood that granting an outside vendor such as myself an hour of her time was extremely considerate.

After the meeting concluded, I immediately mailed her a thank you note on company stationary.  I thought about sending an email, but as Judith Bowman writes in her book Don’t Take the Last Donut:

A handwritten thank-you note on quality stationary, in professional blank ink…is the mark of respect and proper protocol.

I didn’t ask for a follow-up time to talk, or call her to ask for the sale, I simply thanked her again for her time.  Just two days after I sent that note, she got in touch with me to talk about closing the deal.  I didn’t even need to ask for it…

So thanks again, Mom & Dad, for keeping on me about my P’s and TY’s!

business etiquette, please, thank you