Practice Saying This: "Thank You"

Saying "thank you" still works in what seems to me to be an increasingly nasty and less mannerly public and private sector.

Manners are necessary in several directions. Customers need to learn to say please and thank you. Rude, demanding and uncaring far too often seem to dominate.

And on the other side of the equation, I don't know if working with the public is at an all time low, but service manners often seem similarly poor, disengaged or insincere. You may agree or disagree.

But I will tell you what is the grease that keeps the wheels of industry - private or public, for profit or not - moving. It's recognizing what someone has done and saying, "Thank you" for it. A simple thank you can go a long, long way to motivating people to keep going and do well.

Leaders and executives ... practice saying this ... Thank you; Great job; Really appreciate what you did here. Thanks for doing this.

A 2007 Smart Business article titled Thanks is worth a re-read. According to a then referred to study:

... 35 percent of workers and 30 percent of chief financial officers (CFOs) cite frequent recognition of accomplishments as the most effective nonmonetary reward.

People consider saying thank you a reward. I realize it's not the only motivator but organizationally you just can't get anything less expensive to implement. The harder part will be making the organizational attitude adjustment. But just start personally. Appreciation is infectious.

If you happen to be like a leader who told me years ago that you shouldn't have to run around saying thank you to people for what they should be expected to do, you may need an attitude adjustment.

If you are a leader who takes this to heart and wants to use genuine appreciation as one of your best motivational tools ... thanks for reading this.