Almost two weeks ago now, a thank you note from JJ Abrams, the director of the new Star Wars movie, made national news. As the movie made some additional cast announcements, that note was front-and-center again today.
No doubt, this was a really good thank you note. See for yourself:
A boss takes a moment to say thank you to the crew. It is appropriately brief, positive, inspiring and – yes – heartfelt (the exact word used to describe the note on all four television networks as well as about 700 other media outlets). The note is even hand-written – which rarely happens anymore, right?
However, this post isn’t about critiquing the note itself. This is me asking a simple question:
What has happened to our professional world so that a “thank you” note is newsworthy?
Seriously, we’re talking millions of seconds of air time and billions of pixels on the internet over the course of two weeks!
Have we stepped so far away from the human side of business that using our manners is this much of an exception? Have the expectations we’ve placed on our leaders become so shallow that we are surprised when they say “thank you for all your work”?
“The boss said thank you! This must be tweeted! Alert CNN! Oh, and the White House… the President must know!”
This deliberate demonstration of appreciation should be what we expect from our leaders – and from ourselves as leaders.
Even in our ‘what-did-the-celebrity-do-now-?’ versions of 21st Century news broadcasts, this shouldn’t be news. This behavior should be considered normal; an everyday occurrence.
This deliberate demonstration of appreciation should be what we expect from our leaders – and from ourselves as leaders.
Anything less is worthy of that slap on the back of the head you’d get from Grandma, followed by that “Use your manners!” evil glare that came with that slap.
In a human-focused business, heartfelt appreciation shouldn’t be news, this should be the norm.
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Copyright: rtimages / 123RF Stock Photo