About 12,000 years ago mankind grunted and threw stones at each other, then slowly we learned to work together and then communicate. Communication allowed man to think and develop structure. From structure grew civilization. Manners and etiquette are rituals developed over time that makes social interaction easier and more orderly. ~Lee Rennick, via LinkedIn.
This was an excellent article/rant about the poor manners of people these days. Guess their momma's never told them about the flies & honey, and "don't embarrass me with poor manners". My momma told me that every. single. time. I left the house -- the "poor manners" part. Manners when I was growing up were just.. proper. You didn't want to be thought ill mannered, because then other people would mention it to your momma, and whoa boy would you be in trouble. All said... Thank you momma for teaching me good manners.
Now, manners are not a "law"... no one is going to arrest you for having poor manners, and your "station" in life, be it billionaire or bartender, executive or fry boy -- that makes no never-mind, it is the way in which you treat others that marks you as a truly wealthy person.
Sometimes, as part of my "debrief" after an interview, I will ask my receptionist what she thought of the candidate. In many cases she will say "they were nice" or "they were really nervous about the interview"... but, in one case I can recall her telling me that the candidate was a bit less than polite when he arrived -- she made an excuse for him saying "perhaps he was just nervous".
"Did he say good bye, or anything when he was leaving?" Nope. Just walked out without a smile, or a word in her direction.
This candidate was not invited back for a second interview.
How you treat people -- whether they are the CEO or the "lady at the front desk" -- matters to me, not only personally but professionally. Poor manners can be taken as arrogance, and ignorance, and it costs you nothing to have and EXHIBIT good manners, but it could cost you a career.
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