The way business is conducted these days is very different from the way business was conducted when I started my company 17 years ago.
Some of these changes have been great; especially when it comes to all of the technology we have at our fingertips to help us serve our clients and be more productive. However, there are a few things I really miss these days:
- Do you remember the days when you left a telephone message for someone…….they would actually return your telephone call?
- Do you remember the days when you were told by someone that they would “get back to you” at a certain time……they would actually get back to you at the promised time?
- Do you remember the days when a “thank you” was given……it was in the form of a handwritten note instead of an impersonal email?
- Do you remember the days when you set and confirmed a meeting……the meeting was never canceled?
Maybe to some these examples seem trivial, but I think in our hurry to “get things done” and “be more productive”, we have become much too transactional. Let’s not forget that we are just people serving other people……and manners are as important in business as they are at home.