Rules of Work, 5th Edition

RULE 42

Use ‘please’ and ‘thank you’

You would have thought this one so obvious, so basic and so fundamental that surely it can’t be part of the Rules. Sorry, but we all need reminding that saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ is terribly important. It just doesn’t happen enough. People say that they are too busy or too forgetful, or that it should be taken as read that they have said them and they don’t need to each and every time. Rubbish. The only reason please and thank you get forgotten is plain old bad manners. If we start ignoring even the basic levels of human decency and politeness then there really is no point to any of us being here. If we aren’t civil and civilised enough to thank someone, or to be bothered enough to say ‘please’, then ...