The concept of “having an attitude of gratitude” shouldn’t be dismissed or pooh-poohed as a foolish thing.

In an earlier blog entry I revealed that everyone wants to know “What’s in it for me?” when you or I come calling for their time, money, expertise or whatever it is they have that we need to get.

In return you are justified and it is within your right to wonder: “How can I benefit?” when another person asks you for help.

Getting endlessly clobbered for help is all too common when you’re employed.

You simply can’t say yes to every request.

My experience proves that having an attitude of gratitude is the way to go.

It comes down to having good manners. I own a refrigerator magnet that proclaims:

I Hope Manners Are The Next Cool Trend.

You might get what you want initially without thanking a person. Yet you won’t get what you need a second time from that person.

Here’s my experience (fictionalized to protect the person):

A young teen volunteer came back six months after the position ended to ask me to fill out an application for a prestigious intern job in Paris.

(You get the idea even though the details have been changed.)

A year after that this person happened to be where I was working. I asked them: “Did you get the Paris intern position?”

“Yes,” the teen answered then left. Not even a Thank You after the word yes. Not ever a Thank You at the point where they were given the Paris internship.

The sense of entitlement that a lot of young people have and that some people of any age have is astounding. It’s regrettable that good manners have gone the way of roller rinks: etiquette of any kind seems to be non-existent today.

I tell you if you want to succeed: Be the person who says please and thank you.

You might think that having an attitude of gratitude will set you up to be easy prey in the business world.

Yet trust me when I say: nobody you meet will be keen to be used and then discarded like an old shoe.

If you’re working at a job where everything’s cutthroat and people are out for their own gain with no regard for their coworkers:

Is that really where you want to hang your career hat?