I want to tell you a story from when I was a first-year associate at a law firm.
I had a law firm partner who was very well respected,
Very high power,
Send me an assignment at 10 p.
M.
Saying,
Lisbeth,
Please do this.
It's an assignment that he knew would take six to eight hours,
And it did.
So I started working on it at 10 p.
M.
,
I finished up a few more things,
So then 10,
11,
12,
1,
2,
3.
By 5 30 a.
M.
In the morning I was done,
I sent it to him.
I stayed up all night to send it to him.
I did not get like a thank you or an acknowledgement of the fact that I sent it.
He used the work,
And I saw later like he used what I did,
But there was never like a,
Oh,
Thank you for doing that.
And this is one of the things that kills off an associate's desire to produce work or to work for a partner.
I understand the law firm partner's perspective.
Right now I'm super busy with the organization that I run,
And it's easy to forget to send an email to someone you work with and just say,
Oh,
Thank you for doing that.
But really that thank you for doing that,
It builds so much loyalty.
It's like snowballs in terms of benefit.
If you give someone an assignment,
And it's someone who works for you,
Be sure to say thank you for doing what you did,
Especially if they go out of their way or worse,
Be sure to thank them.
And I'm really glad to see that law firms are focused on changing that and their culture because it really,
It's just,
We're human beings.
You're not just a lawyer.
You're not just an associate.
You're not just a law firm partner.
First,
You're a human being.
First,
The relationships are among human beings.
And for human beings,
Always say thank you.
Say thank you for everything.
So gratitude practice is one of the keys to happiness.
And one of the deepest needs of the human being is the need to be appreciated,
Appreciate the people in your life.
