Friday, March 29th, 2019
Courtesy Policy
“Politeness is the art of choosing among your thoughts.” – Madame De Stael
You have had an extremely busy week. You are spending SO many hours with your co-workers. You are probably working this weekend and long hours next week. It is natural to become aggravated, at times, with those around you.
I read this small excerpt in an article:
Politeness is the cornerstone of any civilized society. In essence, it is respect for other people’s feelings. This respect is reflected in both thought and action . . . in considering other people’s points of view and behaving in sensitive ways. Unfortunately, in many areas of life, politeness seems to be outdated.
Maybe your firm needs a Courtesy Policy to help remind people that civility is alive and well in your firm and in the CPA Profession. Here’s a sample:
Sample Firm Courtesy Policy
- If you have a problem with someone, talk about the problem only with them and in private.
- Use positive conversation.
- Blame a system, not a person.
- Apologize and make restitution if someone is upset by your actions.
- When you talk about a person who is not present, speak as if they are listening to your conversation. Use the person’s name in each sentence in which you refer to them.
- Speak very politely using a person’s name – – “please” and “thank-you” as a minimum.
- Greet and farewell everyone by name and with eye contact.
- Tell the truth.
- "The toughest thing about being a celebrity, I suppose, is being polite when I don't want to be."
