“Mr David, in 14 years no one has ever said thank you to me!”
I have just recently completed a delivery of an A320. The aircraft left Montpellier for Delhi at 7 am on the 19th of November 2024, everyone involved, including myself had been up since 4 am to make sure it went as scheduled. This resulted from months of hard work across many departments, companies, and countries. With every job I am involved in, I have a little ritual that I like to perform at the end of every day, especially when the work is completed. I go around to every staff member involved, regardless of their position and what company they are working for and personally thank them for their hard work and help. The result is always the same, it puts an enormous smile on their face! This may seem simple, even trivial to some but to me it is one of the most important aspects of teamwork and it is shocking to me how the phrase ‘thank you’ is so overlooked in the corporate world. Leaving the facility in Montpellier to return to my hotel reminded me of a story from earlier in my career…
Back in Seattle, around 2010, I was heading a delivery team for a 777. It started like any other I had done over the many years. On day 1 we started at 8 am where I gave the team briefing, informing them that they had just one day to perform all their checks. The inspection team went out and performed the physical inspection of the aircraft. They returned at noon, and we all stopped for a lunch break, graciously provided by the good people at Boeing. After our break, the team returned to the aircraft to finish all their checks and inspections. We all met back in the conference room at the end of the day. We went over the progress and like every delivery I have ever done I thanked the team for all their hard work, then told them all to go back to their hotels, get something to eat, some well-earned rest and we’ll continue tomorrow at the same time.
“Once again gentlemen” I repeated. “Thank you for all your hard work today, go home and get some rest.” I used this simple phrase every single time, without exception. The team filed out of the room, exhausted but satisfied, except for one man who lingered. He waited until everyone else had left before approaching me.
“Mr David,” he said, “In 14 years of working in this industry, no one has ever said thank you to me! You have no idea how much that meant to me!”
I stood in silence for a moment, completely taken aback.
“First of all, that is absolutely disgraceful that no one has ever thanked you. And second of all, I meant every word I said, you guys have all done a fantastic job and should be proud of yourselves!”
He was delighted and we shook hands, and I gave him a sincere pat on the back. Before he left he said, “It is a pleasure, and an honour to work with and for you, Mr. David.”
The next day, the whole team was full of enthusiasm, completely galvanized, and conducted themselves in the most professional manner I have ever witnessed. At the end of the day, I repeated my gratitude and the whole team stayed behind and said “Mr David, we thank you. It is a privilege to be part of your team! And we will never forget this experience!”
Neither will I.
This story is not about me blowing my own trumpet, posturing how good a leader I am. It is more a reminder for me, and perhaps, a lesson to others that there is no such thing as a small gesture. Two words – thank you, that’s all it was. But the impact it had was colossal, so much so that I can still remember it clearly nearly two decades later.
This is one of the parts of my job I love the most. To see talented individuals recognised for their efforts and achievements. I believe everyone should always be thanked for their work, no matter what part they play. It is such a powerful, yet simple motivator and a reminder that we are all a team, in it together to achieve a single purpose. I have met some great leaders in my time and learnt a great deal from them. I have also met some awful people who did not deserve the mantle of leadership. They did not respect the people working for them nor the responsibilities that come with the position. I learnt a lot from them too!
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