"Great!"

I love biographies. They often provide more insight than many textbooks and the little points can stay with you the longest.

A story that Joseph Persico tells in his intriguing biography of his former boss, Nelson Rockefeller, came to mind the other day:

Across the most innocuous memo sent into him, he would scrawl, "Great!" The staff learned to discount this verbal inflation and adjust it to the real market value of his praises. "You’re fantastic’ - B-plus. "You’re the greatest" - C. "Thanks loads" - start considering new employment.

That story sticks with you because you've seen it in your own life. You learn to translate the phrases and small gestures of bosses and co-workers and, if you have any sense, you know there will always be unexplored territory. One of the greatest compliments that you can give is to read another person's feelings correctly.