After discussing some of the screw ups I made at the recent all-hands meeting where I showed off VOIP video, let’s move onto something I did right.

A lot of people helped work on the VOIP phone and just because I was the only person who got to talk didn’t mean I deserved all the credit. I came up with a to-thank list and sent it to two of my senior colleagues to review to make sure I didn’t forget anyone. I did. They weren’t on our immediate team, but they were key in the project. It’s not like they would’ve stopped speaking to me if I hadn’t thanked them, but it wouldn’t have been all that classy, either.

Whenever thanking people by name, it never hurts having someone fact check your list. I learned this one watching a former boss who was very diligent making sure everyone who deserved to be recognized was. And who said everyone at Microsoft was a jerk?