Friday Feature: Just Be Nice

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As the parent of a college-bound teen, I'm suddenly very aware of all the things I want her to know so that she can get along in the world. These skills range from the practical, like how to do laundry (including those few hand washables she insisted on buying when I wasn't there to read the tag) to the social, like how to write personal thank you notes for graduation gifts.

In the age of the Internet, it's easy to assume that we can just look up whatever we need to know, but when it comes to life's nuances, nothing beats the lessons we learn through human contact. Many of these lessons began long before our kids started school -- things like "please" and "thank you" and waiting one's turn.

As it turns out, these lessons still pay off in adulthood. In a time when emoticons pass for emotional responses and entire words are reduced to single letters, simple, common sense niceties are not only  required for success, but appreciated more than ever.

When it comes to success on the job (and in life), there are some things you don't have to go to business school to learn.