Gratitude Quote by Joshua Ferris
““We thanked each other. It was customary after every exchange. Our thanks were never disingenuous or ironic. We said thanks for getting this done so quickly, thanks for putting in so much effort. We had a meeting and when a meeting was over, we said thank you to the meeting makers for having made the meeting. Very rarely did we say anything negative or derogatory about meetings. We all knew there was a good deal of pointlessness to nearly all the meetings and in fact one meeting out of every three or four was nearly perfectly without gain or purpose but many meetings revealed the one thing that was necessary and so we attended them and afterward we thanked each other.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Marriage Plot by Joshua Ferris, 2011
People often use polite gratitude to mask the futility of many meetings, yet occasional genuine value emerges.
In simple terms: Polite thanks hide meeting pointlessness, but some meetings are useful.
Key Takeaway
Recognize and streamline unnecessary meetings.
Themes
workplace culture
communication
efficiency
Mood
critical
reflective
Type
professional
observational
When to use this quote
- corporate meetings
- team collaborations
- project updates
Key Concepts
social rituals
meeting dynamics
Questions to Reflect On
- When should you question a meeting’s purpose?
- How can gratitude be genuine?
A Different Perspective
Politeness can prevent honest feedback about meeting value.
![“I remember Robin [Williams] walked up to me after the last take and said, "Thanks boss! We nailed it!" That will probably be one of the best moments of my life.” quote by Roberto Aguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a52/roberto-aguire-69047_best-moments_i-remember-robin-williams-walked-up-to-m_10385.jpg)
