As I approach my 5 year mark out in the so-called corporate America, (if you can actually call where I work that... given its unique culture and all...) I remember that during the first couple years I was very fond of compliments. When somebody acknowledged my good work by saying stuff like "Wow, you're a genius" or "You're the man", etc... I'd be like "Hell yeah, who's got the party goin' on!", or "Damn straight, I got cho back, bra". Those were the days... Then into my third year I thought, "Hey... why should I get all the credit? Shouldn't I spread the knowledge? All this is no good if I get hit by the bus tomorrow! Let's see... If they appreciate my skills, I could teach them how to fish and theyll become proud of themselves, solve same kinds of problems with equal or better results and the world will be a much better place to live!" So right then and there I changed my attitude. When people compliemented me, instead of the usual humble acknowledgement I instead replied by saying "Thanks, but you know what? It's not something you can't do, come here lemme show you exactly how I did it so that you can do the same and perhaps apply the same knowledge to far greater things!". Oh, how naive I must have sounded. The reaction was not quite what I had expected... Instead of "Sweeeeet! You for real?" or "Awwww, man! Lemme be yo apprentice!", I got the "Uhm... no that's really all right... maybe next time" or "Thanks, but I really gotta go". The more polite ones would start off with something like "Oh, that'd be great. I'll come grab you later when I reach a stopping point", then they'll never return and that very offer becomes somewhat of an odd subject to bring up again because it all seems rather out of context starting the following day. If I were to empathize I'd probably say that they're too busy with their own stuff that they'd rather keep the professional boundaries clear so that the division of labor can be implemented with ease. I can totally value that decision as I understand how the modern men feel this sense of urgency trying to balance a bunch of things on their plate. For all I know they may think "What the hell is this guy trying to teach me? I just want to get this thng done, get ou of here by 5PM and go home to forget about work!", in which case it is totally inappropriate for me to have made that offer since it only makes things awkward for that person to try and politely refuse. However, if I were to put my cynic's cap on I'd have to say that all those compliments were simply a sugar-coated way of saying "Dude, you just made my life easier with very minimal effort on my part, and you're gonna do it again when I ask you all nice and polite the next time around sucka!" :P Am I too cynical for you tonight? :)