Every holiday season, my thoughts turn to "It's a Wonderful Life." I love that movie because, no matter how bad it gets, I know I am likely making people's lives better, and I don't even know it

Most of the time, people tend to dwell on all the people who “couldn’t do it without you.” But this Thanksgiving Week, I am thinking it is time to remember all the people you “couldn’t do without.”

If you’re being honest, the latter probably outnumbers the former. Truth is, none of us is in this alone. We all have a whole team of people to thank for our success, even if, as someone tacky once said to me, “Hey, I already pay them! Isn’t that thanks enough?”

Short answer: No, it’s not, you jackalope!

Longer answer: Only short-sighted future failures don’t express their thanks for a job well done. Call it good karma, strong interpersonal communication skills, being a decent human being — or call it recognizing that most of us work for more than just a paycheck. We work to hone a set of skills, to feel valued and vital in this world, to leave our mark. And we all know how good it feels when someone affirms that we did just that.

One of the things I notice in the generally thankless job of publicist is that I tend to work harder for the people who notice my good work. It isn't a concious effort on my part, but I do tend to wake up freshly motivated each day and do an even better job for that person — another job worth noticing.

Funny, isn’t it, how we tend to work so much harder for the people in our lives who take time to say something as small as a thank you?

So don’t just thank your in-house staff this holiday season. Thank your wine salesmen, food vendors, florist, web designer, and, ahem, your PR team. We’ll appreciate the recognition, more than you know.