I too was put to work at an early age (10) in a situation involving the public. I learned a great deal from my father, uncles, grandfather and even my great-grandfather. (Imagine a 3 year old listening intently to a grizzled old baker lecturing about dealing with the public because he'd run out of things to say to a 3 year old!). In many ways, I'm sorry I couldn't pass the experience on as well as they did.
Great article with a lot of points we forget.
Glen Ford, PMP
http://www.vproz.ca