I wanted to share a message that was sent out last Friday morning at work. I would have shared earlier but my website was hacked and locked out. Our Vice President sent out an email to all District Managers and Directors of Operations. The Title was, “A Challenge from me to You”. I must admit that I automatically thought it would be a sales challenge. After all, it is December and I work in retail. What came out of that email was a lesson in gratitude that became viral.
Instead, it was a surprising Friday challenge. He challenged us to send one note of appreciation to someone in the company whom we appreciate. An email of 2 lines or more that should take us no more than 5 minutes. Here is an excerpt from the email.
“People all around us are doing nothing but remarkable things that make a difference. Let’s call them out on it! It is important in the chaos of it all we take pause and be thankful for people around us. “
Of course, I accepted the challenge and took my 5 minutes to recognize a few people who I thought were making a difference, including of course my team.
What was the end result?
Those simple 5 minutes of recognition and appreciation became a Lesson in Gratitude that went VIRAL.
Throughout the day, I received emails and calls thanking me for taking the time to recognize their hard work. My team in turn took the time to recognize those they thought made a difference to them. It created a powerful motivation for the team and injected much-needed Inspiration during a crazy month in retail.
One person’s simple idea ended up inspiring so many others in the organization. In a time where we can easily get lost in the focus for results, we need to remember what really is important. It is people who make the difference.
“Make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you’ll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you’ll find that you have more of it.” – Ralph Marston
Who can you recognize today?