Thanksgiving. The holidays. The New Year. Times of reflection, celebration, family and friendship. Overeating, overindulging, seeing the family we love–the one that perhaps drives us crazy.
These are the things that make us who we are. Who are we if not shaped by our family, identified by our friends, measured in many ways by our accomplishments, and as healthy as our lifestyles?
We live in a great part of the world. As I write this column, the weather could not be better. It is glorious. The rest of the country has storms, fires, power outages, and more. We love our barbecues, pools and outdoor sports. Our economy is booming. Tourism, health care, technology—and so much more. All the economic measures are up.
This is a time of thanks – and for planning 2020. It’s been a time for us to really say big thank-yous.
Here’s the question: It’s 2020. We are planning our year, projecting out our growth, anticipating success. Probably making resolutions (that’s another column). We will be asking ourselves to learn, grow and stretch, and asking others to do the same.
The attitude of gratitude, while a cliché, is powerful. Giving and thanks are the most powerful ways to create true prosperity and peace. As writer Henry David Thoreau said, “I am grateful for what I am and I have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.”
As we do all the work of planning and preparing, let’s remember that the celebrations of thanks might be over, but appreciation is never out of season.
What can we give? At work, we can give a few moments to be sure we connect with the people with whom we work, every day. “How are you?” “How’s your Mom?” “How was your weekend?” We can say “thank you” every day. “Thanks for thinking of that detail. I’d have missed it.” “Thanks for that powerful debate we just had. It made us better.”
We often bemoan the oxymoron that customer service can be here in South Florida. Yet, when the customer service rep comes on the line, or is in front of us, there are two magical phrases you can use: his/her name; and “How are you?” Customer service reps are trained to ask how we are. Watch what happens when you use his/her name, and say, “It has been an OK day so far, Joseph. How’s your day going?” The rapport, attitude and service invariably will change.
And as we ask our teams to stretch, remind them of not only their economic and career success, but of how appreciated and valuable they are to you. Then watch the results. ♦
Stephen Garber is director of Third Level Ltd. Contact him at 561.752.5505 or [email protected].
