Each Monday we focus on one activity you can do today or over the next week to build yourself a better business. These short, actionable posts will show you what steps you need to take to take your business to the next level.
In case you’ve missed the previous posts, you can catch up here: 20 Days to Build A Better Business.
This is Day 12: Say Thank You
I don’t think that anyone would disagree with the statement that everyone is busy these days. So it follows that if you spend time on doing something which appears to be relatively minor, then the bigger the impact will be on either your customers or employees.
Doug Conant, President and CEO of the Campbell Soup Company wrote in the Harvard Business Review recently that over the last 10 years he’d sent out over 30,000 handwritten notes to employees or partners thanking them, or celebrating their accomplishments, for the something that they have done to help Campbell Soup Company.
On the face of it, writing handwritten notes may seem like a waste of time. But in my experience, they build goodwill and lead to higher productivity.
The research organisation Gallup has shown through years of research that engaged employees are more productive employees. So, spending time hand writing Thank You notes, is actually investing your time in something that builds relationships. The important thing is that the Thank You’s need to be genuine and specific, otherwise you’ll be wasting a golden opportunity to connect.
So why not sit down today and write 5 Thank You notes to either suppliers, customers or employees to thank them in some specific way for how they’ve helped you or for a specific task they’ve undertaken (for example outstanding customer service). If you want to see how powerful it is, read the comments in the Harvard article above. You’ll see comments from employees who used to work with Doug 10 or more years ago and the lasting impression those notes left.
What do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
