If you were to open my top left desk drawer you would find two things in it, a bottle of wine and a bottle of champagne. I don’t keep them in my drawer because they were left over from last years’ holiday party; they are there to thank others for their help making us successful.
Under-appreciated people
In the fast paced business environment prevalent today, I have found that people are generally under-appreciated. Think back over the past year about how many times you helped other people, perhaps it is a hundred or a thousand times. Now think about how many thank you notes you have received. I often ask this question when speaking on networking and have found that only about 5% of people in any given room have received a thank you note in the past three months!
Appreciation Benefits
Did you ever consider the benefits of taking the extra time to say thank you? Here are two benefits you may consider:
- Thanking people reinforces the behaviour you are thanking them for and increases the chances that that behaviour will be repeated in the future.
- Showing gratitude helps to build your relationship and differentiates you from the hundreds of other people that the other person works with.
Go buy some champagne
Consider taking a moment to ensure that others know that you are genuinely thankful for their efforts. The holiday season is a great time to start, but remember that it is something that benefits everyone regardless of the time of year.
All relationships must be nurtured, but this is especially true of new relationships. When you decide that you want to pursue a relationship with a particular person whom you highly respect, you must be ready to invest substantial time, thought, and resources into your pursuit. Anything less than the conspicuous excellence of devoted attention and tireless servanthood, will delegate you to the throngs of other unnoticed people who would love to befriend such a person.
The way that a new relationship must be nurtured is very similar to the care and attention that a tiny, new plant must receive, in order to survive, and then thrive. It would be ridiculous to plant a fragile seedling out in the inclement weather among other established plants, and expect it to survive. A new seedling must be brought into the greenhouse and protected, until it is firmly rooted, and strong enough to withstand the storms that it will later need to endure.
New relationships need to be handled with the same devotion and attention. The foundation you build in the earliest stages of an association will establish the very nature and future of that relationship. The care and consideration given to an individual at the inception of the relationship will open the door to a strong, deeply rooted bond that will later be able to survive the assault of the most violent storms.