Message of the Day - The Little Things that Mean So Much

Good Morning,

My current read is "Contented Cows Give Better Milk: The Plain Truth About
Employee Relations And Your Bottom Line" by Bill Catlette & Richard Hadden
(http://www.contentedcows.com/). This book is about treating employees the
right way, not just because it is the right thing to do, rather because it
results in a higher profit for the company.

I like how the authors tie in actual company performance to back up their
points on caring for their staff and going the extra mile. It has been my
belief for many years that treating your staff well makes a huge difference
in the team, department and ultimately the company's performance.

One section which jumped out at me was on how doing the little things, and
not necessarily the job related little things, can have such a huge impact
in the lives of fellow employees but in the overall performance of the
company.

The authors shared tales of CEOs who personally sent out birthday cards to
their staff. In some cases, this was over 1300 employees. In another case, a
CEO sent out congratulations to their employees for personal
accomplishments, even if they had nothing to do with the job.

Another example included getting to know the name of everyone on your team
and in your company. For some folks this is hard, and for others, it is
second nature. The impact though is huge. Like Dale Carnegie once said, a
person's name is the single most important word to them and they love
hearing it. If you can remember people's names, use them. Even if you have
a lot of temps coming through or if your unit has a high turnover, try to
learn everyone's name.

All these little things have a huge impact, much larger than the things
themselves. People notice the little things and in that they see that they
are valued as people and that their company cares more for them. A raise is
nice, but being known and appreciated has a much longer lasting impact on
the lives of those we work with.

Little things may be odd and unnatural to some, who look for a nearly
sterile relationship with their coworkers. These unfortunate people miss out
on the larger picture and bigger dividend the extra effort pays.

Want to take this to an even higher level? Get to know the names of your
coworker's kids and pets. Share pictures with them (thus sharing a part of
yourself with them) and you will spark their interest not only in getting to
know you better, but in working harder because they feel appreciated and the
have value to you and others.

It's the little things we can all do.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

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