While we are, at our heart, a customer service and training blog and we will always be giving you tips about thanking your customers or your team, there is a bigger message and meaning to Thanksgiving. It is the power of thanking someone who has truly made an impact on your life.

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So this week of Thanksgiving, after you have thanked your customers and thanked your colleagues, watch this beautiful video by Barbara Glanz, and think about giving thanks to someone who has touched your life deeply.  

It's fitting to discuss "giving thanks" since we are in the midst of celebrating the many things we are thankful for during this month of Thanksgiving.  In business, the #1 thing we should be thankful for is our customers, which is rather obvious since they are the reason that we are staying in business, and they help us to afford putting a turkey feast on our tables (figuratively and literally).  It's a given that we are thankful for them, but do they feel appreciated?  Before I give you tips for taking your thankfulness beyond just saying "thank you," let me tell you about an experience that we are currently having with one of our vendors (crossing my fingers that they will read this and finally choose to be different)...

The idea that prompted this week's topic is the onset of our company retreat. Our company's executive team consists of individuals living in five different states, as well as four additional locations within one state. We are a team that works virtually. Getting together face-to-face is so important for not only our morale, but also for team building to ensure that our purpose aligns with our personal wants and needs, individually, and as a team. 

Over the years, we have worked with many teams where there was not a clear purpose, focus, or mission. These are the key ingredients or characteristics that will sustain high levels of team motivation, which translates into a unified and rewarding team experience.

A LOT!  For those of you who don't know, K.I.S.S. stands for "Keep it simple, stupid" (not calling you stupid; just don't want you to act stupid).  According to Wikipedia, the meaning of K.I.S.S. is: "The KISS principle states that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated; therefore simplicity should be a key goal in design and unnecessary complexity should be avoided."  Now applying this principle to customer service makes a lot of sense, right?  Businesses often neglect to uphold customer service standards since they don't want to put in the work required to train on and maintain them.  This is where businesses go wrong- implementing good, basic customer service practices is not hard, and for many people, it comes naturally once they are given a gentle nudge to embrace these skills. 

Managing anything can certainly have its ups and downs and much depends upon the success of the manager.  Think about the best managers you have ever had (or have). What qualities made you think of them first?  Chances are it had a lot to do with how they made you feel.  Managers (including teachers, parents, spouses, even friends) have the ability to impact each and every interaction either positively or negatively. The result of that influence is powerful and can certainly affect relationships, productivity, and even health. 

 

The definition of leadership is so much more than the words used in the dictionary.  There are so many facets to the meaning of the word.  Leaders are usually self-made and successful through hard work and making tough decisions.  The good news is leadership is not about a person's title on a business card.  Instead, it's about taking action and achieving goals, not about position.  So if we believe that leadership begins and ends with action, then all of us have certainly taken some positive form of action in our lives; therefore, we are all leaders.  I feel all to often people misinterpret their own ability to lead. To be a leader you don't necessarily have to have followers.  You just have to individually take action on achieving your own personal goals. Are you making a real difference in your world by your leadership, and what can you do to challenge yourself?