A boss who says thanks
Any time a marketing guy sends an email about how awesome his boss is, I react with an emotion that registers somewhere between deep suspicion and utter disregard.
But earlier this month I received a note from Christopher Jensen, Marketing Team Lead for Modern Survey, whose CEO President, Don MacPherson, I happen to know.
Jensen’s story rang true. So, on this day before a U.S. holiday devoted to gratitude, I’m sharing it with you:
Don always says that Thanksgiving is his favorite day of the year. Unlike most of us, he spends it at the office. In fact, he comes in early and starts calling each employee and telling them how much they mean to him and to Modern Survey and he cites specific examples of their exemplary work. I have to admit, on my first Thanksgiving after I joined Modern Survey, when I saw a call coming from the office, I got a little nervous. Something had to be wrong, right? Nope. Just Don calling to fill me up with kind words.
After he gets through calling all of Modern Survey’s employees, he moves on to clients, thanking them for their support and loyalty, and finally friends and family members with personal touches about how they’ve helped him become the person that he is today.
I’ve never had a boss like that. Nor have I ever done anything like that myself. How about you?
Ive never had a boss that does this, but I’m starting the tradition for myself this year. Love it.
Well, my frank reply is I’m confused…perhaps I’m just misreading it.
Don seems to be a boss that regularly values his employees and gives them good feedback. (Why would someone love to acknowledge people and not do that the rest of the year?
I think the sentiment is outstanding but no way am I putting my employees, let alone my clients, in the position of getting a call from their boss on their day off when I know what they really want is to see me say if face to face, the day before, privately. Same for clients. Make an in-person invite, to the party perhaps, and only if you can’t then turn to the phone.
Sorry but the phone isn’t the tool for that any more than telling the girl “I love you” for the first time.
Dan, you and I were both fortunate enough to work for a boss who consistently said “Thank You”–Al Gore. When I worked for him in the U.S. Senate, he always took the time to say thank you to me and other staffers who’d just finished a big hearing, a major speech, or a difficult project for him. He was one of very few Senators who seemed to understand how important just a few words of gratitude could be–especially to a junior staffer.
Of course, he was also unusual in other ways, too. He actually read all of a briefing memo–and sometimes read articles and books referenced in the memo. He made sure he knew how to pronounce witnesses’ names at hearings. He worked very hard to make sure that the facts he cited were correct. He thought beyond the next election cycle–sometimes 20, 30, even 50 years into the future. And when he was Vice President, he was fond of quoting Harry Truman, who famously said, “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”
If we had more people like him in the Congress today maybe it wouldn’t be so broken.
Specific and timely – two important elements of great feedback in my opinion. Glad to see that what I’ve study in grad school rings true in the real world (at least for Modern Survey).
I think that’s a great way to stand our from the crowd in a positive way and to show appreciation to you team (both employees and customers). It might not be a good idea for every boss, but it seems to work for him and I applaud his actions.
The best thank you i ever received was a written note from a CEO of a 25,000 employee corporation. Our team had just completed a significant cross-subsidiary, multi-disciplanary improvement project and written an Improvement Guide on our work, to be distributed to all managers in the company. His comments “This is an excellent piece of work. I hope that many people will only read it, and more importantly learn from it”. that note is taped to my “first edition” that i still have in my office (15 years later).
What a very good idea. We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here in Australia but on Christmas Day I’m going to call the tiny team for my company Creativity Ink ( and the rellies)…we don’t yet have any clients.
Thankyou for the suggestion, Christopher Jensen.
Not only do I wish we had bosses that said thanks , but also acknowledged our importance to the overall success of what our organization does. The top admin rarely communicates with anyone below a certain level except in mass e-mail blasts. Saying thanks to individuals would be amazing….
And, I am going to make sure I do it at least for the small group that I manage! – Great Idea
As a female executive in the late 1980’s, I encountered more than a few challenges in the male-dominated industry of corporate finance. Although a small firm, we shared offices with a huge brokerage house and their financial clearinghouse, where I often heard the patronizing comments, both overt and subtle sexual harassment in a combative environment where the undertone was ‘women don’t belong here’, plus the frequent verbal barrages directed at hapless secretaries. No woman was ever foolish enough to file complaints or even comment on these things, since to do so was to commit career suicide. These are just normal things that the majority of working women silently endure and simply accept as the price of collecting a paycheck.
All that being said, it was the best job of my life, for one reason: my boss, Ken. He is a genius, right-brain thinker, who recognized that I am one, too (right-brainer, not genius) long before I knew it or before anyone as brilliant as Daniel Pink wrote a book about us. I couldn’t wait to get to work each day, and it was the most exciting, fulfilling experience of my life.
Ken once asked me, “Why do you give me so much more than I ask for or expect?” My reply: “Because you challenge me, then give me the space and freedom to create, the confidence to leave my comfort zone and you don’t humiliate me when I screw up, because your realize that mistakes are often the by-product of the risks you allow me to take. Plus, you pay me well and you appreciate me – my work, my feedback and my loyalty. Whenever you give me a project, you don’t put me in a straight-jacket or box me into a corner, you simply hand it to me and say ‘run with it’.” They can’t make a drug that will give you the kind of high I experienced daily at that job.
Once a week, Ken took the entire office, six of us, for cocktails and at least once every 3 or 4 weeks, he would take us out to the best steak and seafood restaurant in town for dinner. Many times he only stayed long enough to have a drink with us, because either his wife was experiencing a difficult pregnancy or he had a young family waiting for him at home. Before leaving, he would sign a credit card slip, say “Thanks for doing such a great job, order whatever you want and enjoy your evening.” Ken was the brains and the talent of the company, which made a lot of money, but he realized that his team made his business run like a well-oiled machine. He showed his appreciation often with recognition, praise, bonuses and gifts.
Ken literally gave me a business education that money can’t buy at Harvard or Wharton. But the most important lessons he imparted to me were: dignity and respect belong in every workplace; your employees are often your most valuable assets so treat them as such; hire the brightest, self-motivated people and then get out of their way; and never, ever sell yourself short or allow anyone else do so. Before that job, I used to be something of a doormat. Ken not only challenged and changed my perception of business, but he also changed how I perceived myself.
I think that is wonderful. I understand some people feel we should give thanks everyday and that is true. However with such busy lives, it sometimes get lost in the shuffle. I beleive Don reach out to everyone in the most sincere way has a powerful positive impact on employees and gives it that personal touch. It’s funny, because just 20 mins. ago, i received a beautiful letter from my mentor also giving genuine thanks with a personal touch and was happy to receive it. At least I know she cares, as far as anyone else in that 2.0 institution is questionable. I like what Don is doing, hope more would follow suit.
Oh geez, i caught a few typos and can’t edit my comment above… that will drive me nuts.
Please excuse any typos or spelling errors.
Happy Thanksgiving! =)
I served a school district in SC in which the Superintendent made a personal phone call to each employee (of many) on their birthday. That little bit he did remains with me many years later. My point is: whatever mode, however timed, the attempt at thanks is worth any mistakes made or perceived.
Why is he not home with the family on Thanksgiving Day? If my husband tried to escape the family time to go to his nice quiet office and make some nice phone calls while sipping coffee from his nice coffee maker, I would not be a happy wife! I would think more of this guy if he was making stuffing, spending time with his kids, or helping his parents with some needed chores! The office should wait until Monday at 8:00 a.m. No praise from this wife! Ha ha!!
Have to agree with Randy and Donna.
Maybe it’s just English reserve (tho’ as a Liverpudlian, we’re not famous for possessing any!), but not only do I not want to hear about ‘work’ (even though I’m my own right brained boss and passionate about what I do) on Christmas Day (our equivalent of Thanksgiving), I also believe this day is for the family – or for volunteering, however briefly, with those for whom Thanksgiving/Christmas wouldn’t exist without volunteers.
“I think the sentiment is outstanding but no way am I putting my employees, let alone my clients, in the position of getting a call from their boss on their day off when I know what they really want is to see me say it face to face, the day before, privately. Same for clients…
Sorry but the phone isn’t the tool for that any more than telling the girl “I love you” for the first time.”
“Why is he not home with the family on Thanksgiving Day?”
Great to see the right brain rising to take its rightful place – and eventually in balance with – the left. I’m doing my bit to achieve the same on this side of the pond.
http://itsliverpool.com/
Exactly Donna, thank you Pauline. (There is no ‘agree’ button so I’ve posted.)
“or for volunteering” YES! YES! And next year I will get back to that!
Part of what we do at Modern Survey is sell employee engagement solutions and recognition/appreciation is a major part of our model. Rest assured, Don’s Thanksgiving routine is not a one-day gesture, but more of a token reminder of the importance of recognizing people’s work and showing appreciation for them. Don also sends out cards around New Years and has several other exercises he does to remind folks of what they mean to him and Modern Survey.
Most importantly, he does make a tremendous effort to check in with employees, talk about their engagement, their engagement preferences (e.g.would they prefer a phone call to an email? would they be comfortable being praised in public? etc.)and generally make sure people know how valued they are at the organization all year long. It’s one of the best things about working at Modern Survey, you know your effort is valued and you can see how it connects to the mission.
And to clarify a detail about his Thanksgiving routine, Don typically leaves messages on people’s work phones so they aren’t interrupted during the holiday. I received a call on my cell phone my first year at Modern Survey because I was new and did not yet have my own phone line.
Thanks for that clarification Christopher! I feel a little better knowing that Don didn’t call his employees at home on Thanksgiving. People are looking for authenticity in leaders/bosses and that just sounds a little too contrived. I have no issue with the honest sentiments of being gratefull and appreciating employees. It is essential for high performance and engagement. Not to mention happiness!
Dan, That’s a good story!
You don’t need to be a CEO or wait for seasonal greetings! You can do it all year long!
Rypple helps with Meaningful Recognition! http://bit.ly/MeaningfulRecognition