Earlier this month, we hosted Harvey Mackay on Office Hours. Last week, I received a thank-you note that was memorable — and in its own Godinesque way, remarkable. You can read all five pages here, but the image below should give you the gist.

Some of you might not dig this particular approach. But it’s a great reminder that we have more opportunities to stand out from the crowd than we realize.

10 Responses to “600 ways to say thank you”

  1. Yes — this is a way to stand out, but I wonder: because the (text) of this takes less than a minute to reproduce on a computer, is some of the “umph” lost?

    With Gratitude,

    Jeremiah

  2. Elaine Joli says:

    I agree with Jeremiah. The idea was good, but they stopped at the good idea. If they creatively explored a bit further, I’ll be they could have come up with something great – much more intimate, personal and remarkable.

  3. Harvey was my guest on The Career Clinic a couple of years ago and I got a thank-you letter like this. But you know what? I also got the sweetest, most personal note from Harvey at the bottom of it–one I will always treasure. So I look at the rest of it as just very distinctive stationery.

    I’m a sucker for thank-you letters that are mailed rather than eMailed, by the way. It’s a classy touch, I think!

  4. Avatar photo Dan Pink says:

    @Maureen — If you go to page 5 of the PDF, you’ll see he included two generous and personalized sentences. Maybe the first 4 pages are, as you say, the stationery.

  5. Thanks, Dan.

    And if anyone would compare with having Harvey on the show, it would be you!

    I’ve never extended an invitation in the comments on someone’s blog. Here’s hoping I’m forgiven!

  6. Ray Musumba says:

    Mr. Pink,

    Whereas I appreciate this effort, I can’t help but read gimmick.
    I’ve seen companies selectively making ceremonies out of their PR interaction with influential customers. In this case, that would be you, or Seth Godin, or Marty Neumeier…
    I on the other hand, hold no similar influence to make a fuss of.

  7. Jim Seybert says:

    Damn it !!!

    Don’t you just hate it when someone comes up with a cool idea —- before you do?

    What a hoot. The definition of being remarkable is doing something about which people will actually remark, and this fits that bill.

    Thanks for sharing Dan. And curse you for destroying today’s productivity while I think of ways to out do this.

  8. Maxine says:

    I bet you this made you smile and your smile got bigger with each page. It made me feel good and it wasn’t even for me. The power of gratitude is amazing.

  9. Dan, Harvey Mackay is right about one thing, you do have a great voice! That’s why your audio books rock!!

    The Thank You letter is cute, it stands out and it could work (actually, it did work since it got our attention), but it’s just no my cup of tea. Seems a bit overdone. But it is a valuable reminder that you don’t need to get too fancy to make an impact and stand out. And also, that we’re way too serious. Harvey Mackay knows how to have fun.

    Thanks for yet another thought-provoking post!

  10. Ben Knight says:

    Modesty has a name. At the end there should be a “sorry message” to the trees used/abused/killed.

    @Ray Musumba: Gimmick is as gimmick does