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8 Memorable Expressions of Gratitude

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with Marketing Advisor & Squeeze Mortgage NMLS# 377413

herb knoll and randy mitchelsonWhen I read the details about the November Active Rain contest to define gratitude, I thought long and hard about examples in my life that exemplified gratitude.

I think it goes without saying that people such as our parents and spouses sometimes do extraordinary things for us out of their love and gratitude for us (and vice-versa). Certainly there are examples in my own life that I can recall but they are personal to me and I prefer to keep them private.




8 Memorable Expressions of Gratitude 

Professionally, I can recite a series of acts of gratitude that one of my former supervisors showered upon me and his other direct reports with regularity. That's him in the picture above! We've remained close friends despite his Detroit Tigers fetish. His methods of gratitude became part of the culture he built within his sphere of influence. Here is a list of things I remember him doing...

thank you note

 

1) "Thank you for coming in today." was often a statement we heard at the end of a work day. It was said in earnest, not sarcastically. He never took your attendance for granted. He realized that there were other employers that could compete for the talents of his team and this was an easy way to remind us that we were appreciated.

2) On more than one occasion I received handwritten thank you notes at my home address from my boss. In this day and age of the ease of email and text communication, the use of handwritten notes is a lost art. I have kept these handwritten notes from him all these years. I cherish them.


3) Verbal recognition amongst peers was another form of gratitude expressed by my bosss. During in-person meetings or teleconferences if there was an opportunity to call out someone that had done a good job, he never hesitated to broadcast that message wide and clear. It really helped us build our personal brand within the workplace. Name recognition is critical especially in larger companies.

4) Gifts were sometimes a pleasant surprise from my boss. For example, I was once presented with a pair of marble book-ends, engraved with our company logo. He found extra funds in his budgets to buy small dollar items to commemorate special occasions such as a promotion, anniversary or just because. A subtle footnote to this is that he used those funds to buy a corporate item, thus reinforcing loyalty to the brand amongs his people.

5) Education was another powerful form of gratitude that my boss would go to battle for on our behalf. He would never hesitate to champion a request for tuition reimbursment with the higher-ups that had to sign-off. Even if there was push-back he he made a strong case on our behalf. He was willing to fight the battle.

6) Awards were another creative form of gratitude developed by my boss. He would come up with an on-going awards program and design handsome certificates to present to winners. He didn't wait or expect the corporation to develop such a program - he took it upon himself to institute one internally.

7) Money is nice. But let's face it. Companies are scrooge to hand it out. But when there were special programs available to reward employees who have gone above and beyond, our boss never forgot to take time to submit the deserving names into the hat to try to get them a little extra dough. This took extra work on his part. He made the investment.

ice cream sundae

8) Not sure what category this falls under, but one of the more memorable forms of gratitude he taught me was the ice cream social. One night (we were located in Albany, New York) he called me into his office and asked me to listen to a phone call. He dialed one of our offices we were responsible for in Utah. The lucky person who answered the phone was entertained by a peculiar command from my boss. He told her that they were doing a great job and that we wanted her to go buy ice cream for the whole team and all the toppings they could muster and build the most decadent sundaes they could. He went on to instruct them to eat their colorful creations in front of their customers! He told her that when customers asked why they were eating sundaes to tell them that their boss told them that they were simply the best!  "Send me the receipt for the ice cream." he told her.

How To Express Gratitude in 2015
So what can we do with all these ideas to make gratitude a bigger component in our 2015 business plan?

I think that as leaders of people or relationship managers of people in a book of business, we've become too complacent with expressing gratitude. As I mentioned earlier, email and texts make it efficient for us to communicate. But in my opinion these forms of communication are not ideal for expressing thanks.

I submit that we adopt a behavior in our 2015 plan to utilize more personal forms of appreciation. Stop relying upon email and texts. Rather, invest a couple of minutes and a postage stamp to handwrite a brief note of thanks.

Do this not only for clients but for your personnel as well as they are a critical part of your operation.
Remember, they have made a conscious choice to leave their family and home and work side by side with you. YOU. Not your competitor down the street. YOU.


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Comments (24)

Gene Riemenschneider
Home Point Real Estate - Brentwood, CA
Turning Houses into Homes

He sounds like a wise man who knows how to motivate people in a postive way.

Nov 11, 2014 07:12 AM
Karen Fiddler, Broker/Owner
Karen Parsons-Fiddler, Broker 949-510-2395 - Mission Viejo, CA
Orange County & Lake Arrowhead, CA (949)510-2395

Nice tribute to your boss..I like that he thanked you each night, that's pretty amazing. 

Nov 11, 2014 08:01 AM
Diana Dahlberg
1 Month Realty - Pleasant Prairie, WI
Real Estate in Kenosha, WI since 1994 262-308-3563

If all bosses were grateful for their employees like your past boss .. just think what a wonderful life it would be!   Thanks for sharing!  That's quite a testimony to his ability to understand how to keep people working together for the good of the whole and to motivate people!  Great Post!

Nov 11, 2014 09:58 AM
Wayne Johnson
Coldwell Banker D'Ann Harper REALTORS® - San Antonio, TX
San Antonio REALTOR, San Antonio Homes For Sale

Randy Mitchelson that was quite a boss you had. He sounds like an exceptional manager. 

Nov 11, 2014 10:05 AM
Nina Hollander, Broker
Coldwell Banker Realty - Charlotte, NC
Your Greater Charlotte Realtor

Having spent 20 years in the corporate world as a senior executive, if I've learned anything it's that people often appreciate acknowledgment more than extra money. You had a truly special boss.

Nov 11, 2014 09:25 PM
Tammy Lankford,
Lane Realty Eatonton, GA Lake Sinclair, Milledgeville, 706-485-9668 - Eatonton, GA
Broker GA Lake Sinclair/Eatonton/Milledgeville

I want you to know how much "take away" I got from your post.  I think you just made me a better boss

 

Nov 12, 2014 05:55 AM
Lottie Kendall
Compass - San Francisco, CA
Helping make your real estate dreams a reality

These are GREAT, Randy. The ice cream social is brilliant! And the power of a hand-written note -- not much beats that.

Nov 12, 2014 07:49 AM
Randy Mitchelson,APR
Marketing Advisor & Squeeze Mortgage - Bonita Springs, FL
First Impressions are made at First Click

Lottie Kendall - Thanks for the follow and positive feedback. Take these tips and pay it forward with your colleagues! And I happen to have a friend in San Carlos so we have that in common!

Tammy Lankford - Wow! Glad it helped you. Maybe write a blog post about your first surprise ice cream social and share it with me! Thaks for following my blog.

Nina Hollander - different people are motivated differently and it's up to us as their leaders to figure that out and pull the proper levers when needed. Thanks for following my blog.

Wayne Johnson - No doubt. And better yet, he remains one of my best friends. Thanks for following my blog.

Diana Dahlberg - He was a true champion of the people he chose to surround himself with. Thank you for following my blog.

Nov 12, 2014 02:05 PM
Randy Mitchelson,APR
Marketing Advisor & Squeeze Mortgage - Bonita Springs, FL
First Impressions are made at First Click

Karen Fiddler, Broker/Realtor - It sounds so simple but it clearly made an impact upon me and I try to do the same in our marketing firm. Thanks for following my blog.

Gene Riemenschneider - He's one of those people you always want on your team. A great communicator. Thank you for following my blog.

Lyn Sims - Thanks for commenting and following my blog.

Wayne Martin - always nice to hear from you. Thaks for following my blog.

Nov 12, 2014 02:07 PM
Regina P. Brown
MBA Broker Consultants - Carlsbad, CA
M.B.A., Broker, Instructor

Randy, you have been blessed with such a wonderful boss and a good friend.  It looks like that he has a gift to cheer everybody up.  That attitude of gratitude is one of the secrets of building a successful team.

Nov 14, 2014 08:00 PM
Nina Hollander, Broker
Coldwell Banker Realty - Charlotte, NC
Your Greater Charlotte Realtor

I can't disagree... I'm always saying thank you in one form or another. I hardly start an email to a lead without thanking them for using my website.

Nov 14, 2014 08:17 PM
Kimo Jarrett
Cyber Properties - Huntington Beach, CA
Pro Lifestyle Solutions

I celebrate often with associates and clients when they are available but your post got me to thinking about using gift cards in lieu of me being with them personally to celebrate our relationship. Great post.

Nov 16, 2014 11:51 PM
Jeff Dowler, CRS
eXp Realty of California, Inc. - Carlsbad, CA
The Southern California Relocation Dude

Randy

Your boss's actions are well worth emulating for they show gratitude in so many meaningful ways, and yet so often we don't do these sorts of things for others nor are we recipients of them. But when they do occur we so appreciate the gratitude

Jeff

Nov 20, 2014 02:28 AM
Randy Mitchelson,APR
Marketing Advisor & Squeeze Mortgage - Bonita Springs, FL
First Impressions are made at First Click

Jeff Dowler CRS - very well said....thank you for following my blog

Kimo Jarrett - Never underestimate the power of a handwritten note. Monetary gifts are nice but not always necessary.

Nina Hollander - glad you enjoyed my post. thanks for following my blog

Regina P. Brown - so true...and just yesterday I saw your "attitude of gratitude" saying on the billboard at a local elementary school!

 

Nov 20, 2014 12:46 PM
Catherine Ulrey
Keller Williams Capital City - Salem, OR
Equestrian and Acreage Property Specialist

Wow, sounds like an amazing guy to work for.  He knew what he was doing!

Nov 21, 2014 02:40 AM
Kwee Huset
Kwee Huset Realty - Venice, FL
Venice Florida Homes For Sale

Hi Randy, fantastic supervisor know how to value and appreciate his staff, so that they will perform their best and be faithful to the company. BTW have a blessed Thanksgiving.  

Nov 27, 2014 09:48 AM
Scott Gleason, CRS
Coldwell Banker Realty - Westfield, NJ
Westfield NJ New Homes Specialist

That's a great list, Randy.  Being and showing gratitude makes any day better.  We all like to be appreciated.  So, we need to go the extra mile to make sure we also show appreciation.

Dec 03, 2014 04:47 AM
Randy Mitchelson,APR
Marketing Advisor & Squeeze Mortgage - Bonita Springs, FL
First Impressions are made at First Click

Catherine Ulrey - yes! and he still does! I am so glad he is still in my life!

Kwee Huset - Hope you enjoyed your holiday in Paradise! Thanks for checking in.

Scott Gleason - a simple pat on the back can go a long way toward building loyalty

Dec 03, 2014 01:27 PM
Winston Heverly
Coldwell Banker Access Realty - South Macon, GA
GRI, ABR, SFR, CDPE, CIAS, PA

This was a super post and glad I came across it from the archives. Thanks for sharing.

Apr 03, 2015 02:20 PM
Randy Mitchelson,APR
Marketing Advisor & Squeeze Mortgage - Bonita Springs, FL
First Impressions are made at First Click

Winston Heverly - An oldie but goodie for sure. Thanks or stopping by and following my blog.

Apr 05, 2015 02:24 PM