Welcome to the Party, Chief Gratitude Officer

The thing I appreciate most about modern management theory is that it makes hiring from other companies so much easier. Most shiny MBA types view employees the same way they view seals at the zoo clapping for fish. If you develop an incentive, they will perform.  Clap, clap, fish, fish.  If they don’t perform, no fish.  Bad seal!

You on the other hand can express your innate humanity by how you treat the people who spend most of their waking hours working for you.  I am not talking about glad handing or overpaying. 

You can remain totally and completely uncompromising with respect to performance expectations, customer satisfaction, cost control… whatever you want.   That is the job at the end of the day.  Not one inch of give on the important things. 

Still, there is no reason to be unpleasant about it.  In fact, you can genuinely enjoy the group of people you have assembled to give you exactly what you expect. In turn, they can genuinely enjoy you and they will if they know how to do the right things and are recognized for it.  

That virtuous circle happens when you are grateful for the work your people do.  There are very few thankless jobs because most people cannot stand to be in them very long. This means you, Mr. or Ms. Ultimate Authority have been granted the power to make people feel like they have been thanked when they accomplish things that move the business forward.  Thanked for all the right reasons.