2019 Survey Results on: “The Gratitude Gap”
- Glassdoor exit survey: “81% of people…work harder when their boss shows appreciation for their work. Only 38% report working harder when their boss is demanding” (Before they “exit”!)
- Millennials and Gen Z desire “expressions of gratitude” 3X more than folks in their ‘60s.
- Managers, who are stingy with praise, believe in one or more of 7 myths. What’s their cure?
Tight-wads (or Praisers trying to help Tight-wads), read about praising facts with myths debunked in: “Leading with Gratitude” (2020: Gostick and Elton).
Invent a Company “Praising Statement System”
Why?
- Surveys on Employee Engagement have been chronically woeful.
- The C-19 “Great Cessation” will demand both sacrifices by and innovative inputs from all.
- And, most companies have heavy, “digital transformational”, change-challenges ahead.
How? A Personal Case
In 1982, these factors came together for me:
- I was buying a specialty-hardware distribution company in dire need of reinvention.
- The “One Minute Manager” was published. It introduced: “one-minute goals, praisings and reprimands”.
- Toyota was killing US auto companies with quality from lean manufacturing that had been refined by 20MM new ideas from associates.
- The US quality revolution had taken root. A new mantra: “drive out fear”.
- And, FedEx was teaching us to want: “zero errors, on-time, guaranteed”.
To achieve “Service Excellence Guaranteed” for my company, I tried a supportive experiment that grew into a system and can-do culture. Our “Good News Bulletin” (hard-copy then) came out every Friday PM. It was a consolidation of all submitted Praising Statement forms. Every rep and manager had a quota of at least two a week.
The initial praise-tight-wad resistance was a shock. I had to help many – see, craft, vocalize and then submit – their first 6 to 12. But, it then took off! Everyone was turning in praisings.
The system provided a steady informational flow about many, otherwise-invisible, progress steps. Everyone had faith that by all pulling together “Service Excellence” would happen. It did. Business boomed. And, all stakeholders won.*
But, Praisings Need A Vision and Strategy
B2B suppliers and distributors are in a race today to see and win at Cloud Ecommerce 2023. To help shape your best e-vision and strategy (to then power with praisings), I’ve just unveiled 11, all-new, webinars (each about 45-60 minutes). Check them out here:
eCommerce 2023 webinar series
* For more on my “praising statement” system, check these seven, 4-minute YouTube clips, starting here