Don’t Forget To Celebrate The Wins
It's easy to think it's an English trait to play down the moments of breakthrough and success. Jony Ive, the man behind many of Apple's most iconic products, in an interview once said he didn't think he could have done the work he did in the UK. He explained that when an idea is suggested in the UK, it is often treated with scepticism, whereas there's far more of a 'you can do anything' mindset in the US. Suffice to say, there's good and bad found in both extremes of those mindsets.
But setting aside any national stereotypes, it often seems we forget to celebrate the wins in our businesses.
Just this week, I had phones calls with two different clients. The first client is a startup, and in the last six months, his monthly turnover has tripled. At this point, we are talking thousands of pounds, but it's still growth. The second client passed their first million dollars last year; that's no mean feat for any small business.
In both cases, not much fuss was made about those gains. I happen to think this is bad for morale and, in turn, bad for business.
Reaching The Summit
When Edmund Hillary reached the summit of Everest, imagine if at that point he turned to the others with him and said, 'well, that's done, let's head back down.' Or imagine when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon and had not marked that moment by planting a flag.
It's essential to plant flags during the journey. Or in some cases, pop some Champagne or buy a round of drinks. Celebration is critical to keep us going; it's the emotional equivalent of a hot shower after a 5K run. It's a time to relax and smile and consider the effort it took to get to this point.
If we fail to celebrate our wins, be they the first album, a new product launch, a successful Black Friday sale, or a new client we've spent months trying to get, then the whole gig feels like an endless trudge.
And this is the real point. A lot of the time, business is tough; there are few easy wins, there are bad days and sleepless nights. Celebrating the successes is good for you and your team and acknowledges all that effort. If you are an employer and fail to celebrate the wins, your workforce will become demoralised and feel you don't care.
Gratitude Is An Attitude
Recently I've begun to send thank you emails to team members regularly. I ask one of my team to send me a list of all those who have contributed to the organisation's success that week. I do it every Thursday without fail. They are all individually written and informed by me finding out exactly what they've done for the organisation. No cutting and pasting is going on; they take time to do.
However, they take far less time than the time it took the person who I'm thanking to make their contribution. They worked hard, and they deserve to have that acknowledged and celebrated. It's a small thing, but I think it helps them to know their efforts don't go unnoticed.
Cultivate a culture of gratitude and thanksgiving, and you'll be surprised how much more motivated your team are! In my experience highly motivated people deliver the best work. If it's just you running the business on your own, then celebrate with family or friends - share the joy, you'll feel better for it.
