If you want to pierce the heart of your toughest, thickest skinned team member, do something nice for one of their children.
- Broken arm playing basketball? Buy a ball from eBay signed by their favorite player and send it to them.
- Family going on their first cruise or a nice beach trip? Have a big bouquet of flowers waiting for your team member and their spouse with a gift basket stuffed with beach toys or masks and flippers.
- Did their daughter win second place in a talent show? Send an obnoxiously big edible arrangement of fruit that says “You are number one in our hearts!”
You get the idea. Three things have to be true for this to have the max effect.
- It has to get there first and fast.This needs to be there lightening fast; like waiting on them when they get home or definitely by the end of the day.
- It has to be creative. It may mean someone is leaving the office and going to Walmart to pick out just the right stuffed puppy for the two year old that got stitches. Add some candy, a dvd of a new movie that just came out and a handwritten note signed by everyone in the office. Go big.
- It has to be sincere.
Trust me. Doing this tells your team member that you love what they love. It tells them that you were listening when they were telling you what they were excited about or worried about. It tells them that even though you may do battle in the office over the colors on the new product line, that you care about them way more.
