A moment of gratitude can change a meeting, a day, a company culture. Out of respect for our team’s busy work days, we try to keep our staff meeting frequency and length to a minimum. It doesn’t always work. One day during a long company meeting someone’s iPhone alarm went off at 11:11 am. Embarrassed, Lindsay said, “I’m so sorry. My gratitude alarm went off.”
Gratitude changes everything.
We all looked at her and said, “Your gratitude alarm? What’s that?”
Lindsay replied that every single day she stops what she is doing and takes a moment to feel gratitude for whatever she feels thankful for that day or that moment. This was genius. We stopped the meeting and started around the table sharing what each one of us was grateful for. Some spoke of gratitude for a loved one’s health, many were thankful for the team we worked with. One, me, was thankful that the meeting was almost over. As each team member spoke there was laughter, there were tears, there was gratitude. It took 5 minutes out of our meeting. We felt more bonded, more connected, more in tune with each other’s lives. More grateful.
Celebrate your team!
Recently we had our anniversary meeting with the team from the Montecito tasting room. I purposely had not told this new team about 11:11. Over yummy scones and coffee, my alarm went off. M.J., our tasting room manager, assuming it was just my phone alarm, kept talking. When I didn’t turn my phone off she kind of looked at me like, “really?”. I couldn’t wait to explain to this stellar group what 11:11 meant to Folded Hills, and how grateful I was for THEM!
At Folded Hills, our employees are our #1 customer. If the team is happy, they will keep our customers happy with outstanding service and commitment. Every day we are grateful for this accomplished and dedicated team. Every day we let them know it. A moment of gratitude can change company culture. How can you make gratitude part of your daily company culture?