Giving thanks for a gift that you’ve received is always a good thing. However, it’s even better if you can take it a step further.
In Seth Godin’s classic book “Linchpin“, he offers some examples:
If you appreciate a gift, consider saying, “thank you and . . .” Thank you and I dog-eared forty of the pages. Thank you and I told your boss what a wonderful thing you did. Thank you and here’s a record my band and I recorded last week. Thank you and you made me cry. Thank you and I just blogged about what you did.
I love hearing back from someone that received a gift, but it’s far more valuable if they include the “and”.
There is similar advice with how you praise your staff, and expanding the why behind the praise. Announcing in front of the team that “Elena did an excellent job on that project” is great, but expanding to “Elena did a great job on that project because of the way she was able to pull in the brand colors on the resources page without sacrificing accessibility” is more valuable for everyone involved.
Give thanks, for sure, but including the “and” will make your words far more impactful.
