Appreciation

There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.

Mother Tharesa

Peak summer  ,  after  visiting one  of  my  client   , parked  my  vehicle  near   a  quick Darshni joint in one  of  many  labyrinth by lanes  in  peenya 

Ordered for  idly  Wada &    eager  to  gulp with  plenty  of  water  finish the  rituals of  eating   and prepare  for  my  next  call .surprisingly idly was too  good  as  soft as  cotton  and  chutney  was  yummy .ordered  for  one more  plate .really  enjoyed  lunch   after   gap  of  many  months  that  too  in a Non  descript  by lane in  Peenya industrial area !! Immediately  I enquired at  the  counter regarding  the  Nala maharaj who  prepared  this idlies   & chutney .At first  the  counter  Manager  saw  me from  top to  bottom  , dint  expect   this  sort  of  enquiry  as he was   used to  hear   only order  from clients  and  issue  token  day  in  day  out . I  persisted  and  at last  came  out  from  the  so  called  kitchen a  frail  old  man in  his 60 s .immediately I  shook his  hand   thanked  him  for  the  excellent preparation  and inserted  Rs  10 in his  pocket , You  should  have  seen the  expression  on  his  face .Transformation!! His face  was turned  into  100 candle  bulb  and showed  his  teeth like  the  Ad  in  center fresh   and   knew       I made  his  Day .He  thanked  me  for  acknowledging his  talent  in  Idly  making   and  told  me  no one  had  complimented him  for  his  culinary  talent  like  the  way  I  did  not  even  his wife.

He showed the  10 Rs to  all  his  friends   and in  turn offered  me if  needed one  more  plate . from  his  account I  politely  refused  and  carried  on  with  my  sales  call

What did  I  do? Nothing  much  I    only  appreciated    his  talent ,  and who knows  if  stars  were  better  placed  he  might  had  worked  in  a  star  hotel !

I  only  appreciated  his  good work  where  we  generally  categorize  as normal  routine  work  for which  he  is  paid .

"The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated." - William James

Remember  the  scene  in  Munna  bhai  where  Sanju  Baba  hugs  the cleaning  person and  appreciate his  so called drudgery

We  all  need appreciation ,pat  on  our  back ! but  unfortunately  we  are  very stingy  to give  but  liberal  in  flattering …the  bad  cousin  of  appreciation  to  get  our  work  done !!Remember in  our  childhood  the  story  of  a  crow  and  fox  where  fox flatters  crow and  lo it drops  the bread from  its  mouth  and fox runs  away  carrying  it!!

We  do  the  same  thing  even  in  our  adulthood  whenever we  want some  thing  done  we  flatter  them  and not really  appreciating .This  will  not  carry  us  for  a  long  time .

Remember   Appreciation can make a day - even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.

The ability and willingness to express sincere appreciation is one of the most valuable skills of leadership communication.  People will tend to willingly follow others who make them feel good about themselves. 

A few years back as   A  Employee I  was attending one of the first of what would be many workshops conducted by GE on Constructive  feed  back  .  During the session, Trainer  described an exercise that one of his teachers had prescribed for him as he was trying to understand gratitude.  “For one year,” said the teacher, “I want you to write two notes of gratitude before you leave your room in the morning.  And  also appreciate  any good  work done by  your co workers  .quite  challenging ? yes  it  was

Forget about  writing   but How many of  us appreciate  and  say  Thank you  for  excellent  meal  prepared  by  your  wife/mother ?Or  for  that  matter  appreciate  your  Dhobi  for  ironing  your  clothes ?or  your  car  washing  boy? Your  hair  stylist  ,milk man .paperboy ,  list  is  end less …

Difficult!  cause we fall  into  the  usual  trap of convincing  our self that yes they  are  paid  to  do  that

 Can  we go  beyond  monetary motivation  and  appreciate  talent ?

By appreciation, we make excellence in others our own property.
Voltaire

Not  only  in daily  life  but  you  can  appreciate in  your  work  place  also

You can tell your colleagues, coworkers and employees how much you value them and their contribution any day of the year. Trust me. No occasion is necessary. In fact, small surprises and tokens of your appreciation spread throughout the year help the people in your work life feel valued all year long.

  Praise something your coworker has done well. Identify the specific actions that you found admirable.

  Say "thank you." Show your appreciation for their hard work and contributions. And, don't forget to say "please" often as well. Social niceties do belong at work. A more gracious, polite workplace is appreciated by all.

Ask your  friends /coworkers about their family, their hobby, their weekend or a special event they attended. Your genuine interest - as opposed to being nosey – causes people to feel valued and cared about.

  Last  but  not  the  least  Employee appreciation is never out-of-place. In fact, in many organizations, it's often a scarce commodity. Make your workplace the exception. Use every opportunity to demonstrate your gratitude to employees

Always remember, everyone is hungry for praise and starving for honest appreciation.

Lets  give  it  a  chance