Breed Productivity in Environment of Awesomeness

I have a new ‘friend’ Phoebe who has called me twice now. She calls and tells me I’m awesome…pretty cool, if ticklish. Ironically, I nearly hung up on her the first call, assuming she was a nice but psychologically astute salesperson.

Now this is, to my knowledge, nothing kinky, but rather part of a service by a company called www.AwesomenessReminders.com. Apparently someone has paid to have this message anonymously delivered to me weekly for a period of time unknown to me. They may be trying out the free 7 day trial offer, or maybe the one month subscription.

The sender is kept a secret,  although if you request to know who it is by email the company may tell you.  I suspect the sender gets the option to allow the unveiling or not. 

So it got me thinking…is there any advantage either to know who is sending me these messages or NOT to know? When I consider my pantheon of friends, colleagues or clients who might be sending me such lovely messages, it seems to me the very ones who would have thought to do this are the same ones who would have just told me directly that they think I’m awesome.  So that makes me wonder if they are using this anonymous service for both the element of surprise and fun AND to keep me on my toes. 

By  knowing who sent this kind message, I could be sure to return my appreciation to them. I’d like to think I am already appreciative of them, whoever they are, because I try to live that way.  By NOT knowing, however, there’s a certain edginess…I’m on my best behavior, knowing that somewhere, somebody is sort of ‘watching’ me. 

It reminds me of the story of an ancient community of monks which was declining, and on the verge of shutting down since they had lost the support of the surrounding villages. (Don’t you love how monks often feature in didactic stories? Must be a tribute to their supposed wisdom.)  Rumors started circulating that there was hidden among their ranks an Enlightened One who had the power to keep the Monastery open if he deemed them worthy. By not knowing who it was, each of the monks began being truly kind and acting in service to each of the other monks. They certainly didn’t want to be accused of disrespecting the Enlightened One or being considered unworthy. On the contrary, they might even curry a bit of favor.  Little by little, as the habit of appreciation took hold, not only did the spirit of kindness re-infuse the Monastic residents, but spilled over to their interactions with the townspeople. Trade picked up, donations began to flourish and before long the Monastery and surrounding villages were all thriving. And the closure never happened. No one ever found out who the Enlightened One was. Or, if there ever was one. 

Now wait a minute here, what just happened? And if we get it, how can we apply that in our own life and business operations to increase both a spirit of daily kindness, appreciation and even productivity. Even if for personal or so-called selfish reasons you, me, our colleagues simply ramp up our service ethic, could we really increase customers attracted to us? Increase sales? Increase personal effectiveness of our staff? Very possibly, for at least five simple reasons mentioned below: 

• Statistics show that more people work being motivated by recognition and personal satisfaction than just for money, assuming the pay is fair to start with
• Good news travels fast, so prospects, customers and even staff will happily spread the news and send you more customers
• Word will get out that your place is great to work for, so new recruits of that service ethic will find their way to you, thus building in sustainability and reduced turnover
• Happy workers more willingly apply their goodwill, skills and discretionary effort to add value in their environment, knowing it will be appreciated
• People simply like doing business with likeable people 

So I guess I will revel in the titillation of not knowing who has granted me the kindness of messages “You’re awesome” delivered by Phoebe on the phone. Maybe I will even get more out of myself!