The Power of Recognition

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Attention all leaders and entrepreneurs!  I highly recommend you get your hands on this awesome book, EntreLeadership by New York Times Best Selling Author, Dave Ramsey.  This week, as I celebrated my birthday and Valentines day, I really got to thinking of one of the chapters in the book, So how do we do recognition?”

With these two celebrations, I was totally surrounded by so much love and recognition from my husband, my children, family and  friends that I cannot begin to tell you how blessed I feel.  I voiced my appreciation to my kids and they remarked, “Mom, you always recognize us, so we just automatically do the same”.  And the cool part, is that I watch them doing it all the time in their own interactions with others. The point is that we can all benefit from more recognition!

Dave Ramsey says,the first rule of recognition is to simply bother to do it”.  That means actually getting into the habit of catching people doing something right!

I decided to put it to the test this week.  I was looking for some advice on printers, since I had to replace my ‘good old faithful’ one I had for many years.  The sales associate at Staples Business Depot I was dealing with was pretty darn good.  He gave me all the benefits and answered my challenging questions very well.  I decided to wait a day or so and also check out the competition.  They were OK, but not at the same knowledge and service, so I decided to go back and check it out again at Staples.  This time I had another sales associate and not only did he give me excellent product knowledge and service, after the purchase, he even offered to take it out to my car.  I made sure to recognize them both by emailing the Store Manager and she was thrilled to hear it…and so were they:)   This was one of many times I used the power of recognition this week – it’s been a blast!

In his book, Dave talks about how people yearn for acceptance, approval, appreciation, attention and affection”.  It’s all part of our inner makeup and the better we get at giving recognition, the more we will receive.  This was so clear to me this week as I focused on recognizing people wherever I went or when on the phone.  As I gave out lots of compliments and became genuinely interested in people, the more interest they took in me and what I do.   I know you know this, but it’s easily taken for granted as we get caught up in our day to day stuff.

The really cool part is that when you recognize your team, your family and friends, it is the catalyst to success in your business and your life.  This is definitely not complicated, it’s just a matter of paying attention to the details.

Tom Peters says in Search of Excellence, “people are lifted up and inspired when they work for something bigger than themselves.”

Zig Ziglar says, “people say motivation doesn’t last, well neither does bathing, that is why we recommend doing both daily.”

So…have some fun and start recognizing more people…you have the power!

About the author 

Deborah MacDonald

After almost 25 years as an entrepreneur, I continue to grow my business, my passive income streams and my wealth. And now I mentor others on their wealth journeys by teaching them how to fund their own freedom lifestyle.

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