Thank You!

“Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.”

Zig Ziglar – author and speaker

The holiday season and beginning of the New Year is often a time people reflect on the year past and what the future may hold. I’d like to use this article to thank each of you who are leaders of a business. It’s all too easy to lose sight of the genuine contribution you provide to our community. Lost in the hustle and bustle, pressure and anxiety running a business often includes, are the many positive contributions you make to the lives of others.

While creating jobs isn’t the goal of a business it’s often required as your business grows. You provide a product or service that people like, demand increases and you need others to help you. You’re now providing a living for people so they can take care of their families. Many of your employees will become life-long friends in the process. Adults spend approximately two-thirds of their life at their place of employment. The workplace often becomes a second home of sorts due to the social interaction between employees, customers, vendors and the community.

In many instances your customers become good friends that you look forward to serving. The vendors selling their products and services to your company provides them with a living as well.

Local businesses and their owners are a large part of what’s good in their community. From sponsoring youth sports teams and community events to employees helping with local food drives, Toys for Tots and more, the world would look a lot different if not for your generosity of time and money.

I’ve been fortunate to work with dozens of businesses in western Wisconsin and Minnesota. Without exception every leader tells me it’s not his or her career they think about but the careers and livelihood of their employees. The understanding they’re creating a greater good than just providing for their own family often gets overlooked especially during the trying times every business goes through.

As the leader of your business you have the opportunity on a daily basis to add to the quality of life of those around you. By continually training your employees you add to their feeling of fulfillment of a job well done. By providing exceptional customer service you show you value and respect them for more than just the dollars that exchange hands. The ripples you create go farther than you’ll ever realize.

While it may not feel like it at times, leadership is a gift. When you think about how few people will ever have the opportunity to have as much effect on the lives of others as you do you begin to see if for the extraordinary opportunity it is. Great leaders change the world for the better in profound ways.

While unfortunately it’s all too rare to be acknowledged for the gift you are to the others you serve, take a minute, look in the mirror, smile, and tell yourself “Good Job”! Thank you for making our area a great place to work and live!