The power of the handwritten note

THE POWER OF THE HANDWRITTEN NOTE BY DAVID STUKUS

The recent news of Peyton Manning’s induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer reminds me of that wonderful Gatorade commercial from about 5 years ago. It features people in Manning’s life reading letters that he sent them over the years – congratulations notes, thank you notes, thinking of you notes etc. He has taken the time to write letters to fellow players or people whom he thought could use a boost and spent his off seasons making a list of players he had observed and admired. He wrote to the players, usually after they retired or reached a milestone, and referenced their mutual respect for the game and the preparation it took to succeed.

As a business leader and coach, I also believe in the power of the handwritten note. Like Manning, I have sent quite a few over the years and hope that those that received my notes felt the same sense of pride and appreciation that I felt when I received handwritten notes. Much like those people in the Gatorade commercial, I have saved many of the notes I received because of the power to lift up and motivate me. I saved notes from CEO’s, community leaders, old neighbors, former coaches and players, business leaders, bosses, and colleagues. Although the writers of those notes are not as famous as Peyton Manning, they meant (and continue to mean) the world to me. And that is why I continue to write my notes.

My wife and I were both taught by our parents the importance of handwritten notes and how important they are, and we try to instill that importance in our children. But we live in a world today where everything seemingly needs to happen instantly, and as a result I fear that future generations will not recognize the power and the impact that a handwritten (or typed and mailed) letter has on the recipient. I get that we all must adapt to the times, and I have done so – case in point, emailing thank you emails for job interviews – but there is still a time a place for a simple note that says, “good job”, “thank you” or “keep up the good work!” Just this week we received a note from our kids’ orthodontist, expressing her appreciation for a referral. How powerful!

Another person who believes in the power of a handwritten note and recognition is David Novak. He is the former Chairman and CEO of Yum Brands and has a history of building teams where people feel valued and believes that recognition is linked very strongly to results. He always wanted to reward people in a spontaneous way – from a floppy chicken and note while at KFC, to a set of wind-up teeth for “walking the talk” at the parent company Yum. Novak stresses that it does not matter what you do, just do what fits your personality, but do something from the heart – a personal call, recognizing someone in front of a group, or the handwritten note. He calls recognition a privilege of leadership and I think that is so true and powerful. I read two books from Novak – The Education of an Accidental CEO and O Great One! The latter I recently read for a second time and it is a great story about the power of recognition. I highly recommend both, and I also recently started following his David Novak Leadership and have enjoyed several of his ‘How Leaders Lead’ podcasts in which he interviews various leaders about how they get things done. Thought provoking insights from a diverse set of leaders.

Sometimes leaders are so focused on the “now” and on the instant results and they fail to recognize the importance of spontaneous, from the heart recognition. That is what builds teams and loyalty. I always hated it when the answer to building morale or growing sales was “let’s have a contest!”. It is my experience that contests never have the intended consequence and in many cases erode team morale. I would love to hear your handwritten note memories or other ideas you do for recognition in the comment section of this post.