Relevance of Thanksgiving Day

“A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues.” – Cicero

Every year on the last Thursday of November, people in Canada and US gather for a day of feasting, football and family. While this age’s Thanksgiving celebrations would be a far cry from the original harvest meal of 1621, it continues to be a day for Americans to come together around the table—albeit with some updates to Pilgrim’s menu.

The original occupants of the ship ‘Mayflower’ left Plymouth in September 1620 with 102 passengers. After travelling for 66 days they dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod. They stayed aboard the ship to survive the brutal winter despite facing exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious diseases. Finally they got off the ship and were welcomed by the Native Americans. Squanto, a member of the Pawtuxet tribe taught the travelers (Mayflower settlers) how to cultivate corn, extract sap, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants.

In November 1621, a feast was organized to celebrate the Pilgrims’ first corn harvest. Governor William Bradford invited a group of the fledgling colony’s Native American allies including the Wampanoag chief Massasoit. This is now remembered as American’s “first Thanksgiving”!

In 1817, New York became the first of several states to officially adopt an annual Thanksgiving holiday. Thereafter, each state celebrated it on a different day. In 1827, Sarah Josepha Hale advocated Thanksgiving as a national holiday. Hale was the noted magazine editor and prolific writer credited with the words for “Mary Had a Little Lamb”. In 1863, after 36 years of strife, Abraham Lincoln finally gave in to Hale’s request in the midst of the Civil War. It was a proclamation beseeching all Americans to ask God to take care of all those who had become widows or orphans. It was a plea to aid the mourners and the people who had suffered in the civil war so that they could unite under a common banner and treat the wounds of the nation.

And now, after almost four hundred years, this day is gradually becoming a day for families to get together to feast. The whole family gathers at the meal and start by saying grace. The meal usually consists of roasted turkey, pumkin pie, cranberries, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet corn, etc.

Thanksgiving Day in India signifies a bountiful harvest and flourishing of wealth. Though not celebrated with the same fervor as our western counterparts, it is a holiday that we do understand. We ought to embrace it as we as Indians have a lot to be thankful for. We are a part of a family oriented society. Thankfulness is a blessed attitude expressed towards others. Thanksgiving Day is a day to take a moment and reflect on what actions can be taken in the next year to fully express the meaning of appreciation.

As we sit down to dinner this Thanksgiving, spend a few moments giving thanks. Also, lets share with our family and friends what actions we will take in the next year to fully express the meaning of Thanksgiving. Let us learn to appreciate what we have in life!

Hospitality and Gifting Go Hand in Hand

Until a decade ago, travelling a few hundred kilometres was considered a demanding task. Now though, a new breed has taken over for whom travelling has become a way of life and hotels – cosier than home. On the one hand, hotels are competing with each other to win customers through superior customer service and giving personalized experience. Due to the high level of competition hotels are forced to be on their toes by going out of their way and making guests feel at home.

Luxury hotels probably in this regard aren’t hesitant to go above and beyond for customers if they suspect it could result in free press. While great customer service stories can be a dime a dozen if you’re looking for them, you can’t help but think that some of these tales seem especially calculated. It makes good business sense to treat customers well, doesn’t it? A good, well thought present goes a long way in customer service and provide the hotels two main advantages. Firstly, it pleases the customer and makes sure they return again and secondly it provides word of mouth advertisement which makes a whole lot of difference.

Consider Christina McMenemy’s experience. Every year that she attended a blogging conference in Nashville, she would stay at the Gaylord Opryland hotel. One thing that she absolutely loved about her room was the radio clock that played serene music that relaxed her as if she were actually getting a massage at a high end spa every time it played. Christina was hooked and she wanted to experience the same serenity at home since it allowed her to sleep like a baby. Christina tweeted the folks at the hotel where she could purchase one. The one they suggested online however, lacked the spa music feature that Christina loved so much. Disappointed, she thanked them for the effort anyway. Next time she was at the room, she found that there was a noise machine sitting on her bed along with a thank you note.

You can see how this is one situation where the gift is a memory for life and the hospitality is endorsed by the story as well as the recipient. Personal touch such as this will give the guest an unforgettable experience and at the same time make them an ambassador for the brand. The biggest takeaway from the above story is that the gifts don’t have to be expensive, it can be trivial for many but the investment you make with it can be invaluable and it can win a customer for a lifetime.

The Need to Pamper Employees for Better Productivity

There was a time when people would be employed by a company after their education and they would work with that company until they retired.  It was as sanctimonious as a marriage. It became their profession. It also gave employers the belief that employees were replaceable which lead to employer tyranny.

But that age has now passed giving birth to a new generation that is facing a paradox of choice. There are so many jobs available and oh, so many better employer elsewhere. If loyalty is defined as being faithful to a cause, sticking to an ideal, custom, institution or product then it is quite common for employees to be engaged in infidelity.

Add to that, multiple recessions, during which companies laid off huge sections of their employees with little regard for loyalty or length of service. This ensured depleted benefits and measly promotions for those who remained.  This led to the entry of a generation of youngsters, aged between 20 and 30, who have a different set of expectations about their careers or employers. The trend set in, the necessity of a professional to create his own brand on the shoulders of his work and experience.

Recent research shows that one of the major reasons why employees lack motivation is that they feel insecure about their job or feel mistreated by the employer. They always feel that the grass is greener on the other side. According to a study by Nobel Laureate George Akerlof, a forerunner in the field of economics claims that act of kindness by employer elicit more effort from employees towards their job and tasks. Further studies on this subject by a group of German and Swiss researcher’s throws more light on this subject and reiterate that exchanging gifts in workplace produces greater outcome than when offered monetary benefits such as cash bonus or incentive's. 

Thus we move to the age of employing wooing and pampering. Many leading companies have adopted some over-the-top perks to attract and retain talents, perks such as being a pet-friendly office, providing sabbatical leaves for employees, sponsored vacations, baby shower programs and many more.

                                                                     

                                                              

More than perks or monetary benefits, it is the sense of meaning in work that you hope to motivate employees with. Employees need constant reassurance about their worth in the progress of the company, any small gestures in the form of  thoughtful gift  that shows that they are a part of an organization will lead to job satisfaction.

Gifts That Are Engraved In History That Reverberate The Need Of Gifting

If people stopped gifting, we would not have seen “The Taj Mahal” or read “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Two inspiring stories of gifting, the former an epitome of love, where Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife build one of the most spectacular monument in the history, which took almost 22 years and 22,000 workers and the latter, a token of care which demonstrates how a thoughtful gift could produce one of America’s bestselling books, here is how the Harper Lee story goes…

Harper lee was working as a ticket agent for a British Airline. Even though she was passionate about writing she didn’t have the liberty of time or financial freedom to pursue her passion. She once shared her passion and concern with her friends Michael and Joy Brown, a couple who Harper Lee was very close to but least did she expect that these two people would change her life for ever.

During Christmas in 1956, Lee woke up to a surprise; she found an envelope which was hung to a Christmas tree, with the natural curiosity of a writer she opened the envelop, to her astonishment it had a hand written note from Michael and Joy Brown, the note read like this” 'You have one year off from your job to write whatever you please. Merry Christmas” The couple sponsored Lee for an entire year and rest is history. Every day we stumble upon thousands of stories which echo ‘why gifting is important’.

Gifting has a special place in our everyday lives. When you feel words aren’t just enough to show how much you care, respect or love then a gift can express all this. So why wait? Show your loved ones how much you care, love and cherish them. Happy Gifting!

WHY CORPORATES CAN’T THINK OUT OF THE SWEET BOX?

The Festival season is here! We are all eagerly anticipating long holidays and some fun time. Year ending is always exciting, especially in India where we have the biggest festival, Diwali around this time. The excitement is because this is the time of the year that the entire nation comes together to celebrate. We burst crackers, gorge on sweets, wear new clothes and spend time with family and friends. There is so much fun and excitement in the air. On the contrary, this is the time of the year where corporates also try to contribute to the celebration but more often or not it becomes a boring affair. Be it gifting an Employee or a Best Performer or a Client, corporates always lack ideas.

Seriously, are you not bored of the same old sweet box? Common, can’t corporates think more than the lame sweet box? It’s high time you need to be serious about what you are giving away in your company’s name.

Give something that represents your brand and image.

BE Thoughtful: “What is bought is cheaper than a gift”. Gifting is not about how valuable or large the gift is but how thoughtful it is. In a larger organization, it becomes very tedious to make each gift special and thoughtful but instead what organisations can do is to involve third party service providers.

BE Inspirational: If personal gifting is for communicating emotions such as love, care or gratitude, corporate gifting is motivating and inspiring. How about an inspirational book or pad folios or desktop prints?

DO appreciate: “You gave me your TIME, the most thoughtful gift of all”. Are we doing enough to appreciate an employee’s contribution?

BE Different: You want to stay on top of your clients’ mind? Gift something different! Companies would want to show their appreciation in a thoughtful and genuine manner, not in a manner where the client feels he is bribed. The crucial element while choosing a gift for a client is to think local and give something personalized.

Last but not the least PRESENTATION AND PACKAGING IS EVERYTHING!