I had blogged about the fact that my Mom insisted that I write thank you notes, and how those handwritten notes still made a huge difference in my life.

Then, I received an unexpected one myself from a great salesperson. I had raced into St. John’s (who sell beautiful knitted suits) and asked the salesman if he could find me a black skirt quick! I was leaving for Rhode Island to speak at the Travel Learning Conference, and somehow, I didn’t have the skirt that went with my favorite St. John jacket.

He went to the back and found two, and one was a size too small. He told me to try it on anyway, and it could always be blocked a size larger. It did fit, and I bought it and ran out the door, in time to make my flight.

Then I received this beautiful handwritten note from my savior, Armando.

You know I’m headed back there to see what he has for Spring. How great is that? A handwritten thank you note from someone who saved the day for me?

My Grandmother, Mammy, used to take months to painstakingly knit ghastly itchy sweaters and send them to my sister, Margo, and me for the holidays. Scarves, too.

At least Margo’s were in semi-pleasant colors but mine were usually green. Mammy knew that Emerald was my birth month’s color and she didn’t take into account that I looked like a turtle in that color.

Mom had a rule: you must write a thank you note within the week. I’d wrack my little brains and come up with something pathetic like: Dear Mammy, Thank you for the nice sweater. Love, Lois.

Mom put the kibosh on that and sent me back to my desk. Eventually, I’d come up with something half decent, longer anyway:

Dear Mammy, The green sweater is very warm and will come in handy this year as the winds are howling here in Long Beach. Thank you for knitting it for me, and spending all that time to make me a nice sweater like this one. Love, Lois

Mom smiled. She was right, of course. It didn’t matter that I looked like a red eared tortoise in the sweater; I had to show my gratitude.

The idea holds in business too. When I spend time now to write notes to clients to thank them for the kind things they say about us, for their business, for a lunch we’ve had together, they appreciate it. Here are some ideas you might want to try:

· Write a hand-written thank you note and be specific about what you appreciated (at the meeting, or the gift, etc).
· An email thank you is nice as long as you also send the written one.
· I also try to remember birthdays. One time I was speaking about this on a podium and a lady raised her hand and said the only birthday card she got that year was from her oil burner man. That was sad. Made a birthday list and be sure to mail all the cards for that month in the beginning of the month.
· Send gifts to people who are important to you. This week I received a wonderful present from a friend in Canada: Red Olympic mittens. I love them, and the best part was that they were unexpected, although it is coldish in Miami these days.

· We’re all so over-booked every day, and so once every few weeks I write out cards “I miss you” so I don’t lose touch with people I care about. You might try that too. It feels good.

My friend Andrea Nierenberg, the Queen of Networking, writes three notes every day. I’ve gotten into the habit myself. You might try it too, and let me know how it works. Also, tell me your ideas here on comments!

In the speedy way we work now, I get an email, respond in a second, and sometimes don’t take the time to think.

That happened to me last week, when I was invited to speak in Europe at a conference, and I was on a conference call, and perhaps my response was a bit curt. The sponsor of the event thought I was mean…and didn’t even appreciate her offer (which I did). I’ve been wanting to speak in Prague for a while, and when the invite came in…I just blattered out my questions. And, she was gone. I missed out, and felt awful about it.

My Mom used to say, “think before you speak”, and if you’re angry, “sleep on it” before responding. You’ll feel altogether different in the morning. And, I usually do that. When the poor Prague woman wrote, I didn’t.

Joe Biden also had a foot in the mouth disease last week when he accidentally blurted out that there is a secret bunker under the old U.S. Naval Academy. That is the bunker where they hid Cheney, when 9/11 happened. Well, it is not a secret anything anymore. If only he’d thought,, waited, considered before he said it. Michelle Malkin talks about it on her blog today

Guess we should all think about this on Twitter and Facebook… and email.

Days fly by for me, in a frenzy of activities….from direct marketing for our clients, my social media network, my real network of friends, my new books (I’m writing), my columns and all the mundane things I do, like paying bills, returning calls, and handling the challenges of board membership.

In the course of doing all of these activities, I let others slip by. One of those things that I’m always fighting with myself about is Organization. When I was a kid, my mom said I had a disorganized mind and that was why I was so creative. Now, there’s no excuse. [Read more →]