The power of gratitude: CEOs that sent out handwritten thank you notes

In 2009, Doug Conant, then the CEO of the Campbell Soup Company, was in a serious car accident. While he was recovering in the hospital, he received get-well notes from employees across the globe. This was motivated by the care and kindness Conant had showed them years earlier.

The anecdote was included in The Gratitude Diaries, in which journalist Janice Kaplan chronicled her year-long effort to learn about the effects of gratitude. Kaplan cited Conant’s behaviour as an example of a leader who harnessed the power of recognition to boost his team’s performance. Throughout his tenure at the company, Conant sent more than 30,000 handwritten thank-you notes.

Kaplan said a survey she conducted with the John Templeton Foundation found that about 90 per cent of people said a grateful boss was more likely to be successful. In 2014, Mark Zuckerberg challenged himself to write one thank-you note every day, according to The Washington Post.

Kaplan said there are other ways to show appreciation. If someone’s been up all night working on a project, you can get them a cup of coffee.

“We understand that that’s sometimes part of the job. But recognising it, saying thank you, letting them know that it wasn’t for nought really can go a very far way,” said Kaplan.