Surprise and Delight

I have a great idea to share with you!  If you will forgive the self-promotion, the seeming boast is necessary if I am to share this next lesson with you.  Turns out, as my husband would say, that I have been out-Coffee-Lunch-Coffee’d!  And, I am absolutely thrilled to give credit where credit is due.

I learned last month that, come March, I will be named as one of KC Business Magazine’s 2012 “Most Influential Women.”  I blush even as I type it.  Needless to say, I am very flattered and honored to be among a group of community members of whom I think so highly.  There are thirty of us and, in addition to a large awards reception, we have been invited to get to know one another at a more intimate, private event next week.  The magazine alerted us of the upcoming activities for our class via email with a mailing list of all thirty honorees.

The list came out late last week.  Then, in this past Monday’s mail, I received a wonderful surprise and delight.  One of my fellow honorees, the owner of a local marketing firm, BRILLIANTLY sent a huge envelop to my office with a note saying hello, congratulating me on being named and sharing how humbled she was to be in MY company.  She closed the letter, which was on her company letterhead, with the promise of seeing me at the get-to-know you event next week.  She included her business card along with one of those big, eco-friendly, reusable shopping bags complete with her company logo.  So smart!

Then, in yesterday’s mail, I received another letter of congratulations from another one of the honorees, a local attorney.  The letter read,

Dear Ms. Muller, I am honored to be part of this year’s class of ‘influential Women’ with you.  Your accomplishments are impressive and you are so deserving of the honor.  I look forward to meeting you soon.” 

Wow!  They both say that I’m deserving of the honor?  Huh.  The fact is that I’d like to honor each of these women with an additional prize for Genius Networking!

In both cases I was flattered to receive their notes, I was thoroughly impressed at their efforts and I couldn’t let go of the thought, “Why didn’t I think of that?” 

Both women saw an opportunity to expand their personal, professional networks with a list of other women in the local business community who have already been vetted as “influential.”  It was easy.  A thoughtful notion that, through simple effort, will surely generate awesome results.  The thirty of us are about to share a common experience and know that the group is already well respected in the business community.  It stands to reason that this is a perfect group to add to each of our personal networking rosters.

So, who will you surprise and delight this week?  Are you about to receive an honor… be installed on a not-for-profit board of directors… join a book club?  Did you read something wonderful about someone in the paper who you know or would like to get to know?  Go ahead.  Clip that article and write a short message of congratulations to the professional; I guarantee you that they will be touched and may even give the extra copy of the article to their mother!  Be sure to include your business card – a small token “gift” or memento bearing your company logo is a swell idea, too (I, for one, have already put that grocery sack to good use!).   Tell the person to whom you are writing that you are excited for them.  Let them know how eager you are to get to know them better and to work with them more closely.  The effort you put into it will be both appreciated and remembered.

5 thoughts to “Surprise and Delight”

  1. I love what you shared Alana. It’s great food for thought and plays into my company’s required reading of “Lunchmeat & Life Lessons” by Mary B. Lucas (I wonder if she’s on the influential list?!). I’m always looking for ways to surprise and delight my customer, or as Mary would say, give them some comeback sauce!

    Congratulations!
    ab

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