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Love Rulesand listening with your heart and caring about what
they have today. Empathy is the key. When employ-
ees feel seen and heard, there is a moistening in the
eyes. Yet researchers estimate that in more than 95
percent of daily interactions there is no moistening in
the eyes, according to High Energy Living, by Robert
K. Cooper (New American Library, 2002). For instance
when you ask someone how they are doing, an easy
way to show you are listening is to actually wait for
the answer and make eye contact.
- Recognize Them—We don’t mean trophies or
some awards dinner. We want you to make it real
personal. Honor them for who they are and what they
do. Recognize them as a person as much as a busi-
ness professional. One leader we know sends each
employee a personal birthday card with a handwrit-
ten note, not some electronic fake signature but a real
note. While it’s not possible to do this in every com-
pany, every manager can do this with their team. An-
other company allows employees to choose the UPC
codes for their new products. Employees choose
codes that feature their birth dates, anniversaries,
kids’ birthdays, and so on. This makes it very per-
sonal. Another very powerful way to recognize them
is to praise them when they are doing things right.
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