Last month, my husband and I went out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary. The server asked if we were celebrating anything special and I replied, “Our 21st Anniversary.” She smiled and I don’t even remember what happened next, but I remember thinking it was like when they ask you if you found everything you were looking for at the checkout, but aren’t really interested in the answer as whenever I’d say “no” they would look at me and not know what to say.

We had a lovely dinner though, and after she cleared our plates, she asked if we were interested in desert as they wanted to buy us a dessert to help us celebrate. I was shocked and was all in for a free desert. Not being able to agree on one though, we each ordered our own. She brought them out and on the one plate was written, “Happy Anniversary.” A little while later, she brought a card which also wished us a Happy Anniversary and was signed by several staff, and it included a free appetizer on our next visit. When we went to pay the bill, I noticed that they had actually comped both deserts too!

We left the restaurant and I talked about the experience for days (and regretted not taking a photo of the cake with the writing). Nothing they did was earth-shattering or even difficult:

• Comped dessert

• Wrote a note on the dessert plate

• Gave us a card with a coupon for a free appetizer

• Asked us a question and listened to the answer and then acted on it

As I reflected on the experience, I remembered a book I recently read: The Power of Moments by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. The book was awesome and I devoured it quickly. The basic premise is that our lives are made up of pivotal moments. We can identify these moments and make them special as a means to create amazing experiences. The really cool part was that you don’t need to do crazy things to make them memorable. They require thought and action, but we are all capable of both.

As leaders, we need to take the time to make moments special for those around us. Some of these moments may be spontaneous, but many are not. How can you make the first day special for a new employee? The Heaths tell the story of John Deere whose engaging and meaningful onboarding experience for all new employees includes:

• Receiving a personal email from an employee at John Deere welcoming you to the company. The email tells you where to meet them on your first day.

• Being personally greeted by this employee on their first day.

• A large TV screen displays a welcome message to you

• They show you to your cubicle which has a banner announcing you are a new hire and people stop to introduce themselves to you

• You read your first email which is a video welcome from the CEO

• Your team takes you out for lunch (The Power of Moments, pp. 20-21)

None of those things on their own are onerous, but together they create an impression; a memory which can be carried with them.

Think about your organization or business and start to identify some of the pivotal moments. Maybe it’s a new employee or a volunteer starting, a promotion, a customer milestone, birthday, anniversary or general celebration. Now, how can you up your game as you acknowledge it. Or, do you currently acknowledge it? You don’t need to go from nothing to mind-blown; start with nothing to something and then refine it. And if you are short of ideas, here are a few:

• Before an employee (or volunteer) starts, send them an email letting them know where to park, what to wear, and what they can expect their first day. You could even template this out and just add it to your onboarding process.

• Make note of important dates (birthdays, anniversaries) of customers and send them a card to acknowledge the milestone.

• Write a personalized email to an employee on their work anniversary acknowledging the great work they’ve done this past year (even better if you can be specific about their contributions).

• Make notes when people mention events or plans and add a reminder to ask them about it later

• Acknowledge someone new in a meeting and go out of your way to make them feel welcome

• Send a client an inspirational postcard when they are part way through a process and may be struggling

The possibilities are endless and do not need to cost a lot of money. In fact, I’d argue that many of the most meaningful are actually free, and just take time and effort. The benefit you receive and the strong culture it builds is returned many-fold.

Your mind might be racing with ideas and excitement. If that’s you, read the book and go for it. You might think, “Yeah – I totally want to do this, but I have no idea where to start.” Reach out to me and let’s talk about how to create amazing moments for the people around you.