Krug: The power of a few kind words

If there’s anything that moves by more quickly than the business day, it probably has spots or stripes and lives on the Serengeti. We are besieged by stuff. Stuff rules us. It comes and comes and comes. We never run out of stuff to do. The need to get stuff done on time never has been more urgent. And the expectation of our business partners never has been greater. Business always has been competitive, and it’s not slowing down. Stuff must get done. Stuff will be done. And our stuff must be high-quality stuff. And if that stuff is not right, there will be some denomination of Hell to pay. But that does not rule us. We love to deliver good stuff. What’s stuff? Stuff is everything. Stuff is a one-pager on the local migration patterns of the red-winged blackbird. It’s a rebuild of a transmission for a 1976 AMC Gremlin. It’s a transaction through the drive-thru window at your local savings and loan. Stuff is what we do. It’s all around us. George Carlin suggested that we bought homes so that we’d have a place to put our stuff. He was right. We built our workplaces, I suppose, as a place to do the stuff that allows us to buy our stuff. And we’ve all got stuff to do. We all do stuff. And stuff matters (to differing degrees) to all of us – and our business partners. One’s ability to pay a mortgage, fund our kids’ college tuition and buy frozen yogurt on Saturday afternoons with what’s left over is tied directly to our ability to get stuff done. Stuff is important.

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Dealing with stuff can be stressful. Or exhilarating. Or both. Most probably both. It is indescribably satisfying when we’ve plowed through a mountain of stuff and come to a point where we can stop and breathe. When our mountain of stuff becomes too high, we can be overwhelmed by it.

When stuff gets done, and it gets done within the designated specifications of expectations, there should be someone there who acknowledges the daily miracles and – at the very least – says those two magic words: “Thank you.” Of course, “nice job,” or “good stuff,” would work just as well. And, in a perfect world, there would be someone smiling at the end of every daily movement that results in success that acknowledges the effort made to close a sale of some stuff or properly affix some tape across of the box that contains stuff that will be sent out to an important client on time or transferred a call to us without hanging up on the caller in the process. We don’t live in a perfect world. We live in a world where stuff is expected to be successfully handled nearly all of the time, and at a pace in which those whose ability to dispense a “thank you” or “nice job” or “good stuff” couldn't possibly keep pace with the tasks that are being accomplished in a satisfactory or acceptable way. But the good-stuff-to-nice-job ratio doesn't align nearly often enough. As a result, in some of those places where we do stuff to earn the money to buy stuff, it too often requires a Herculean effort to merit a good word for the stuff that gets done. And the height of that bar can sometimes make the production of good stuff feel like OK. When good stuff begins to feel like OK stuff, great stuff can be mistaken for good stuff and exceptional stuff becomes the only measure of success. When our good stuff becomes OK stuff, we may catch some grief. When our stuff falls below the level of OK-ness, we may ourselves be told to get stuffed. Then again, if nobody ever bothered to tell us the difference between great stuff, good stuff, OK stuff and lousy stuff, we might not be able to recognize the difference.

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Somewhere along the line, the leaders of our companies became too focused on the big stuff to remember the little stuff. Blame the recession. Blame Watergate. Blame the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The root of this is not completely clear. No matter, today there’s seemingly no time for coaching or feedback. The art of the two-minute conversation has been lost in workplaces dominated by 27-inch computer monitors and ear buds. There’s no opportunity to evaluate the stuff that people do until it mounds into a pile. It’s as if people must come pre-loaded with excellence, or they are rubbish. These people just can’t handle their stuff. Eventually, rubbish gets tossed out. Leaders have to get back to sweating the small stuff. They need to remember who handles their details, what pushes strong companies ahead and what got them to their big chair. Surely these people haven’t been blockheads all their lives. As for those who do the stuff that makes the stuff the boss does look easy, be ready to accept your “thank you” or “nice work” or “good stuff.” Learn to accept a compliment. The first time you deny one may be the last time you receive one. We lob praise as if it was a 75-pound dumbbell. And for those who think their boss is the biggest tool in the shed, just one thought: You probably are right. But they must get their stuff right every so often. Let them know. Set the standard for kindness in your kingdom. No crown required.

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It would be a sin not to acknowledge motivational speaker Mark Scharenbroich for causing me to set down my stuff for a moment and share these thoughts. If you haven’t seen Scharenbroich killing it out on the conference circuit, it’s your loss. A fair amount of his spiel is pegged to incorporating simple acts of kindness into our daily lives. He tells his story through a journey he once took to the magical land of Milwaukee that coincided with the 100^th anniversary of Harley-Davidson in which tens of thousands of Harley enthusiasts besieged the city with their beloved hogs. It was there that he picked up on the power of acknowledgement, the quiet power of regard and the deep conveyance of respect contained in the two words: “nice bike.” If you can’t see Scharenbroich’s deal in person, you can pick up a copy of his book, “Nice Bike,” at www.nicebike.com. Oh, yeah, and good stuff there, fella. Thanks for the inspiration.

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As always… Stay classy. Chris Krug is president of the progressive media communications firm No Limit Agency* in Chicago. No Limit is a full-service agency whose practice focuses on strategy, brand management, creative campaigns and delivering unparalleled placement in the media. No Limit Agency works with some of the best-known brands in North America, and that’s not a coincidence. Contact Krug by calling 312-526-3996 or via email at [email protected].