Lesson 5- The Importance of Reward and Recognition (11-26-25)

This is the last in the series of lessons that kept repeating for me throughout the year. Lesson 5 is that reward and recognition are more important now than ever before.

I’ve noticed a pattern over the past few months. When I’ve shown appreciation for people this year, their reaction has been stronger than in years past. Don’t get me wrong. People have always been thankful. They have always appreciated being seen and recognized for their work. It just seems like rather than words of recognition and appreciation being a small boost, they are now filling a deep hole. Have you noticed this?

Why is this happening? I’m not sure what it is. I don’t know if it’s because we are running faster and harder than ever before. I don’t know if it’s because life feels less stable than it ever has. Maybe it’s because collectively we’ve lost touches of our humanity as we have become connected with devices and less connected to each other. Maybe it’s because our unspoken question is, “Do I matter?” as we exist in large corporate machines. Whatever it is, I feel that there is less acknowledgement of others and their worth than there has been in years past. It’s a massive tangible difference that I can feel with individuals AND more broadly with groups. What do you think?

While I don’t have any idea what is causing this, it is making me more aware of how much power each of us has, and how easily we can use that power as a force for good. Taking a few moments to say a kind word. Spending a few minutes writing an email shouting out someone for their effort. These things don’t just create ripples; they create powerful waves now.

The challenge: We have more power to lift others up than we will ever realize. Will you use this power to recognize someone and fill them up today?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Thanksgiving and Appreciating the Inputs and Outputs (11-21-22)

This week is about Thanksgiving and being thankful for both outputs and inputs.

On Thursday I’ll have Thanksgiving with the in-laws and we will have things like: turkey, mac n cheese, rolls, mashed potatoes, multiple pies, my mother-in-law’s spectacular stuffing (my favorite thing), and more. It will taste delicious, like it does every year. Here’s the thing. That food doesn’t miraculously appear on its own. It requires a lot of time, effort, energy, and resources from a lot of people to make it happen. It’s the time, patience, and care spread over hours that leads to a great turkey. It’s investing hours in finding the ingredients, preparing the ingredients, and pulling it all together that leads to an amazing pie. On Thursday, I’ll be thankful for the food AND for the people and all of the effort they put in to prepare a great meal and a space to enjoy each other.

What does this have to do with anything? In our analogy this week we should be thankful for the outcome (delicious food) and we should appreciate all of the inputs (the people, time, effort, and resources it takes to pull this off). This same thinking should apply to the work we do.

We live in a world obsessed with outcomes and final deliverables. While we are obsessed with these things, we don’t always acknowledge the sacrifice and effort that goes into creating something great. Have you ever created a deliverable that was used and then felt that your contributions weren’t quite appreciated? I have. Have you ever felt that people didn’t fully understand or appreciate the amount of effort, energy, and resources you had to pour into making something successful? I have. Now think about when things went differently. What did it feel like when you and your efforts were appreciated as much as what you delivered? This always makes me feel valued and that I matter.

The challenge: How are you recognizing the effort and energy that goes into the deliverable vs. just recognizing the deliverable itself?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Accomplishment, Flowers, and Appreciating Beauty (5-25-22)

Last week was about garage door motors and designing customer solutions. This week is about accomplishment, flowers, and appreciating beauty.

We have lived in our house for about 10 years. During that time, my wife has spent a significant amount of time and energy planting trees, bushes, and flowers. None of these things necessarily accomplish anything. The flowers don’t provide food. The flowers don’t open garage doors. The flowers are not essential to our house. At the same time, they are valuable. They give us a chance to experience beauty and peace, and that’s worth something. (Pic is from my son planting the flowers to spell “Yay”. Totally not necessary. Totally bring me joy.)

What does this have to do with anything? In a world that is so focused on achievement, it’s easy to get obsessed with only doing things if they accomplish something vs. enjoying something for what it is. We walk, because we need to get in our steps. We read, but mainly read books to help us be better employees. We do things at work, but only because they check boxes so we can move to the next rung of the ladder. I get stuck in these ruts. Do you?

The flowers at my house remind me that sometimes life is just about doing things that help us witness the beauty around us. Life is writing poems, even though those poems are for the sole sake of creating. Life is doing sidewalk chart art because it is cool to make monsters on your driveway. Life is going on a walk just because the weather is nice. Life is reading a book for the joy of being transported to a new world, whether that is a time in history, a magical land, or somewhere beyond. Life is sitting outside on your front porch and just zoning out with friends. When life is crazy busy, the thing that gets me through is pausing to remember that life isn’t always about accomplishment. Sometimes it is about witnessing the everyday wonder hidden in small moments.

The challenge: Will you stop to appreciate the beauty in life?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Parenting and Showing Appreciation (3-24-21)

Last week was about parenting and prioritization. This week is about parenting and showing appreciation.

My wife and I were hanging out in the living room with our daughters. I started to talk about how proud of them I am and how they’ve been great recently and how much we appreciate them. My girls get a little sheepish and one of them jokingly says, “Here comes the dad talk.” I laughed, gave her a huge hug and said, “Dang right it’s the dad talk!” Then, I continued to talk about how proud I am and how much I appreciate them for being who they are, because one of the most important things I can do as a dad is ensure that my girls ALWAYS know how much they are valued and loved. I try to consistently demonstrate this with my actions and my words, even if the girls give me a hard time for giving the “dad talk.”

What does this have to do with work? Similar to being a dad, one of the most important responsibilities of a leader is ensuring their people feel valued and loved. Our current environment is making it hard to do this. The world is moving so fast and as we continue to work from home we lose many of the organic touchpoints we would have to demonstrate how much we appreciate each other. With this in mind, we need to be more intentional than ever about making sure people feel valued and loved. We need to slow down and ensure these conversations are happening and that our words and actions cut through all of the noise. Imagine for a moment. What if we got so great at making people feel valued that the next time we started to tell someone we appreciate them they would interrupt us to jokingly say, “It’s the leader talk again.” 😉 Imagine how different it would feel to be at work if this was the case.

The challenge: How are you being intentional about showing appreciation and making people feel valued and loved? What action will you take TODAY?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Showing Thanks and Appreciation (11-18-20)

Last week was about pumpkin spice and letting people love what (and who) they love. This week is about saying thanks and showing appreciation.

Next week is Thanksgiving, and it’s likely to be very different from past Thanksgivings. This causes me to reflect and be even more thankful than I have in the past and more aware of the blessings and people I’ve taken for granted. I am so fortunate to have amazing people in my life. It’s been a crazy year, and I know I wouldn’t have made it this far without my friends and family who helped care for me and my family through everything.

You might be wondering where this is going. During the holidays we often focus on being thankful for blessings, friends, and family. I think this Thanksgiving we can make an effort to be thankful and show appreciation to our colleagues as well. Recently I read this article about how remote workers want appreciation from their leaders more than ever. With everything going on right now, individuals tend to feel more undervalued than they ever have before both at work and at home. Have you felt that way this year? I’m guessing it’s safe to say we all have, as we’ve adjusted to so many new normal and constantly burned the candle at both ends trying to navigate life and work.

While the article points out this issue of feeling underappreciated, it also points out possible solutions. Doing simple things such as telling people thank you and that you appreciate them could go a long way to helping them feel valued. This small act doesn’t take a lot of time and effort, but it can have a HUGE impact. What are you thankful for? Who are you thankful for? Have you told them lately?

The challenge: Reach out to someone today and let them know how thankful you are for them and how much you appreciate them.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Lessons from Being a Dad Part 3 The Power of Appreciation (2-24-16)

Last week we talked about recognition and this week we’ll think about appreciation by sharing some pictures I came across on my phone from Christmas.

When I came back to work after holiday break people often asked me how my holidays were. I always told them they were amazing. I loved unplugging from work, getting caught up on sleep, and binge watching some TV shows. Most of all, I loved the Christmas I had with my family. This was by far the best Christmas I’ve ever had.

You might be wondering what was so special. Take a look at the pictures. Look at their faces. Look at the joy and appreciation. That’s why this was the best Christmas ever! Both girls are at a perfect age where they truly appreciated and cherished the gifts they were given. They did these things with such sincerity that I couldn’t help but smile. In the grand scheme of things, the gifts they received were not extravagant. Alice is clutching a maze activity book that probably cost $1. Violet is enthralled with a Little Einstein’s book that might have been $5. It wasn’t the gift that made them smile as much as it was the appreciation that someone cared about them so much that they got them something they would enjoy. I hope they never grow out of this stage.

When was the last time you felt and showed such appreciation? Maybe a family member did something special for you. Maybe a friend gave you a call to check up on you. Maybe a co-worker gave you a pat on the back for a job done well. There have been a lot of things going on in life right now that continue to confirm how precious life, family, and friends really are. How are you showing appreciation for these people and things that make life worth living?

The challenge: Show someone how much you appreciate them this week. Clutch onto life the way Alice holds her maze book and smile as you peruse through life’s pages the way Violet does as she searches for Rocket.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry