I love Thanksgiving, it is one of my favorite Holidays, but when we first moved here, it was very different. I remember our first Thanksgiving in America, it was a lonely time for us to see all the families gathering, laughing, giving hugs of welcome, while we were so far away from our families, and having only recently lost both of my parents in a car accident, we did feel very alone.

It’s amazing what a hug, a thank you or a kind word can do to make a difference to someone. These simple things go a long way.

Thanksgiving arrives each year with familiar rituals that we now love to embrace, as well as reflecting on what matters the most. Beyond the warmth and nostalgia this season offers, it’s a powerful reminder not only for life, but for business gratitude as one of the most underrated drivers of connection, trust, and long-term growth.  As we gather with family and friends this season, we may also honor the relationships that have shaped and continue to shape our work every day.

Many organizations turn their attention to performance metrics, year end reporting, and goal setting for the year ahead. While these activities are essential there is another practice that can significantly influence our long-term business development or employee retention, and this is the practice of gratitude and appreciation.

Gratitude has been shown to improve communication, strengthen relations, elevate morale, and even increased revenue through improved loyalty and productivity.

It’s tempting to give thanks not only for the wins we have, as growth often comes with just as much from the challenges and hurdles. It’s important to learn and acknowledge the experiences each person has from their perspective with the deals that didn’t go though as well as the turns and curveballs that weren’t anticipated, even the conversations that tested our patience. These experiences can refine our approach and collaboration of shared memories and understandings that hopefully bring us together, closer in the relationship. This understanding and emotional intelligence is very important in leadership and business success. To have a better understanding and know each other at a deeper level enables us to not be triggered when the challenges arrive on our doorstep. We should anticipate these challenges which are expected with growth and development. Profile assessments, cultural understanding and listening are a great way to start this understanding of one another.

It’s easy to get swept up in the sense of urgency of expansion and forget what sits beneath the surface of every deal and every partnership of human relations. Business development thrives on relationships. Our goals and business development aren’t just numbers, because behind almost every transaction are people. People who have helped or shown trust while giving their time and energy to assist us with our success. A gratitude centered mindset is increasingly recognized as being a competitive advantage in a market saturated with automation, generic outreach and high-pressure communications. It’s a perfect time to integrate gratitude into the business development strategy.

5 Ways to Personally Appreciate Others

  1. Celebrate the people around you who help to grow your business. Demonstrate to them that you care and appreciate their efforts.
  2. Thank the referral partners who have sufficient confidence and trust in your ability to help open doors.
  3. Celebrate with clients who think highly enough of your competence to ask for your help in building their success.
  4. Appreciate employees, contractors and vendors who help to expand your capabilities.
  5. Show gratitude to mentors who offer clarity and guidance and help to build confidence and direction.

7 Ways to Integrate Relationship Gratiude

  1. Send a personalized thank you note, a real message that maybe reflects something specific that you can share together, something that perhaps has helped you reach a milestone.
  2. Give thanks publicly possibly on social media or send them a testimonial or review as appropriate that might help them.
  3. Give a gift with meaning that indicates you know what they like. Perhaps it’s their favorite color or tied into a hobby.
  4. Create a press release to celebrate a shared success and include their role in the success, highlighting and promoting them as much as possible.
  5. Acknowledge the team that helped with specific praise and impact with what their efforts helped to create.
  6. Take them out for lunch, dinner or even just a coffee. Create time with them with something they will appreciate.
  7. Fuel engagement by having a team building event that involves a group who work on a philanthropic endeavor. There are so many wonderful, worthy causes that can align with the business core values to bring people together and have them feel proud as well as bring meaningful help to others.

Gratitude can become a business strategy if done authentically. It can create a bond, a loyalty of appreciation and collaboration that builds and enhances the relationship far deeper.

Thanksgiving provides such a meaningful pause, to stop for a moment and reflect.  It invites us to step back and appreciate the people around us, opportunities and lessons that have shaped our success throughout the year. By examining the year through a lens of gratitude rather than one of frustration, we can learn from our experiences, turn obstacles into an asset, reinforce trust and collaboration that builds a stronger team.

If we can pause long enough, for just a minute, we might also feel a heartwarming moment of pride and appreciation for ourselves and what we too have contributed to all these relationships and experiences.