The Wisdom of Walt: Leadership Lessons from the Happiest Place on Earth (Disneyland): Success Strategies for Everyone (from Walt Disney and Disneyland)

by Jeffrey A. Barnes

I want to share with you a simple strategy that has worked for me in my many years of leadership and team building. It isn’t difficult. It’s not expensive. Everyone can do it. I am not aware of a quicker way to build trust and rapport with your team than what I am about to share with you. Are you ready? Good! Here goes… WRITE PERSONAL THANK YOU NOTES. I suspect I know what you are already thinking. We live in the era of electronics. We live in the age of technology. Writing thank you notes, especially handwriting them, is obsolete. Nobody does it. If I have to be thankful, why can’t I just send a text or a tweet to that valued team member? I can always Like a post on Facebook or, if I need to exhibit some level of effort, fire off a computer-generated letter. You aren’t wrong. Nobody sends handwritten thank you notes anymore. And that is exactly my point.