Brand New – As I was walking today, I noticed a man inspecting the fender of his brand new Mustang. He was checking to see if there was a scratch – that first scratch on his new car. You could tell he was very concerned. You don’t see that with a car that’s several years old. By then it has a lot of scratches already, so what’s one more? Customers, employees, friends, spouses, and children are like that too. We treat them really well when they are new. But after a while, we treat them like an old car. What’s one more scratch, or snub, or problem, or angry word? But unlike an old car, we don’t trade in our customers or employees. They trade us in for a better model. What would happen if we always treated these people like they were brand new?

Traffic – I was at the Dodgers game the other might. It was a beautiful evening and the Dodgers won, but I left in the middle of the 8th inning. Why? I wanted to beat the traffic. The Dodgers created a positive experience (the game), but they also created a negative one (the traffic). In my case, I gave up some of the good to lessen the impact of the bad. It might be the same in your business. Where is your “traffic?” What’s keeping people from doing more business with you? I’ve walked out of stores because the checkout lines were too long. I try not to fly a certain airline because it seems every third person they employ is either uncaring, incompetent, or both. Maybe it’s that automated customer service line that you have. Or the fact that when someone calls your company they always have to leave a message and can never talk to a real person. Or maybe it’s the lack of a search tool on your web site. We all try to improve our products and services. We might have just as big an impact if we reduced the amount of “traffic” in our businesses.

Mileage – I had a person ask me today what the mileage reimbursement rate (for driving your personal car on company business) was for 2006. I responded that the IRS guideline was 44.5 cents per mile. We often say that a person “goes the extra mile” to signify that his effort was more than would normally have been expected. So here’s an idea. When you have someone who has “gone the extra mile” reward him – with 44.5 cents! In this case the recognition is worth more than the reward, but this is a good way to remember to provide the recognition. It’s inexpensive to publicly recognize people, but it still can be fun and meaningful. Then at review time an employee can say, “I went 23 extra miles this year,” and know that he was recognized 23 times. This can be an easy, quirky, and fun way to reward people.

Medals and Ribbons – In the military, officers have all manner of ribbons, medals, insignia, etc. on their uniforms that tell you what they are, where they have been and what they have done. Even military ships and planes have marking that tell how they have done in battle. Why not do the same things for our employees? Have a recognition symbol for things they have accomplished – big projects they were on, special projects, assignments at other locations. You could do it as an attachment to their employee badge or post it at their office, cubicle, or workstation. This has a dual purpose – first, to publicly recognize the employee for his service, and second, to remember the contributions he has made.