Thanksgiving is one of my favorite celebrations because it reminds us to be grateful. For the same reason, Thanksgiving irks me: Too often, it takes a national holiday to remind us how much we have to appreciate.
Consider what it means to be truly thankful. It’s more than a passing awareness of our good people and good fortunes. The word itself means to be “conscious” of benefits received. This Thanksgiving, find a quiet moment to ask yourself: What are you thankful for? Then ask yourself this: Are you demonstrating your gratitude, or are you keeping it to yourself in silence and inaction?
At entreQuest, there’s no doubt we are counting our blessings. In June, we gained a talented new consultant, Frank Belen, and on November 8, our partner Misti Aaronson brought home baby girl Mattea Rose. More blessings are on the horizon as Frank and his wife expect twins in late December and my family welcomes a baby boy in January.
We’re also grateful for the recognition our team has earned, because it affirms that we are doing something right—for our clients and our employees. This fall, The Daily Record named me one of Maryland’s Most Admired CEOs. Our partner Jeremy Steinberg joined the paper’s VIP List, and for the second year in a row, the Baltimore Business Journal honored eQ as one of the Best Places to Work.
We are thankful for the team effort in hitting a major milestone: I completed my book, Grow Regardless: Of Your Business’s Size, Your Industry or the Economy...and Despite the Government! From the featured CEOs who participated in interviews to our fantastic publishing and marketing partners, we are incredibly grateful for their contributions. Grow Regardless will be published in February 2013, and we could not be more excited.
Because we are thankful, it’s important for us to show it. This fall, our team spent the day at Habitat for Humanity in Brooklyn, MD, and we regularly serve lunch at Our Daily Bread. This season, ask yourself what you can do to take your gratitude one step further, whether that means telling one person how important they are, or making this the year you really do spend a day helping those in need.
From everyone at eQ, we send best wishes for a very happy Thanksgiving!
Joe Mechlinski is the CEO of entreQuest and has partnered with countless leaders to effectively improve their team’s performance, their clients’ experience, and their company’s profits.
