We are trained to find things that are wrong, but we’d be far better off trying to celebrate what’s right.
That’s the mantra of author and former Campbell Soup CEO Doug Conant as he preaches on the value of thank you notes and incidental interactions to promote the company’s values, purpose and agenda. The result? Higher employee engagement, improved growth and revenue, and better customer relationships.
In his most influential book TouchPoints, he rightly notes that with just a few well-chosen words you can advance someone forward in a particular situation. The moment can be planned or unplanned; involve two or more people, and can happen anywhere.
To be able to create TouchPoints you need to listen intently. Then you ask yourself the simple question: How can I help? Nine out of 10 times, you’ll find the feedback you provide has a greater impact than you might expect. As women in a male dominated industry, we need to encourage, influence, and inspire women every chance we get.
Empowering women and paving the way to leadership is one of Ingram Micro’s priorities. Each day we strive to support and celebrate women in our organization. That’s why we are delighted to be founding sponsors of ITWC’s Women in the IT Channel luncheon and proud participants in Pay It Forward, stories about successful women making a difference across the industry. We hope you find their stories uplifting.
Remember, you have 100 TouchPoints a day and thousands in a week. Don’t wait until tomorrow, leverage each TouchPoint and Pay it Forward.
Lori Scarlett
Director, Human Resources Canada
Ingram Micro Inc.