As Chris Schembra’s guest on this episode of Gratitude Through Hard Times demonstrates every day, bringing an attitude of gratitude to the sales process fosters the kinds of quality relationships that are foundational to long-term success. Alex Ridder, VP for Global Accounts at The Adecco Group in Switzerland, has helped make the $20 billion-a-year global recruitment company the powerhouse that it is by emphasizing connection. And there’s nothing squishy about it! As you’ll hear highlighted throughout the show, studies and research clearly demonstrate that emotion and promotion go hand-in-hand. Chris and Alex talk about the importance of bringing empathy into the workplace, whether through expressing appreciation for team members’ efforts or building trust relationships with clients. Alex explains why transactional sales are self-limiting and while holding space for people to explore pain points and reach out for support opens up infinite consultative possibility. Human interaction, these two gratitude gurus agree, is a key differentiator in the marketplace. In a world of automation and depersonalization, it's our ability to offer openness and trust that sets us apart – professionally as well as personally. Tune in to learn about the hard science that backs up the power of gratitude to build community, secure relationships and cement positive outcomes all the way around. “I don’t believe gratitude has a finite limit,” says Alex, who is also an Ambassador to Adecco’s Win4Youth initiative. “Interpersonal conversation creates a much more transparent and joyous conversation … which then leads to greater business outcomes.”

If you enjoyed this episode and would like to learn more about Chris and his 7:47 Virtual Gratitude Experience, please visit this link. And click here to listen to previous episodes of Gratitude Through Hard Times.

KEY TOPICS:

• If you could give credit or thanks to one person in your life that you don’t give enough credit or thanks to – that you’ve never thought to thank – who would that be? While there are numerous people to thank on a regular basis, it’s his dad Rick that Alex can never thank enough. 
• Although “all about the numbers” as a sales guy, gratitude plays a prominent role in Alex’s life that can’t be quantified. It’s infinite!
• No Destination: There is no perfect thank-you note or endpoint for expressing gratitude. It’s an ongoing journey without specific metrics or obligatory reciprocity.
• Authentic emotion is a key ingredient when communicating gratitude. The practice isn’t meant to be a check-the-box, but an expression of something heartfelt and genuine.
• It’s a Fact: It feels good to give and to receive gratitude. Most people overestimate potential awkwardness and underestimate the good feelings they’ll experience.
• Gratitude in Groups: In addition to the pleasures of giving and receiving, an added element of gratification and teambuilding comes from witnessing such exchanges.
• Peer-to-Peer Gratitude: Make it a public event to encourage the free flow of generosity, trust and affirmation.
• About the Difference Between Being Grateful to Some Thing and Some One: It’s less about the transaction and more about the emotional journey.
• Here’s an exercise to try: When you think about the things for which you’re grateful, look for measurable, specifics to identify and articulate the why.
• About the Relationship Between Luck and Gratitude:
• Alex explains what he believes is the “soft correlation” between having a positive mentality, gratitude towards the people around you and positive outcomes.
• Chris explains that luck is what happens to you while gratitude is a perspective you embrace irrespective of what happens to you.
• How do you wake up and set intention for the day? Do you put gratitude front and center? The choice is yours – and the results undeniable!
• Emotion to Promotion: A Google study has demonstrated that long-term sales relationships thrive when they are based on mutual, reciprocal generosity and trust.
• Why human interaction is a key differentiator within hyper-competitive marketplaces:
• Personal touch helps uncover specific pain points.
• Personalized solutions distinguish themselves by not being homogenized.
• The stronger the relationship, the more likely a solution and sale emerge.
• How empathy and holistic relationships – which springs from gratitude – are game-changing superpowers when injected into the buying/selling process.
• About sharing market insights that Adecco clients can use to build community and connect in meaningful ways.
• Why eliciting gratitude also often creates serendipitous interpersonal connections that knit teams together through psychological safety and trust.
• Melding Atelic with Telic: The importance of immersing in activities as both journey and destination, integrating gratitude along the path to achievement and connection.

QUOTABLE

• “There’s an infinity of gratefulness that you have and as you continue to appreciate what people have done for you … I don’t believe gratitude has a finite limit.” (Alex)
• “When your gratitude practice is mainly formulaic or commoditized, it’s doing good but not using gratitude to its fullest.” (Chris)
• “We advocate giving gratitude when you genuinely want to give gratitude, when you genuinely feel the emotion.” (Chris)
• “There is a mutual gratification in giving and receiving gratitude in an altruistic way.” (Alex)
• “To be grateful is to be grateful to someone. Be grateful for the person behind the thing you are grateful for in a measurable and specific way.” (Chris)
• “A positive attitude that includes a grateful disposition towards others is going to lead to more positive interactions with others, which others might skew as lucky.” (Alex)
• Gratitude is a choice and perspective. You can either wake up in the morning and dwell on the negative or wake up in the morning and appreciate the good.” (Chris)
• “It’s hard to architect luck but it’s very easy to architect gratitude. The choice is yours.” (Chris)
• “Showing gratitude can be a strong way of starting the empathy conversation and also to really allow for a trusting environment.” (Alex)
• “Interpersonal conversation creates a much more transparent and joyous conversation for everyone in general, which then leads to greater business outcomes – if I’m putting my sales hat back on.” (Alex)

LINKS/FURTHER RESOURCES:

• More about Sara Algoe's research on the power of witnessing gratitude.
• "I Want to Thank You: How a Year of Gratitude Can Bring Joy and Meaning in a Disconnected World,"by Gina Hamadey Bergman.
• Think With Google: "Promotion to Emotion: Connecting B2B Customers to Brands."
• About the community engagement and advocacy work of Jeni Asaba at Jamf, who creates affinity groups for Apple-focused IT admins.

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Alex is the Vice President for Global Accounts at The Adecco Group in Switzerland, where he takes a people-first approach to enhance client experiences through strategic and consultative engagements. As the world’s leading workforce solutions company, Adecco offers flexible and permanent candidate placement, outsourcing and managed services across all sectors. Alex is deeply involved with Win4Youth the global charitable initiative of the Adecco Group. This programme encourages people throughout the world to be healthy, and through their healthy activity, the company responds with millions in donations supporting youth. 

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ABOUT OUR HOST:

Chris Schembra is a philosopher, question asker and facilitator. He's a columnist at Rolling Stone magazine, USA Today calls him their "Gratitude Guru" and he's spent the last six years traveling around the world helping people connect in meaningful ways. As the offshoot of his #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book, "Gratitude Through Hard Times: Finding Positive Benefits Through Our Darkest Hours,"he uses this podcast to blend ancient stoic philosophy and modern-day science to teach how the principles of gratitude can be used to help people get through their hard times.

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