Power of Appreciation

Charles Schwab,
He was only 38 when he was chosen by Andrew Carnegie in 1921 to become the first president of the United States Steel Company, earning a salary of over a million a year. A salary of 50 a week with no income tax was considered being well off so you could only imagine his fortunate circumstance. Schwab was simply picked by Carnegie because of his “ability to deal with people.” These are quotes by Schwab, his secret that shows his character as a person and success in his business. I find them enlightening.

“I consider my ability to arouse enthusiasm among my people the greatest asset I possess, and the way to develop the best that is in a person is by appreciation and encouragement. There is nothing else that so kills the ambitions of a person as criticisms from superiors. I never criticize anyone. I believe in giving a person incentive to work. So I am anxious to praise but loath to find fault. If I like anything, I am hearty in my approbation and lavish in my praise.”

“In my wide association in life, meeting with many and great people in various parts of the world, I have yet to find the person, however great or exalted his station, who did not do better work and put forth greater effort under a spirit of approval than he would ever do under a spirit of criticism.”

To further this notion, I have another story I found inspiring.

Paul Harvey, in one of his radio broadcasts, “The Rest of the Story,” told how showing sincere appreciation can change a person’s life. He reported that years ago a teacher in Detroit asked Stevie Morris to help her find a mouse that was lost in the classroom. You see, she appreciated the fact that nature had given Stevie something no one else in the room had. Nature had given Stevie a remarkable pair of ears to compensate for his blind eyes. But this was really the first time Stevie had been shown appreciation for those talented ears. Now, years later, he says that this act of appreciation was the beginning of a new life. You see, from that time on he developed his gift of hearing and went on to become, under the stage name of Stevie Wonder, one of the great pop singers and songwriters of the seventies.

- Paul Aurandt, Lynne Harvey, Dale Carnegie

But remember, flattery and appreciation are two completely different things. Don’t flatter, just be genuine in your appreciation.


I did this post on my tumblr a couple weeks back.