At the Vickie Milazzo Institute annual Christmas party we have three very inexpensive holiday traditions that bring us together.
Our first tradition is that each person brings four colored strips of paper. On two strips of one color, we each write two personal accomplishments that we’re proud of this year. It can be anything from something simple such as “I learned a new web-editing software” to something as complex as “I learned the administrative system for the Customer Management System software and created the new instruction manual.” It’s a great chance for everyone to “flaunt their stuff.” We all do things every day that no one but ourselves know about. Some are simple, some are complex and some are just unbelievable. This way everyone gets recognition for at least two personal accomplishments and we’re all allowed to go over that limit (as much as modesty allows). I think the record for someone who I won’t name was seven!
On the two other different-colored strips, we each write a company accomplishment, such as creating our online CLNC® education program, virtualizing our server environment (guess who wrote that one) or making the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies again.
We go around the table at our holiday party and alternate with each person reading a personal accomplishment and the next reading a company accomplishment. Each strip of paper is passed to my assistant who creates a chain of alternating colors. No repeats are allowed for company accomplishments and we go until they’re all done.
The best part about this tradition is that we’re reminded of things that we’ve forgotten and people are recognized for their contributions. Every holiday season we decorate our conference room with these chains that just keep growing longer each year.
Our second tradition is that we each receive a business card Word® template which has the first name of each Institute staff member on a card. On those we anonymously type a “nice thought” about that staff member. It can be anything you want to compliment that person on, such as “You’re always willing to lend a hand when I’m overwhelmed,” “You’ve had great input in our brainstorms this year” or “You’re the best in handling student requests.”
Two of my favorites about Tom from this year are: “You are an asset to this company not only for your contributions but you are a great example of dedicated work with a balance of fun. You have an amazing attitude and accessibility to us all even though your day may be a hectic enduring deadline. Thank you for your graciousness to remember our likes and taking measures to show us your acknowledgment of those.”
“Not just Vickie’s right arm; everybody’s right arm! I know our nurses love Tom and so do we. His talents are amazing and he is a complete pleasure to work with…when you can catch him!”
This tradition is easy and fun to do and it makes you think about each person’s contribution (like Tom’s) to your organization. These nice-thoughts cards are separated and secretly put into small containers by my assistant and placed at each person’s seat before the party. I must say, if later in the year I’m feeling low or having a moment of doubt, I’ve been known to pull out my stack of nice-thoughts cards and review them. They never fail to brighten up my day and put a smile back on my face.
Our third tradition is our “Guess Who This Christmas Ornament Represents” game where we draw names and buy or create a Christmas tree ornament that represents the person whose name we’ve drawn. This can, and often does, get a little spicy. It’s always fun with terrific laughs guaranteed. Sometimes it can be really hard to guess! And I often learn something new about many members of our team.
What I really like about the accomplishments and nice-thoughts traditions are how easily they can be applied to any Certified Legal Nurse Consultant’s business traditions. Your own chain of business and personal accomplishments can fuel your future successes. Your collective accomplishments are much more than you remember at a given time and this is a great way to save them for posterity. This is something you can also do with your staff, attorney-clients, CLNC® subcontractors or vendors and it’s especially fun to do with your family.
We all contribute and we all create memorable accomplishments. Don’t just sit on your laurels, use them as stairs to the next level. If you ever need a quick boost or some high-octane encouragement, revisiting past successes and using them to fuel future accomplishments is a terrific way to drive you to higher and higher levels of success.
Success Is Inside!
| P.S. | Please comment and share some of your legal nurse consulting or personal accomplishments for this year. |
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