A Little Something Extra

"Lagniappe" (LAN-yap) is a word used primarily in southern Louisiana - which is where I learned it.



I love the way the word sounds, but I really love what it means - giving a little something extra that is unexpected.



Having a lagniappe attitude and habits can be tremendously beneficial to you and those you serve. The applications in our work are endless. Here are a few situations for you to consider...



As a leader, think about how you can serve a little bit better by giving something a little bit extra.



When serving Customers, think about the little extra you can give people at the time of the purchase, or at some point in the future that is a pleasant surprise.



How can you give a little lagniappe to other members of your team?



How can you make the training you design or deliver unusual, and unexpectedly interesting, fun or effective?



Think lagniappe today.

The Positive Postcard Project

Three years ago, a colleague of mine, Stephanie West Allen, named January 2 as Positive Postcard Day. I'll let her explain the process as I quote her:

First, write down seven positive traits about yourself. Next, obtain seven postcards. Write a note to yourself about each trait on a different postcard. When you are done, you will have seven postcards, each with a note to yourself about one of the positive traits you listed.



You may write a note as simple as this:



"Dear Sally,



You are very imaginative.



Love,



Sally"



Or:



"Dearest, remarkable Sally,



You are wildly and wonderfully imaginative!



Much love and respect and affection to you, girl,



Sally"



THE WHOLE SPECTRUM OF COLORS



Why seven traits and seven cards? Because a musical major scale has seven notes, a week has seven days, a telephone number has seven numbers, a rainbow has seven colors. Seven is a good number.



Speaking of rainbows, it is highly recommended that you get writing utensils that write each of the seven colors -- red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo , and violet. Use one of the colors for writing each of your postcards so you will have a rainbow of postcards when you are done.



Now address your cards to yourself and stamp them.



Give the whole stack to a friend and tell him or her to mail you the cards throughout the first quarter of 2005. Make sure he or she does not tell you when each is posted so your receiving your cards will be a fine surprise for you each time one arrives.



Receiving a card will add a new and bright dimension to your day. And it will again invoke the powerful phenomena of self-fulfilling prophecy and the law of attraction.



CARE PACKAGES



Next prepare a Postcard Care Package for someone else. Give this person seven stamped postcards and seven pens, one of each color of the rainbow. Give him or her the instructions above on preparing Positive Postcards. Recommend that, after he or she has prepared the seven Positive Postcards and given them to someone for mailing, he or she prepare a Postcard Care Package for someone else.



See the potential here? If people prepare their own Positive Postcards AND give someone else a Postcard Care Package, the mails in 2005 will be filled with Positive Postcards arriving to surprise, and to affirm marvelous traits.

You may not do this today - might not even read it today! It doesn't matter. Take this process and use it or modify it for your own use.



Some options I can think of immediately are:



- Put together the CARE packages for everyone on your team and do this at your next team meeting.

- Send Packages to your favorite Clients, enclosing the materials and instructions and offer to be their "sender by enclosing a self addressed stamped envelop to return the post cards to you.

- Give the materials and instructions to a training class and either have them exchange their postcards or collect them and mail them yourself.

- Go into a school classroom and in collaboration with a teach have a whole class write them and give them to you to mail to them at random days in the coming weeks.



There are many more ideas you will come up with. If you have ones that will make a difference for you, your organization or the world at large, let me know and I'll post them here.