90 Day Thank You Note Challenge

Sean O'Toole hand-writing some notes for the dayTake the 90 Day Thank You Note Challenge today with @jonstolpe – http://wp.me/p27Qjv-19k #ThankYouRevolution <Tweet This>

I’m part of a revolution.

It’s not what you think.  I’m not revolting against the government (although this sometimes seems like an idea worth pursuing).  I’m not revolting against Dallas Cowboy fans (despite the Cowboys are an Eagles’ fan’s worst enemy).  And I’m part of an American Revolutionary War Reenactment Group (my brother and sister-in-law were though).

I’m part of the Thank You Revolution.

My friend, Matt McWilliams, started this revolution over a year ago when he challenged readers of his popular leadership blog to develop of discipline of hand-writing a thank you note to at least one person every Thursday.  Call it Thank You Thursday.

I took Matt up on his challenge, and I haven’t looked back.  Almost every week since joining the Thank You Revolution (TYR), I have written at least one thank you note to someone in my office.  At first it was a little scary…What will people think of receiving a hand-written thank you note from me?  Will it seem weird?  Or will they really feel appreciated?  Then it became exciting as people responded with enthusiasm, surprise, and gratitude when I took the time to jot them a simple note.

I wrote about one of my experiences with the Thank You Revolution in a post I wrote for Matt titled The Power Of Gratitude.  Now, it is routine.  I look forward to writing these notes to people in my office.  And I’ve even begun to expand my notes beyond the walls of my office.

The results continue to me amazing.  Fellow employees have approached me over and over again in appreciation for my simple note to them.  And I’m starting to see the ripple effect of my efforts at my own office.  People are talking about it in management circles, and fellow employees and managers are starting to write hand-written notes of their own.  For an east coast construction firm, this is incredible.

Here’s the deal – I think you can change the world around you by developing the same discipline.

With this in mind, I’d like to challenge to test run the Thank You Revolution.  I am so convinced that this revolution will have a positive impact in your world that I’d like to lay down a challenge with some teeth.  Here’s how it will work:

90 Day Thank You Note Challenge

Sign up now through December 31, 2013.  To sign up, leave a comment here AND sign up for Matt McWilliams’ Thank You Revolution by clicking here.

Starting January 2, 2014, write at least one hand-written thank you note to a co-worker, a colleague, or another deserving recipient.  For the next 90 days (13 weeks), write at least one thank you note to someone new.  Be sure to keep a record of your thank you notes.  Record the date, the recipient, and the reason for the thank you note.  If you need help learning how to write a thank you note, check out Matt’s great instructions here.

At the end of 90 days (March 27, 2014), if you have not have note seen the impact of testing out the 90 Day Thank You Note Challenge, I will send you a box of thank you notes for free.  In order to qualify for the free thank you notes, you must sign up for the challenge as directed above, you must write at least one thank you note every week for 13 weeks, you must send me your recorded list of thank you note efforts, and you must tell me why you don’t think the 90 Day Thank You Note Challenge had an impact in your circle of influence.

At the end of 90 days, I hope you’ll stay with the Thank You Revolution, and I invite you to share your 90 Day Thank You Note Challenge success stories.

So, what do you think?  Are you with me?  Sign up today in the comments!