Book Report – The Power of Moments by Chip & Dan Heath

John Deere knows how to make its new hires feel welcome. You accept a job offer from the global machine manufacturer and you can expect an email that helps mitigate opening day jitters, explaining how to dress, where to park, etc. Show up and you’re greeted by your John Deere Friend, an enormous welcome banner, various co-workers, and your first official email, that from the CEO who hopes “you’ll enjoy a long, successful, fulfilling career as part of the John Deere team.” Reflect on the last job you accepted and compare it to this First Day Experience. If you were treated like an afterthought (e.g. local humor writer Dan Lyons’ abysmal orientation at HubSpot), that’s of course not unusual because most organizations don’t know how to get new hires off to a great start, at least not to such a remarkable level. If you’re the lucky sort who’s been welcomed this way, you were the beneficiary of those who understand “the power of moments,” which also happens to be the title of Chip & Dan Heath’s outstanding new book.

In The Power of Moments, the Brothers Heath explain how to make important experiences “both memorable and meaningful.” Whether it’s making a new hire feel special, a customer feel appreciated, or a colleague feel heard, one should consider four key factors: Elevation (boosting sensory pleasures), Insight (revealing the truth), Pride (hitting goals through a series of “milestone moments”), and Connection (leveraging social events into stronger relationships). Is this easy to pull off? Of course not. Even John Deere, as well as it has implemented its program in many countries has failed badly in others because as the Heaths say, “it’s a hassle, and there’s always something happening that seems more urgent.” But objectively speaking, what could be more important than getting employees off on the right foot? Considering the expense to attract, hire, and train staff surely nothing should be considered a higher priority than creating an event that causes newbies to feel great about the decision they made to climb aboard, causing him/her to bring energy to the role straight away. All this feeds having a purpose, giving the employee a sense of meaning and belonging “that can be the difference between a great performer and a mediocre one.”

And it must last beyond Day 1. Along with entertaining stories and anecdotes, the authors cite research that lays an ugly truth bare: we don’t positively recognize others early or often. Studies that span 46 years and rank elements of employee motivation reveal that people want to be fairly paid for interesting, secure work, but there is but one factor that is selected as a top-two motivator across every single survey over all those decades: “Full appreciation of work done.” Guess what? “More than 80 per cent of supervisors claim they frequently express appreciation to their subordinates” but less than one-quarter of said employees agree. The Heath boys call this “the recognition gap” and outline its consequences. Corporate lunkheads mishandle the opportunity to address the issue by creating programs rather than culture. As noted in the book, Employee of the Month programs don’t work because it takes what should occur consistently and makes it periodic and then morphs into an awkward “hopscotching among employees” to the point where everyone’s rolling their eyes, slurping on a Big Gulp of icy cynicism. Perhaps the answer is to simply stroll around, checking in on subordinates to see what’s happening. No, you don’t want folks diving for cubicle cover, worried you’re gonna go all Bill Lumbergh on ’em. Just imagine how thrilled they’ll be when you simply pass out an attaboy or attagirl, not even hinting to come in on Saturday. Yeah. That would be great.