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How expressing gratitude in thought and deed saved this company from bankruptcy.
In the early '90s, Landry's Bicycles, located in the greater Boston area, faced a major crisis. A new store had opened six months later than planned, missing out on the projected seasonal business. With all the expenses of a new store, with low revenues, with a recession, and with rent due, the bank pulled Landry's loan and advised the company to file for bankruptcy.
Struggling for survival, managing director Tom Henry presented this apparently impossible challenge at a Boston roundtable gathering sponsored by Seeing Things Whole, a group that links faith to organizational life. As he struggled under the burden of the situation, a member of the roundtable asked, "How might you see your work as a gift rather than as a burden?"
The question changed everything for Tom. Despite the seeming impossibility of the situation, Tom began to view his work as a gift rather than as a burden. Furthermore, he preached that message to his coworkers at Landry's.
With this shift in perspective, Tom found new hope to face his challenges. In order to avoid bankruptcy, Landry's needed $40,000 immediately. Because he was viewing the opportunity to work at Landry's as a gift, and because he believed in the possibilities of Landry's, Tom approached friends for loans. An artist friend lent Landry's $5,000 from his precious savings. Another friend sold stock he had inherited from his parents to provide another $5,000 loan. Fairly quickly, with small loans from various supporters, Tom raised the $40,000.
Full of gratitude for the outpouring of support, Tom and the Landry's team reflected on the place of gratitude and the difference it had made for them. Tom believes: "There's no work better than our work in the world. There's other good work, but there's no better work. It's a gift before it's a burden." The Landry's team vowed to make gratitude a cornerstone of their work.
The immediate crisis averted, Tom turned his attention to preparing the sales force for a strong season the next year. He decided to receive his coworkers at Landry's as gifts, and began to encourage others to do the same. He stressed the importance of regarding one another as mystery, of maintaining a sense of wonder toward one another. In a fast-paced business setting in which it's easy to view other people merely as objects useful to furthering one's goals, Tom sought to maintain a sense of awe toward each person as a unique human being.
Furthermore, Tom taught the sales force to receive customers as gifts, no matter what their attitude. When a customer complains, employees learn to say, "Thank you. We're so glad you told us." Studies show that only 15 percent of dissatisfied customers complain directly to the business with which they are unhappy; the other 85 percent complain to, on average, seven friends or family members, thus damaging the business's reputation. "How will we learn that we made a mistake, and how will we learn to improve, if we don't thank those customers who are courageous enough to speak up and complain to us directly?" asks Tom Henry. At Landry's, admitting mistakes, learning from them and making amends have become hallmarks of customer service.
Giving thanks in all things has served Landry's well over the years. From the all-time low in the early '90s (incidentally, Tom paid back all $40,000 of the small loans from friends within two years of borrowing it), Landry's has risen to being a successful company with four retail stores and 75 employees. Gratitude for the work itself, gratitude for coworkers, and gratitude for each and every customer has proven to be a powerful fuel for energy and productivity.
Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., author of "Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations," works with leaders in business, healthcare, government and non-profits to help them develop spiritual leadership. Visit her website at www.ExecutiveSoul .com.
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