Most people underestimate the power of acknowledgement. It
is seen as the black art from the touchy feely world. However, without it, you
can be assured resentment is brewing somewhere under the surface for the
unacknowledged person.

Whether it is in our professional or personal life, most of
us go unacknowledged for our contribution. Too often, people have the belief
of: ‘I don’t need acknowledgement why do others need it?’ This philosophy can
leave the other party with the feeling of

In this day and age, it is unfortunate that this behavior
still occurs. Research shows that when people make extra effort, money is
usually not required to compensate them. People are satisfied with
acknowledgement, especially when it is done publicly.

In contrast, there are some societies where money is not the
motivating factor. In those societies where people are compensated with money,
there are no year-end bonuses to increase productivity. I lived in several
countries where I witnessed non-monetary exchanges. Yet, the people worked very
hard. 

For several months, I lived in Belize. I stayed with Mayan
Indians in a small village with 330 residents. For my own personal experience,
I lived and worked as they did. The village was built on unexcavated ruins in
the jungle. There was no electricity or running water. They lived in huts made
of tree branches and the rooftops were palm leaves. The people in the village
were essentially an agricultural society. They rose at 5:00am and went to bed
between 8:00pm or 9:00pm. The women took care of the household and the men did
the farming, without machines. To plant a crop of corn, for example, they first
cleared the land by chopping down the jungle with a machete. Afterwards, they
would make a hole in the ground with a stick and drop 7 seeds of corn into it.

Because the men in one family may have to cut down between
50-300 acres of jungle, it was important to be able to collaborate with other
families. Furthermore, collaboration was voluntary. If a man chose to help
another family, he would not be paid money for his service.

As I worked side by side with the father, son and son-in-law
of my host family, I was amazed at how efficient they were at cutting through
jungle. We had help from another gentleman and his 18-year-old son. Even though
they were helping, they worked as though their family depended on them. If
anything, I was the weakest link. While I was physically stronger than the
other men, I could not keep up with the pace they were swinging the
machete. 

When the workday ended, I observed the ways in which they
acknowledge one another. The father of my host family invited the other man and
his son to his house. Because it was after dinner, there was no food or drinks
offered. It was just personal time together. It seemed the social time together
was enough to preserve the relationship between the 2 families. 

Whether in Costa Rica, Belize or Mexico, I watched people
work together without an exchange of money. In cases where there was
remuneration, it was much less than minimum wage in the US.

When I returned to the US, I started to employ similar
efforts to motivate staff. Public acknowledgement, going for a walk or treating
an employee to lunch and having a social hour have all been extremely effective
in increasing productivity and loyalty.

As trite as it sounds, simply saying good job to someone
goes a very long way. Who will you acknowledge today.

What do you think? I’m open to ideas. Or if you want to
write me about a specific topic, let me know.