Here’s the thing with flowers, they are hard not to appreciate unless you have an allergy to them or for some odd reason just don’t like them. While sending flowers is customary and perhaps even expected (on certain Holidays such as Valentines Day and Mothers Day) I would argue that they are most appreciated when they aren’t expected.
The same principle applies to gift giving. When the recipient isn’t expecting a gift from you, this is especially true around non-holiday times it holds a lot more weight than when it is expected. As we all know, expectation can often lead to disappointment, therefore its important to remember that the element of surprise is essential to good gifting practices.
This is equally -if not especially- true in business relationships. Whether its employees, clients or colleagues everyone is sure to appreciate a gift they weren’t expecting in the first place. If they don’t well they probably are the kind of people that kick puppies and don’t believe in Santa Claus so forget about them… Just kidding.
Ok back to business gifting. How many of you can remember awaiting your holiday bonus (when it’s not a pre-determined amount) and being disappointed when it was not as much as you hoped (or even planned) for? Let’s say you were hoping for at least $100 and only received $50? Now imagine its just another day in March and you arrive at the office and on your desk you found a gift card for $50 thanking you for your hard work. It’s the same amount of money but you tell me which one would did you appreciate more?
Of course there are some of you which are more gracious than the rest of us and a gift of any kind is equally appreciated. If this is you leave us a comment and tell us you appreciated this gift of good information. Until next time my gift giving folk, be kind and remember to always give more than you receive!
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