Touchpoints & Recognition

I had the opportunity to listen to "Doug Conant" last week, speak about his concept of "Touchpoints" and his book by the same name. Doug was most recently the CEO of Campbell Soup Company, was earlier the President of Nabisco and spent the early part of his career with General Mills & Kraft Foods.

In summary, his book tells you that any interaction you have with your people in an organization is a TOUCHPOINT - essentially an opportunity to connect with them and help them with their issue to the extent possible, while being tough minded "and" tender hearted at the same time.

For several years now, we have been a strong proponent of the fact that "Recognition" is truly about conveying "Respect" and not about the "Stuff". In an organization, managers need to view Recognition opportunities (whether it be a spot award, a simple Thank you note, or a nomination for an organization award) as opportunities to convey respect to the individuals/teams and use them as positive & motivating "Touchpoints".

Just imagine the day when your boss or a colleague sends you an email sincerely thanking you for something you did well. Your entire day goes well, you go home in the evening, treat your spouse and kids better, thus transmitting your positivity to everyone else you interact with during the day. That is the impact simple Touchpoints tend to have. So start Recognizing people who perform tasks and activities that meet your high standards - You can be Tough Minded "and" Tender Hearted at the same time, or as Doug says "the genius of the AND".