A Quarter Million Viewers Can’t Be Wrong

Sometime in the last few days, we passed the quarter million video views mark on YouTube. Far from the numbers the typical kitty playing with yarn gets, but for a small business, we think it is pretty respectable. And much appreciated.

The funny thing is that nothing really changed between view number 249,999 and 250,000. But interestingly, I got an emotional lift from passing that arbitrary threshold. In fact, the lift started when I noticed we were approaching that number. I was recharged. I attacked my projects with new vigor. I had a renewed sense of pride in my company and all that it has accomplished in the handful of years we’ve been around. There’s a lesson in that.

Your team is paying attention to the same sorts of milestones. Whether it is the 1000^th customer, or the first month with a million dollars in sales, these numbers are the signal that all the hard work is paying off. People get job satisfaction for a variety of reasons. One of them is for being on a winning team. And when they are satisfied, they reward the company that gives them that value in their job. They take more on. They complain less. They help coworkers more. They show pride in workmanship.

So, the message of this post is to celebrate your success. Post a countdown clock to your millionth order. Build the anticipation. Then do something special to mark the occasion. Cater in free lunches (good ones, not just boxed cold cut sandwiches!). Hand out gift cards to the team. Let everyone off early on a Friday afternoon. Do something out of the ordinary to show your appreciation.

I’d be interested in hearing about how your company has celebrated some big wins? Log in and share in the comments section below.