Episode 695 - Thank You Notes

Join Phil in episode as he reveals the transformative power of thank you notes. Discover how a simple gesture can create lasting impressions and foster stronger relationships. Hear a heartwarming story about his daughter Anna's impactful thank you note. Phil challenges you to invest just 15 minutes a week in writing thank you notes and see the incredible return on investment.

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Transcript 

Top performers in every field surround themselves with those who inspire them, who seek to build them up, and who push them to reach beyond their current limits. I am Phil Buchanan, executive chairman of Cannon Financial Institute. I designed Monday Morning Mojo to provide you with a weekly spark, a push and motivational insight to live your best life.

Thanks for joining. Good Monday morning. It is Phil here with episode 695 of Monday Morning Mojo from the time our daughters could write their name. My wife and I have insisted. That they get into the habit of writing thank you notes, and not just for the big thank yous that are necessary in life, but for the smallest niceties that others might have done for them.

Now, this is a lesson my wife and I were both taught by our parents the importance of acknowledging your appreciation in writing for the acts of others. First, it is the right thing to do, but second, it also increases the likelihood that the person receiving your thank you note will be helpful to you in the future.

Think about it. If you do something nice for someone and they are incredibly appreciative, you are more likely to do other nice things for them in the future. Now, this is not the reason to write a thank you note, but it is a great derivative benefit. My oldest daughter, Anna, recently shared a sweet story about a thank you note.

She had written the recipient of the note had done something nice for Anna and Anna with her strong background in, uh, having parents who influenced, uh, the, the importance of a handwritten note had sent that thank you note. A few days later, the recipient of that note called Anna. The purpose of the call to thank her for the thank you note.

Yes, you heard me right. Anna wrote a thank you note and the recipient called to thank her for the thank you note and the recipient went on to say that it was meaningful because so few people write thank you notes today. Now, it's not that people aren't thankful, it's not that people aren't appreciative.

It's just that the way in which they show their thanks is often not memorable. Think about it. Sometimes we thank people face-to-face for their actions, and if the opportunity presents itself, obviously this should always occur, but thanking someone in person doesn't mean that a follow-up thank you note isn't necessary.

I really believe it is. Other times we may send a thank you text or a thank you email. Heck, we may even make a thank you social post. Now, it's not that these forms of thank yous are bad, they can be very good. It's just that these actions are likely to get lost in all of the other emails and texts and posts that we encounter on a daily basis.

Yet the handwritten note, the handwritten note, is unique. The other thing about it, it's not hard to pull off. You need decent stationary. You need a pen, and you need a stamp. A good note takes about three minutes, including addressing the envelope. Yet the potential return on investment of that three minutes is exponential.

Handwritten notes are unique in 2025. They, in and of themselves create a differentiated experience for the recipient. Differentiated means that it is memorable to the recipient. Now I got a question for you. Do you believe that 15 minutes can make a difference in your overall relationships with your clients, your prospects, and your community of practice?

Many people will say, sure, I guess it can. Right? But hey, how about an hour? Well, folks will say, well, absolutely an hour can make a difference. Well, let me suggest how you might invest an hour. And that hour is not an hour a day. It's only an hour a month. Here's my challenge to you beginning today. I want you to write one note of thanks each day this week.

That's three minutes a day, five days in the week. That's 15 minutes, and I want you to repeat that for the next four weeks. That's 15 minutes a week, four weeks. That's an hour of time, that total investment of an hour over that four week period of sending thank you notes, what will be the return? It's likely that you'll tell me because those that you think will tell you at the end of that fourth week, evaluate that ROI on the three minutes a day that you spend it very likely will be one of your most valuable uses of time.

Monday Morning Mojo is production of Cannon Financial Institute; executive producer of Monday Morning Mojo is Sarah Jones. Editing and mixing is done by Danny Brunner. Until next time, I'm Phil Buchanan reminding you to be a force for good. Have a great week and thanks for being part of the Mojo community.