Five things to be thankful for this year- Business edition

With less than two months left in the year, we are closer to putting 2020 behind us. No one could have predicted we would be dealing with a pandemic, high unemployment, and an uncertain economy, all amidst one of the most anticipated U.S. presidential elections, ever.

While it may be counteractive to embrace the good when many are suffering, practicing gratitude reminds us of all the blessings we have in our lives. Along with helping to manage stress, which helps improve the immune system, gratitude is proven to positively affect self-esteem, achieving career goals, decision making, productivity, and resilience.

There are uncertainties about what 2021 will bring, but reminding yourself of what you can be thankful for will keep you grounded. As we prepare to close out the year, here are the top 5 things all sales and business leaders can be thankful for this year:

1. Your Team. They are an extension of your family. Your team has also dealt with many of their own challenges working from home and managing their family responsibilities. Let them know they’re appreciated. Any small gesture is a sign of thoughtfulness and is welcomed. Appreciation is a key ingredient to greater collaboration, so use it freely.
2. Customers. Your customers are one of your most valuable assets. They are one of the key relationships that will help your business to grow. Continue to nurture those relationships as an organization, and reach out individually to marquee accounts. The more you know about your customers, the more you can tailor your relationship and outreaches. Understanding what’s important to your customers not just from your experience, but from the perspective of other customer-facing teams will give you a greater 360-degree outlook on how to best serve them. Bridge the gap by utilizing a solution like ThunderAct which analyzes your customer data across different platforms and helps enterprises to understand the market and customers.
3. Any Success. While it might be challenging to see it, think of any progress made this year despite decreases in sales or goals. Each small win should be celebrated. Progress keeps us going. About a decade ago, the Harvard Business Review discovered the Progress Principle. They found, “everyday progress — even a small win — can make all the difference in how they [employees] feel and perform.” Continue to ask for progress, recognize it and you’ll have a team ready for anything in 2021.
4. Innovative Technology. Where would any of us be if it was not for the array of technologies that let us communicate and connect with colleagues, friends, and family, especially now? Technology companies like Zoom, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and other platforms have forced us to work online and made it more manageable and even fun. As remote work continues to rise and teams become more distributed, employing a way for customer-facing teams to get a unified view of their data is crucial. This will help different departments to better collaborate, strategize, and serve customers.
5. Challenges. Be thankful for the twist and turns thrown this year, because ultimately, these challenges will help us be mobile, agile, and grow as professionals. For companies, this is hugely beneficial enabling us to quickly regroup and adapt. Think of the new approaches your team implemented to pick up sales, reach customers, and stay afloat. Challenges force us to innovate, think beyond what we know, and redefine our limits. Sometimes this shake-up is needed so we can be our best selves moving forward.

There’s always more to add to the list, but we hope you found our top five a good starter list for what to be grateful for. Taking a moment to stop and think about the good things in our lives is empowering. Though we cannot control the external factors around us, we can make it easier by focusing on the things that remind us of how fortunate we are and carry that into 2021.