The Power of Praise

I’m not a huge reader of books about business (which might explain why Heavenly continues to behave like a 19-year-old start-up), but one of two that I have read is How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Carnegie was an American academic who lectured on personal development, self-improvement and corporate training before ‘corporate training’ became a thing. He published this, his most famous book, in 1936 and it became an international best-seller, inspiring millions to think and act with confidence and empathy.

Much of Carnegie’s own inspiration came from his study of Abraham Lincoln and the former President features in many of the anecdotes in the book. How Lincoln motivated his underperforming generals to encourage them to prevail in the American Civil War, by finding glimmers of success to praise, even among their most catastrophic losses or failures.

In one example, Carnegie tells the story about the Wark Company, a building contractor who had been hired to deliver an office building in Philadelphia by a certain deadline. All was progressing well, when suddenly the sub-contractor making the ornamental bronze work for the building’s exterior declared that he couldn’t deliver on schedule. One of Wark’s executives, Mr W. P. Gaw, was dispatched to New York to try and resolve the problem.

Carnegie recounts Mr Gaw’s approach:

“Do you know you are the only person in Brooklyn with your name?” Mr Gaw said to the president of the subcontracting firm shortly after they were introduced. The president was surprised. “No, I didn’t know that”. “Well”, said Mr. Gaw, “when I got off the train this morning, I looked in the telephone book to get your address, and you’re the only person in the Brooklyn phone book with your name. “I never knew that”, the subcontractor said. He checked the phone book with interest. “Well, it’s an unusual name,” he said proudly. “My family came from Holland and settled in New York almost two hundred years ago”. He continued to talk about his family and his ancestors for several minutes.

Mr. Gaw then complimented him on how large a plant he had and compared it favourably with a number of similar plants he had visited. “It is one of the cleanest and neatest bronze factories I ever saw”, said Gaw. “I’ve spent a lifetime building up this business”, the subcontractor said, “and I am rather proud of it. Would you like to take a look around the factory?”

During this tour of inspection, Mr. Gaw complimented the other man on his system of fabrication and told him how and why it seemed superior to those of some of his competitors. Gaw commented on some unusual machines, and the subcontractor announced that he himself had invented those machines. He spent considerable time showing Gaw how they operated and the superior work they turned out.

He insisted on taking his visitor to lunch. So far, mind you, not a word had been said about the real purpose of Gaw’s visit. After lunch, the subcontractor said, “Now, to get down to business. Naturally, I know why you’re here. I didn’t expect that our meeting would be so enjoyable. You can go back to Philadelphia with my promise that your material will be fabricated and shipped, even if other orders have to be delayed”.

Mr Gaw had succeeded in his mission, without even broaching the subject. The bronze cladding arrived on time, and the building was completed on the day the completion contract specified.

Courtesy and well-placed compliments can be powerful things when it comes to motivating people and having everyone feeling good about an outcome.

This example might resonate particularly with people in the creative industries. Because, by nature, we’re praise-junkies. Anyone who is tasked with delivering ideas (cladding business propositions with gold, not just bronze) thrives on validation. We’re an insecure bunch, always worrying that we’re only as good as our last idea and ever-hopeful that our thinking will capture a client’s imagination and result in the huge amounts of energy that great creativity can unleash.

You only have to look at why agencies like winning pitches, or even being asked to participate, despite the pressures of doing so. Or why social networks use approval tools, like likes, to enable sharers and posters to invite appreciation. Not making a pitch-list or having no one like a post on LinkedIn can sometimes make us question our worth or relevance.

Self-esteem, or having confidence in one’s own abilities, is something that many people aspire to. It helps us feel that we’re clicking into place in the big jigsaw that is the world. And being recognised for being successful, or at least being on the road to success. I’d argue that creative people are overly-needy when it comes to self-esteem, mainly because having ideas is typically a qualitative discipline, rather than a quantitative one. Flashes of inspiration, often of indeterminate origin, which bring brilliance to problem-solving, can be ephemeral things which is why we might worry where the next one’s coming from.

A client (or even better, the end-consumer responding positively to a brand) saying “I love that” to a creative person isn’t just about validation and a metaphorical pat on the head. It’s hugely motivating. The fundamental currency of creativity is appreciation. So creative agencies will overinvest in appreciative clients, in an effort to unlock more praise. It’s almost addictive. Conversely, those clients that are critical without being constructive, or who have a reputation for being rude or negative, don’t bring out the best in anyone.

At Heavenly, we’re very lucky. The majority of our clients are wonderful. Kind, appreciative, encouraging. They realise that praise propels our productivity. They make us want to work for them. And do our best work for them.

Of course, not all ideas hit the bullseye every time. And criticism can help us raise our game. But how it’s delivered can make all the difference. Finding something praiseworthy, even if it’s the effort that’s been made, means a lot. Then criticizing constructively, perhaps with charm, empathy and humanity. A smiling assassin might be more motivating than a cold-hearted one, especially if you live to tell the tale.

This excerpt, again from Dale Carnegie, shows us how to do this, citing a story about Charles Schwab, the American steel magnate.

Charles Schwab was passing through one of his steel mills one day at noon when he came across some of his employees smoking. Immediately above their heads was a sign that said No Smoking. Did Schwab point to the sign and say, “Can’t you read. Oh, no not Schwab.

He walked over to the men, handed each one a cigar, and said, “I’ll appreciate it, boys, if you will smoke these on the outside”. They knew that he knew that they had broken a rule – and they admired him because he said nothing about it and gave them a little present and made them feel important.

Such elegance requires thought. And we’re all often guilty of jumping to instinct. Rubbishing an idea in a brainstorm before we’ve fully considered where it might lead to. Or remembering how a modicum of praise might positively impact someone’s self-esteem, so they come back stronger next time.

Purveyor of quotes, Mark Twain, spoke for all creators when he said, in his typically thought-provoking way, that he could “live for months on a good compliment”.

Without question, that’s true. In the ideas business and beyond, praise is an invaluable way to get what you want, while getting the best out of people into the bargain.