Appreciation

1 Corinthians 1:4-5

4 I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5 For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge—

The Apostle here gives thanks to God for the grace given through Christ Jesus; for that grace has enriched the person in the way they act and in the way they speak, which is to be used for the good of others.

Business researchers call it "the missing ingredient" or "the hidden accelerator." Most managers could transform their workplaces with this missing ingredient: showing appreciation. That's the focus of a recent book entitled The Carrot Principle by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton. Based on a ten-year study that interviewed 200,000 people, Gostick and Elton conclude that appreciation tops the list of things employees say they want from their bosses. Some of the statistics to back up this claim include:

Of the people who report high morale at work, 94.4 percent agree that their managers show appreciation.

79 percent of employees who quit their jobs cite a lack of appreciation as the key reason for leaving.

56 percent of employees who report low morale also give their managers low marks for showing appreciation.

Of course these statistics tap into a fundamental need in all of our relationships: the need to give and receive affirmation and blessing. The authors of The Carrot Principle conclude, "The simple … act of a leader [or a spouse, parent, coach, mentor, or friend] expressing appreciation to a person in a meaningful … way is the missing accelerator that can do so much but is used so sparingly."

[Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, The Carrot Principle (Free Press, 2007), pp. 7-14.}

Everyone wants to be appreciates and we can do that through encouraging words that lack unjust criticism and instead motivate the person to good works.