At work on a companion volume to The Go-Giver, I’ve been looking a little deeper into the whole business of adding value, since that’s the bedrock of the book’s “Five Laws of Stratospheric Success.” Which brought me to a thought about appreciation.
One of the most powerful ways you can create value for people is simply to appreciate them. Notice the things they do that make a difference, no matter how small, and point them out. Say “Thank you,” and mean it.
The word appreciate, which means “to esteem or value highly,” comes from the Latin appretiare, which means “to set a price to.” (Appraise derives from the same root.) Over the centuries it came to mean both “an expression of one’s estimate of something, usually favorable” and “to rise in value.”
Interesting: when you appreciate people, you appreciate. And when you don’t, you depreciate.
You want to increase your own worth? Appreciate.
