Greeting Cards are Better than Cookies

Looking for a sugar-free energy booster for your team? How about laughs? Laughter has many short-term and long-term benefits.  Don't believe me? Just check out this article.
 
Now I'm a big fan of sweets and can almost never turn down a good cookie. Note that I said "good" cookie.  I detest the waste of calories that I refer to as "grocery store cookies".  These are the pack of pre-packaged cookies you'll find in the bakery section of your local supermarket.
 
Grocery store cookies are for children.  Getting your cookie-fix from grocery store cookies is like going to get tax advice from H&R Block.  Sure, H&R Block can get the job done when your return is BASIC, but when you're a sophisticated business person you really should talk to a CPA.
 
In Texas we have Tiff's Treats, a company that delivers warm, freshly baked cookies (you can even order milk or ice cream with it).  An office-wide email stating "Tiff's Treats in the Breakroom!" is sure to cause a stampede and create a short-term morale boost. But at some point we all just need a break from cookies, especially during busy season.
 
Let's go through some hypothetical situations of what could happen if you throw cookies at your team members during busy season rather than other forms of encouragement:

Cookie Scenario 1:

You’re working from home and are in the middle of a call with the Partner.  You get an email saying that cookies are being delivered to your door, compliments of the firm's Partner group.  The doorbell rings.  You’ve got 30 minutes left on this call.  You know it’s the cookie delivery – should you tell the Partner “I need to go run and grab the cookies that the company sent me on your behalf?”  No, you sit and wait for the meeting to finish.  By the time you get to the front door, the squirrels are really enjoying your cookies.  Or were they chocolate chipmunks?

Now let's contrast that with a situation where instead of cookies you receive an accounting-themed greeting card with an inspirational message.

Greeting Card Scenario 1:

You’re working from home.  As you slog through another day of busy season, you decide to take a break at mid-day and check your mailbox.  You never get any real mail, but you make a ritual out of shredding all the credit card applications that come weekly.  You see a 5.5”x4.25” letter WITH HUMAN HANDWRITING ON IT.  Is it a past due birthday card from your aunt with a check in it?  You open it:

It’s the first time you’ve laughed in weeks. You feel as if your employer gets it – busy season does suck, but we’re not gonna sugar-coat it WITH A BOX OF DAMN COOKIES.

Cookie Scenario 2:

You’re working from the office.  You get the “Cookies in the breakroom” email.  You rush over to the breakroom to try and beat the line.  You’re number 27, there are 3 dozen cookies.  Hopefully no one decides to “take an extra one for their kids” (translation: stress-eat an extra cookie in the bathroom stall).  At least these are high-quality cookies (about $20 per dozen), but you do the math and realize you’re standing in line for a two-dollar treat.  You begin to question your worth and how the company values you.  You begin to associate cookies with underappreciation.

Greeting Card Scenario 2:

You’re working from the office.  After yet another long night, head to the office after a few hours of sleep.  You contemplate quitting.  You arrive at your desk and find an envelope.  What is this?  You open it:

For the first time in your life, you’ve gotten a greeting card that accurately depicts how you feel in the depths of your soul.  You realize your employer understands how you feel. You don’t contemplate quitting anymore (at least not this busy season).

Cookie Scenario 3:

You’re working from home.  The doorbell rings, you answer it, it’s a box of a dozen cookies.  Those 30 steps to and from your door don’t put much of a dent into your 10,000 daily step goal.  You eat a cookie, then another…there’s only 10 left, and they’re really best within the first 3 hours.  You eat a total of 5 cookies, your sweatpants don’t even fit anymore, you hate yourself.  Why would the company do this to you?

Greeting Card Scenario 3:

You’re working from home.  You’ve had nightmares the past 3 nights because your largest audit client keeps sending you out-of-balance TBs.  Will this audit ever end?  You take a break to check the mail.  You find an envelope.  You open it:

Inside the message reads “I bet this is what [client name] feels like…haha! We’ll get through it!” You laugh. You sleep soundly for the first time that week.

Don't get me wrong, I still like cookies...

But at some point, we need to show our appreciation in other ways.  Try sending a motivational accounting-themed greeting card to your team members this busy season.

Got a large team? Use the following form to get a discounted price quote on orders of 25 card or more!