Thanksgiving week is here. Frantic shopping, cooking, and house cleaning abound. For most, this is a happy time with family. For others it carries a sadness with it. Thanksgiving around our house will be different this year. My father-in-law passed away four days prior to Thanksgiving and we will lay him to rest on Thanksgiving eve. While it is a sad time, we have much to be thankful for. Be yours happy or sad, there are a few keys to having a successful Thanksgiving Day and these same keys relate to your business as well.

Proper Planning – As in business, Thanksgiving comes with unforeseen misadventures; undercooked birds, travel hazards, last minute store runs. Many of these can be avoided with some proper preplanning. Map out not only your travel routes and times, but also your meal and the preparation time needed for each portion. In business, proper planning is essential for success. Thinking and brainstorming with others can help your organization/team avoid the unforeseen. Proper planning turns the unforeseen into the foreseen.

A Harmonious Team – You can’t always choose who you want to attend Thanksgiving dinner – family is family. You can, however, choose how you interact with those you have disagreements with every year. The same is true in business. You may not always be able to choose everyone on your team, or your temperament may not align with one or more of your team members. You make the decision on how to relate and react to them. As leader, you set the tone and your interaction can determine outcomes.

Exceed Expectations – Whatever your part is this Thanksgiving Day, preparing the whole meal, the turkey or some other part, hosting, or entertainment, strive to exceed expectations. I hosted part of my family twenty-some years ago. Those who attended still talk about that meal every year, at Thanksgiving and every other time I cook for them. In your business do the same. If you want people to strive for success, you must willingly do everything you can as a leader to exceed their expectations in the workplace. You may need to ask what they desire in the workplace. Actually, that is a great place to start.

Gratitude Exuberance – While the name still holds the meaning of this holiday, it has certainly been over-commercialized. Be certain this Thanksgiving to let your gratitude genuinely shine to those you share the table with. God, our creator, has blessed each of us immensely. May we show Him our gratitude by sharing with others. In the workplace as well, the more you genuinely show gratitude for those who work for/with you, the more efficiently they will work toward success.

There is a fifth key – Prayer. Spend time with our Creator, God, this Thanksgiving weekend, around the table and some one-on-one time thanking Him for His blessings of family, friends, health, and success. He is a great God and He blesses greatly.

Happy Thanksgiving

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life.