Whenever I talk about my lessons learned, people always pick this one as one of their “so obvious, but we don’t do this” lessons.

Guilty. I don’t do this enough either. And I am always humbled by people taking the time to thank me for meeting with them, or holding a lunch and learn session…the heartfelt emails are terrific.

But what I save are the little handwritten notes. Because I know they went home and got out their stationery, and took the time to write something, and mail it back to me.  These notes strike a chord in me: of a time when letters were the norm, not the exception, and what it means to have something that is more than just a quickly typed up message. There is something about the process of handwriting something that is so much more personal and authentic.

There are lots of ways to say thank you…and all of them are good. Some stay with you longer than you think.