I’m sure you’ve heard me beat the drum of writing handwritten notes to team members. It really is one of the best returns on your time and effort when it comes to building relationships at work.

But if you’ve sent a team member a note or two and you want to do something that will pull the rug right out from under them when it comes to wowing someone, send a handwritten note to the spouse, parent or grandparent of a team member. Send it to the person that you know means so much to your team member.

I’ve sent handwritten letters to grandparents who didn’t even know who I was. So I explained who I was in the letter and why I was writing. I went on to tell them that their grandchild was the most talented, wonderful, hard working, BEST…you get the picture.

Go big here.

Brag boldly.

This letter’s going on the mantle. This letter’s going to be read by everyone in the family. There will be tears as this letter gets read again and again because “the boss” of someone dear to their hearts did something unheard of just to tell them that everything they hoped would come true for their grandchild is in fact true.

This is the atomic bomb of handwritten notes.