A few weeks
ago, Catherine Crump, from London, asked Thomas, her 7-year-old, what he would like to be
when he grows up.
Thomas said he wanted to either run a dog hotel or be a Lego designer.
The next
day he appeared with a letter, written in his "best
handwriting," asking Lego if he could work for them.
He wisely
shared that he'd be available to help with designing Legos after school, on
weekends, and in the holidays -- and that his sister would be keen to do the
same.
His mom put
the letter in the mail but also tried to manage his expectations. She
told Thomas that while Lego would appreciate his letter, the company
probably wouldn't respond. According to Catherine, "He looked
crestfallen."
Then a
package arrived from Christian Pau, the vice president and general manager
of Lego U.K. and Ireland. Inside was a Lego kit. And a handwritten letter that
said:
Dear Thomas,
Thank you so much for your
letter. It is great to see how excited you are for Lego building and your
creations look fantastic!
We would love your help to design
even better products, but unfortunately all our product designers are sitting
in Billund, which is in Denmark. We would still love to invite you to visit
us in our Slough office (together with your sister and parents) for a
juice/tea/coffee and a tour of the building.
My office is called
"Dumbledore's Office" -- [like] the box attached. Let us know
what time works for you!
All the best,
Christian
"Seeing my son light up with pride at the beautifully crafted letter was something I won't forget", Catherine shared on LinkedIn.
And neither
will Thomas.
People can forget
what you say or do, but they will never forget how you make them feel.
We never
know when our words or actions might make an impact on another
person. A little encouragement. A little acceptance. A little
praise. Small actions, even insignificant to us, but possibly
life-changing for another person.
Christian
Pau didn't know how Thomas might react to his letter. He simply took the
time to respond.
It was a
small moment to him -- but potentially a huge moment for Thomas. As Catherine
wrote, "Thank you ... for making my son see that it's always
worth trying."
That's the
real beauty of Pau's letter. You could see it as savvy marketing. As
calculated brand positioning. As a deliberate attempt to go viral.
Or you
could see it for what it is: someone who took a few moments during a busy day to
respond to a child.
You can
never predict when a small moment will make a big difference.
And that's
why great businesses approach each and every customer interaction
thinking that this moment ... could.
Adapted from Inc. and LinkedIn
