the applause you get

Profit is the applause you get for taking care of your customers and creating a motivating environment for your people.... When managers focus only on organizational indicators of vitality – such as profit – they have their eyes on the scoreboard, not the ball. Profit, a key aspect of organizational vitality, is a byproduct of serving the customer, which can be achieved only by serving the employee. So profit really is the applause you get from taking care of your customers and creating a motivating environment for your people.

Ken Blanchard

Leading at a Higher Level: Blanchard on Leadership and Creating High Performing Organizations (Revised and Expanded Edition). FT Press, 2009. 

cascade gratitude

Gratitude opens leaders’ minds and spirits to realize that they are not omnipotent, but rather stewards of the resources, people, and even the brand of the organizations they represent. Those who work for and with such leaders will find it much easier to cascade gratitude to their own customers, partners, and colleagues if they stand in the shadow of a true servant leader.

And there’s a payoff – this gratitude will be returned in the form of future sales commitments, increased loyalty, and improved engagement.

Dan Veitkus

"The One Attribute All ‘Servant Leaders’ Have In Common." CEO.com. 8/28/2014