In 1471 - Sten Sture the Elder, the Regent of Sweden, with the help of farmers and miners, repels an attack by King Christian I of Denmark.
1938 - The Munich Agreement cedes the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany.
2015 - Hilla Becher, German photographer died.
See what I mean.
I shouldn't overlook the fact that today is Finnish Literature Day and 'Party Foundation Day'... in North Korea. To be fair it is World Mental Health Day but to be honest; you'd never know it.
Given the fallow field that history has delivered up we could use the opportunity to plant a new idea.
To take part you are very likely to have to go shopping for an item of equipment. You'll need a budget of about two pounds, ninety-nine pence.
I claim nothing new or innovative here; the concept is pre-Victorian but they made them famous.
In 1770, Nisbet MacNiven established the company, whose idea it was, at Balerno, outside Edinburgh and later moved to Blair Street in Edinburgh's Old Town.
In fairness, in reviewing the resources needed a pen must be on the list. A Biro will do but a fountain pen with some nice bright blue Waterman's ink is at the high-end of performance.
The equipment is available in the high street. You might be lucky and find them in the pound shop or even a charity shop. You are looking for some notelets. Most famously Waverley Notelets.
No manager, serous about their task, should try to do the job without them. Slipped into the top-right-hand drawer of the desk. One or two in the computer bag. Into the side pocket of the brief case.
A simple Waverly Notelet; nothing too floral, a picture or drawing on the outside. It doesn't matter too much. It's what on the inside that counts.
During the course of this week you should make it your business to find someone working for you, or with you, who has done a good job, handled a situation well, or is struggling with a task and say 'thank you'.
'I just wanted you to know that I think you've done a great job this week and thank you'.
It can be yesterday, this week, this month or even at the end of a year... it doesn't matter. What matters is saying thank you... not with an email, no, no, no! Not by text, Whatsapp or even Facebook.
A handwritten note. The power of the handwritten note goes beyond all other ways of saying 'well-done'. They are a permanent record of appreciation. The handwritten note makes it personal, it makes an effort and is impossible to ignore.
Write to every new member of the organisation. A few lines to say;
'I'm so please you've chosen to join us and I hope your time with us is rewarding, interesting and happy. All the best '.
People seldom remember what you say. They remember what you made them feel. A handwritten note makes them feel good. Feel good when the get it and feel good very time the look-back at it.
The handwritten note is a great way of saying;
'I know we didn't do this well and thank you for your help in putting it right...'
You may get a hundred or more emails in a day but I guarantee you will get only one handwritten note, in a blue moon. They have huge impact. They show a deep investment in people and relationships.
It doesn't have to be poetic, lyrical or even very elegant. It just has to be sincere and timely.
I an increasingly disjointed workplace, remote working and hot-desking a handwritten note can be an anchor point, a reference to the fact that even if you are not face to face, you are facing the same day, face the same challenges and you know there is a back that needs patting.
Personal and not invasive, private but not intrusive. The handwritten note saves managers from the sin of convenience and the routine of expediency.
Let's make today go down in history as the start of the handwritten note revolution.
