Friday Forward - Ripple Effect (#486)

Leadership isn’t just about what you build, but about who you lift

At a conference 10 years ago, I watched a speaker named John Ratliff describe his Dream On Program, a culture initiative at his call center business, Appletree Answers. Each year, Appletree employees could submit a personal dream or wish, and the company would grant those for several employees. Some wishes were small, like a weekend getaway, while others were life-changing, including family reunions or home repairs.

After instituting the Dream On Program, Appletree’s turnover fell to under 30 percent in an industry where turnover often exceeds 100 percent. Appletree ultimately grew to over 600 employees before it was acquired.

The simplicity and generosity of this idea stuck with me. At Acceleration Partners, we launched our own version of the program, which quickly became a cornerstone of our culture. Since then, we have granted over 50 wishes as part of our annual summit. Coordinating and announcing these wishes was the single most rewarding part of my job as CEO.

Over the years, we’ve:

• Helped a team member travel so their grandmother could meet her great-grandchild for the first time.

• Hired a private investigator to help someone reconnect with a long-lost relative.

• Supported causes that mattered deeply to our people, including placing an employee on the board of an organization tied to their child’s illness.

• Arranged a special day trip to shadow an incredible CEO for someone who had always dreamed of connecting with a successful woman who shared her identity—someone who could inspire her and offer the kind of mentorship she had been searching for.

Every one of these moments was unforgettable, not because of the scale, but because it reflected something personally meaningful to each person. Our team members absolutely love watching their colleagues’ dreams come true, even if they are not rewarded themselves. The emotion is always deeply moving and there’s rarely a dry eye in the room.

Coincidently, right before our most recent summit earlier this month, I received an email that brought the whole experience full circle. It was from Vikki, a former colleague who received $1,000 to donate to charity through our Dream Program. For her, the act of giving was what truly mattered, even though she didn’t yet know where she wanted to give. She wrote:

“I played ‘The Secret Millionaire’ and spent time at a few organizations to determine who needed it most. After moving to Amelia Island, I found Take Stock in Children. It changed my life. I became a mentor to a young woman whose parents struggled with addiction. Her grandfather had taken her in. I’ve met with her weekly for three years, helping with school, life, and everything in between. She just graduated with A’s and B’s, the first in her family to go to college. I got to walk at her graduation and sit beside her proud grandfather. That $1,000 changed her life, her grandfather’s life, and mine.”

Reading that message was a powerful reminder of how kindness and generosity compound. One act inspired another, which changed a life, which now may go on to change many more. Who knows what the young woman Vikki mentored might go on to do? Maybe she’ll pay it forward as a mentor, a teacher, a leader. That’s the ripple effect.

We often underestimate the impact of a single decision to help someone. However, those decisions have a way of rippling outward in ways we can’t predict. And in a world where time and energy are often spent tearing others down, it’s worth asking ourselves, “What positive ripple could I create? What small act of kindness might change many lives through compounding?”

And speaking of ripples, I wasn’t the only person in that room a decade ago who heard John Ratliff share his life-changing idea. Several other leaders launched their own versions of a dream program too. Think about that for a moment. The ripple effect of one talk, one idea, one generous leader. How many lives have been touched by that single moment? How many more will be changed in the years ahead? That’s not just a ripple, it’s a wave that may be the biggest part of John’s legacy.

John reminded me that leadership isn’t just about what you build, but about who you lift. We’d all do well to lead a little more like him.

Quote of The Week

“To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.” – Dr. Seuss

Have a great weekend!

-Bob
robertglazer.com

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