Where in the world am I today?: Edmonton, AB, Canada

GGOL is an acronym for ‘Generous Gift Of Love’ which is a concept that I was introduced to over my years of working at the C.A.M.P. program in Winnipeg. What started off as somewhat of a joke with the event producer about how instructors hired to teach at the program should shower the producer with said gifts of love has become a wonderfully odd tradition and helped me realize how important it is to genuinely give thanks to the people who give you jobs.

People who hire you to do a gig almost ALWAYS have a choice about who they bring in to work the event that is being staged and recognizing this and acknowledging this may be the difference in doing a gig once verses doing it multiple times. Cultivating good working relationships with a few key clients can be the ticket to success especially if you’re working corporate jobs which pay incredibly well, so taking a bit of extra time to find out how to most effectively ‘GGOL-ing’ (this time used as a verb meaning the act of giving the generous gift of love) your employer will likely leave a lasting impression that will help you develop lasting relationships.

I remember very specifically working at an Arts Festival in Texas and approaching my employer near the end of the gig to inquire if I might take her out for a drink to say thank you. She declined on the invitation because she had a lot to do with the tear down of the event, but as I was walking away she called me back to thank me. Apparently the simple kind act of offering to buy her a drink had never been done before and she really appreciated the gesture. I was invited back to the festival again a few years later. The fact that my show had been well received was also likely part of the reason I was invited back, but making the extra effort to say thank you for the opportunity likely made that decision easier too.

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This entry was posted on Monday, July 6th, 2009 at 12:01 am and is filed under Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.