I posted recently about Thank You notes and the general consensus – “yes, they do matter.” What about handwritten notes – do you still send them? I’ll admit that, externally for business, I don’t.

When I managed a larger team I wrote notes often to my team members. When others wrote notes of thanks, congratulations or encouragement to me they always found their way to a file that I still have. I believe I still have every note I ever received from a parent or child for coaching a team or leading a Cub Scout adventure. My mother had every sympathy card her family received when my Uncle Bill Dierker was killed over Leyte Island in the Philippines on November 1, 1944.

So if the handwritten card or note means so much to us maybe we should write them more often. Especially when we have more to say than simply “thanks, it was a pleasure meeting you. I look forward to doing more business together.”