Origins of Gratitude Games
Interview with founder of Gratitude Games, Michael Jay Moon. Interviewed on 25 April 2019 by Anne Sagendorph Moon, co-founder and wife of Michael
1/ Why did you create Gratitude Games?
Pit of Darkness The short version? Because my life depended on it. It was do this or just brown out and die. And for the
2/ How did you begin to climb out that Pit?
Stopped Digging Deeper I started with the acceptance that I and I alone put myself in that in that pit. Someone did not push me.
3/ What did you do first?
Small simple changes First, I did a number of simple things, the kind of things everyone reads about: journaling, saying out loud words of appreciation
4/ When did you make loving and being loved your priority?
Around the same time, six or seven years ago. I took the stand to transform, using whatever would work, my pervasive sense of dread, hopelessness,
5/ How do you now practice Gratitude in your day?
Evolving Everyday I must first say that it continues to morph and change. I have given up the idea of a one best format or
6/ Looking back, what emerged that was unexpected?
In a phrase, shift just happened. I’d like to start by saying that the most significant and lasting changes came from hundreds or thousands of
Gratitude in the Workplace
Essential protocols for creating a culture of high performance, thoughtful feedback, and pervasive gratitude
Interview with founder of Gratitude Games, Michael Jay Moon. Interviewed on 15 July 2019 by Anne Sagendorph Moon, co-founder and wife of Michael
1/ Gratitude in the workplace
HOW DO YOU SEE GRATITUDE WORKING IN COMPANIES? We live in a time of an almost unimaginable rate of change. Every week or so another
1.1/ Corporate Gameboards
Corporations are and will remain the dominant mechanism for organizing our society. Corporations have the tallest buildings in most cities around the world, control most
1.2/ Transformational Power of Language
As I pondered the implications of Gratitude Games, insights from past studies in phenomenology and speech acts and work in the field of neurolinguistics and
1.3/ Learning Second Languages
In part my growing appreciation for language learning came from an ill-fated startup, one that I helped screw up. Our startup intended to assist adult
1.4/ Coaching Entrepreneurs
I’ve worked as a mentor, advisor, and coach to more than 25 seedling startups, six or so small businesses and four corporate incubators. I bring
2/ Gratitude Protocols in startups
WHAT ARE EXAMPLES OF ACTUAL GRATITUDE PROTOCOLS USED IN A WORKPLACE? Let’s talk about weekly management meetings, position agreements, strengths-based management, weekly check-in meetings, and
2.1/ Weekly Management- team Meetings
In weekly management-team meetings, we use the Meet and Alignment protocols … that I’ve pulled from the utterly brilliant work of Richard Kasperowski and his
2.2/ Position Agreements
I based my version of Position Agreements on the book E-Myth Mastery by Michael Gerber. I modernized Gerber's concept of a position agreement to reflect
2.3/ One-on-one Weekly Check-in’s
If you’ve worked in a midsize or larger firm, then you’ve experienced all sorts of performance management systems. And there’s a lot of good in
2.4 Strengths-based Management
In my work with small business owners and startup founders, I have them institute the protocol where managers have one-on-one check-in meetings each employee. Again,
2.5/ Strengths-based Management
I mentioned before, I adapted this from a whole body of work call Values in Action Inventory of Character Strengths and Virtues. In a manner
2.6/ Feature Friday’s
I first learned about Feature Friday’s from the CTO of Meetup.com. In a presentation on using the principles of the Lean Startup, he explains how
3/ Game of Strengths
HOW DOES STRENGTHS-BASED MANAGEMENT RETAIN THE BEST EMPLOYEES? Well, strengths-based management is a small part of a larger system of performance management that includes role-specific
4/ Gratitude and HR
HOW DOES GRATITUDE WORK FOR HR FOLKS? You know I discussed that with a lot of people, startup CEOs, business advisors, HR executives, and other
5/ Start Here
OKAY, HOW CAN WE START? I suggest that you start in the middle of it all, you know, wherever you go, there you are. So
6/ Conclusion
ANY LAST THOUGHTS ABOUT BRINGING GRATITUDE INTO THE WORKPLACE? I’d like to conclude with a new take on an old French saying about the more