Last night I was chatting with an athlete in the gym. It was a friendly conversation, but not extraordinary.

One sentence changed it from ordinary to extraordinary.

I simply said, “Someone gave you a compliment.”

She leaned in. She definitely wanted to hear more, and I told her that.

“Yes!” she said. “I want to hear more.”

So does everyone else. Maybe you’ve heard of the greatest management principle in the world: Catch someone doing something right.

This one should be right up there with it: Relay a compliment from someone else.

It’s one thing for you to give someone a compliment. But everything changes if you say, “Someone was saying nice things about you today.”

Try it. Find a way to relay a sincere and meaningful compliment to someone. See what happens.

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Would you like to improve at what you do? “The Improvement Factor: How Winners Turn Practice into Success” can show you how! Are you a coach? “Ten Things Great Coaches Know” can make you a better one.