The “A.I.” We Too Often Forget: Appreciation and Impact

By Rutherford Pascal

This isn’t yet another post about AI. The fervor around and level of investment in artificial intelligence provide only the backdrop for what I think is a more important discussion now than ever before: why some organizations succeed while others fail.

Any business owner or leader knows that there are numerous ingredients that form a recipe for growth and ongoing prosperity in an organization. One of the most critical ingredients of all is one we don’t talk about nearly enough: the invisible architecture that supports every successful organization.

The Hidden Foundation of True Wealth: Why Valuing Every Contribution Matters

In the spotlight of business success, we celebrate the obvious winners: the visionary CEOs, the top-performing sales teams, the breakthrough innovators. But behind every standing ovation lies something far more powerful: an invisible network of contributions that makes all visible success possible. 

The custodian ensuring a professional environment, the administrative assistant orchestrating complex schedules, the junior marketer whose fresh perspective sparks the next breakthrough campaign. These individuals form what I call the “invisible architecture” of success.

Understanding and valuing this architecture isn’t just about being nice, it’s about recognizing a fundamental truth that separates leaders who create lasting wealth from those who merely accumulate money. True prosperity flows from acknowledging that every person in your ecosystem contributes to your success, and that recognition creates exponential returns no individual effort could match.

The Economics of Genuine Appreciation

When people feel genuinely valued, something remarkable happens, they stop thinking like employees and start thinking like owners. They notice opportunities for improvement. They go beyond their job descriptions not because they must, but because they want to contribute to something they feel part of.

The numbers back this up. Research consistently shows that companies with highly engaged employees who feel valued and appreciated outperform their peers by 147% in earnings per share. But the impact goes much deeper than engagement scores. When you create a culture where every contribution is acknowledged, people begin to see what else they can do instead of doing the bare minimum.

Consider the examples of the administrative assistant, the custodian and the junior marketer I outlined above; those contributions only happen in environments where people feel seen and valued.

Breaking the Hierarchical Illusion

One of the most destructive myths in business is the belief that value and contribution correlate directly with position and salary. This hierarchical illusion creates artificial barriers between “important” and “unimportant” people, leading to missed opportunities and untapped potential.

The reality is that in our interconnected business ecosystem, the person who seems furthest from decision-making might hold the key insight that transforms your entire operation. The night security guard who notices patterns in after-hours activity revealing workflow inefficiencies. The customer service representative who identifies the common thread in complaints pointing to a major product improvement opportunity.

When we operate using only a hierarchical point-of-view, we create information silos pockets of valuable knowledge that never reach those who could act on them. The cost isn’t just missed opportunities, but the erosion of trust and engagement throughout the organization.

The Neuroscience of Feeling Valued

Understanding why valuing others’ work requires looking at what happens in the brain when someone feels genuinely appreciated. Recognition activates the brain’s reward center, releasing dopamine and creating what neuroscientists call a “recognition high.” This strengthens neural pathways associated with the recognized behaviors, making them more likely to be repeated.

Feeling valued also activates social bonding systems, particularly the release of oxytocin, the “trust hormone.” This creates genuine emotional connection between the person and the organization, leading to loyalty that goes far beyond contractual obligations.

Perhaps most importantly, appreciation activates the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for creative thinking and problem-solving. When people feel safe and valued, their brains shift from defensive, survival-focused thinking to expansive, innovative thinking. This is why companies with cultures of appreciation consistently outperform competitors in innovation metrics.

Invisible Architecture in Action: Real-World Success Stories

Howard Schultz’s transformation of Starbucks provides a powerful example of this principle in action. When Schultz took over as CEO, he made what was considered a radical decision: treat part-time employees, whom he called “partners,” with the same respect and benefits typically reserved for full-time corporate employees.

This wasn’t a feel-good policy, put into place for PR purposes. It was strategic recognition that the barista making your morning coffee was as crucial to the Starbucks experience as any corporate executive. Schultz regularly visited stores, not to inspect but to listen, spending hours learning about challenges, ideas, and dreams. Many of Starbucks’ most successful innovations came from these conversations with front-line partners.

For example, the famous Frappuccino, now a billion-dollar product line, originated from a suggestion by employees in a single store who noticed customers asking for blended coffee drinks. During Schultz’s tenure, Starbucks grew from 17 stores to over 16,000 worldwide while maintaining remarkably low turnover rates in an industry known for high employee churn.

Southwest Airlines offers another compelling example. Under co-founder Herb Kelleher’s leadership, Southwest built its entire business model around the proposition that if you take care of employees first, they’ll take care of customers, and shareholders will benefit as a result.

When other airlines laid off employees during the post-9/11 crisis, Southwest maintained employment levels, asking employees to share in temporary pay cuts but promising no job losses. The response was extraordinary: ground crew worked extra hours without overtime, customer service representatives went above and beyond for passengers. While competitors struggled with bankruptcy, Southwest remained profitable and emerged stronger.

Practical Strategies for Building This Foundation

It’s one thing to understand the concept and another to put it into practice. Creating a culture that genuinely values every contribution requires systematic approaches:

• Deep Listening: Make regular one-on-one conversations with people throughout your organization a priority, not just with direct reports. Ask questions like “What’s working well that we should do more of?” and “What’s one thing you’d change if you could?” Most crucially, act on what you hear.
• Public Recognition: While private appreciation matters, public recognition has a multiplier effect. Sharing stories in company meetings about how seemingly small contributions made big differences. Use internal communications to highlight behind-the-scenes work that makes visible successes possible.
• Investment in Growth: Show you value someone by investing in their development through stretch assignments, mentoring opportunities, or exposure to different parts of the business. This sends a clear message that you see potential and believe they’re worth the investment.

Why It Works: What Organizations and Leaders Gain by Focusing on Invisible Architecture

There are a few primary reasons why shifting to this mindset and connecting the philosophy to action can be powerful multipliers within organizations.

The first is what I call The Compound Effect. When someone feels appreciated, they become ambassadors for your vision, multiplying your influence far beyond what you could achieve alone. In that way, valuing others creates a compound effect that moves beyond the individual, multiplying throughout your entire ecosystem. 

This operates on multiple levels: the direct biochemical impact on the individual, the ripple effect on other team members who witness recognition, and the external impact on clients and partners who interact with valued team members. When people feel valued, their confidence and positive energy become part of every interaction, enhancing your brand in ways no marketing campaign could achieve.

The second is because of the impact appreciation and recognition can have on Long-Term Wealth Creation. Valuing others creates wealth in the truest sense. Beyond financial returns, it can bring sustainable prosperity that endures across market cycles and competitive challenges. When you build an organization where every person feels valued, you create “social capital,” which is the network of relationships and trust that becomes your most valuable asset.

Like the effect of individual appreciation, this social capital compounds over time, creating exponential returns that exceed any individual effort. It becomes your competitive moat, something competitors cannot easily replicate because it’s built on authentic relationships rather than systems or processes.

Invisible Architecture, Visible Transformation

In pursuing wealth and success, we often focus on visible metric revenue, profit margins, and market share. But the true foundation of lasting prosperity lies in the invisible architecture of relationships and contributions surrounding every achievement.

The custodian, the administrative assistant, the junior marketer; these aren’t peripheral figures in your success story. They are integral parts of the foundation upon which your wealth is built. When you recognize this truth and act on it consistently, you don’t just create better business results; you create authentic prosperity that enriches everyone it touches.

The choice is simple: continue operating from the illusion that wealth comes from individual brilliance or recognize the profound truth that all success is collaborative. Those who choose the latter don’t just get richer. They create wealth that transforms not only their own lives but the lives of everyone around them.

In the end, the most effective wealth creation code might be the simplest: see others, value others, and watch as your own wealth multiplies in ways you never imagined possible.

______________________________________________________________

Canopy Expert Advisor Rutherford Pascal is a leadership coach and keynote speaker with a proven track record of helping leaders and organizations achieve transformative results. Interested in bringing top-tier fractional experts like Rutherford into your organization? Tell us about your project here.