The November issue of The Cheeky Rooster newsletter. Our theme this month: Gratitude in the Crunch. Close strong. Say thank you. Yes, at the same time.
Founder's letter: Thankful and slammed
Hi friend,
Here's the juxtaposition nobody puts on the calendar. November is the month we're told to slow down and give thanks. It's also the month every forecast, renewal, budget and "can we squeeze this in before year-end" lands on your desk at once.
Most of us handle that by postponing the thank-you. We'll get to it in January. When things calm down.
Things don't calm down. And the research says the thank-you isn't the soft part of the plan. It's part of how the plan gets done.
Gallup and Workhuman followed more than 3,400 workers for two years. People who got high-quality recognition were 45% less likely to have left their jobs. Meanwhile, in a survey of more than 1,400 US workers last November, Eagle Hill Consulting found that 55% said they were burned out.
So this month's theme is Gratitude in the Crunch. Not gratitude instead of the crunch. Gratitude as a tool for getting through it. Below you'll find a five-move playbook for the last weeks of Q4, and stories about people who turned thanks into something real:
- A Utah mom on a mission to write 10,000 thank-you notes by the end of November.
- A company putting $500 million behind a bed for the night in a crisis.
- A bridge built for elk that cut wildlife crashes by 91%.
Close strong. Say thank you. You can do both before Thanksgiving.
Gratefully,
Sondra Connor
Founder, The Cheeky Rooster
The Q4 Gratitude Playbook: five moves for the last eight weeks
Each move pairs a year-end task with a thank-you. None of them needs a budget.
- Closing the pipeline? Thank the nos. Send a short note to every prospect who passed this year. Thank them for their time, ask one question about what would have made it a yes, and leave the door open. You'll learn more than any win-loss survey will tell you, and some of this year's nos are next year's yeses.
- Renewals coming up? Thank your best customers before you ask. Pick your top ten accounts and send a handwritten note or a two-line email in early December, before inboxes fill up with holiday promotions. No upsell. Name one specific thing they did that made your year better.
- Team running hot? Recognize weekly, not annually. Gallup found that among employees who got feedback every week, 61% were engaged when they were also recognized weekly, against 38% when recognition came less often. A year-end award doesn't replace a Tuesday "that was great work."
- Need help to hit the deadline? Say thank you first. In a classic 2010 study by Wharton's Adam Grant and Harvard's Francesca Gino, 66% of people who were thanked for helping helped again, against 32% of those who weren't. Two words roughly doubled the help.
- Planning the holidays? Protect the time off. In a Modern Health survey of 1,000 US employees, 57% said they feel obliged to check email over the holidays, and 40% had considered quitting because of holiday burnout. Set your out-of-office, mean it, and tell your team you expect the same from them. That's a thank-you too.
Gallup and Workhuman retention study (NPR via OPB) · Gallup on feedback and recognition · Eagle Hill burnout survey (HR Dive) · Grant and Gino study (Penn CHIBE) · Modern Health holiday survey
Brave Bets: 10,000 thank-you notes
Jenn Drummond is a Park City, Utah mother of seven and a two-time Guinness World Records holder. This month she's chasing a different kind of record: 10,000 thank-you notes by the end of November, written through her app, Somedays.
The idea came from loss. Her mountaineering mentor, Todd Passey, died in a ski accident before she had the chance to thank him. So she started making sure other people get their chance. On the first day, card-writing parties had produced close to 700 cards by midday.
"When you start looking for it, you start finding it, and then it starts to multiply," Drummond said.
Why it's good news: The thank-you you keep putting off has an expiration date you can't see. Write it this week.
Treats Worth Sharing: $500 million for a bed for the night
Airbnb has committed $500 million over five years to its nonprofit, Airbnb.org, which gives people free emergency housing during disasters and crises. It's funded by 10 cents from every booking plus donations, and the goal is 1 million free nights a year.
The need is growing fast. Airbnb.org has housed 250,000 people so far and has responded to more than 200 crises in 2026, against 8 in 2023.
"We're only as good as humanity, and we're only as good as our host," CEO Brian Chesky said.
Why it's good news: Giving back works best when it's built into the business model, not bolted on in December. Ten cents a booking adds up.
Read the full story at Fast Company
Tech We're Thankful For: A bridge for the elk
Colorado opened North America's largest wildlife-only bridge, spanning six lanes of Interstate 25 and connecting 39,000 acres of habitat. Before it was built, migration seasons could see up to one animal killed on that stretch every day.
Within nine months of opening, collisions between vehicles and wildlife fell 91%.
"One of the most heartwarming moments for me was when CDOT sent me a picture of an elk mama taking her calf under I-25," said Brandon Marette of Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
Why it's good news: Sometimes the smartest fix isn't an app. It's a bridge in the right place.
Read the full story at Colossal
Marketing We Love: Celebree's Generation Gratitude Project
Celebree School, an early childhood education provider, is running a free 30-Day Family Gratitude Challenge from 1 to 30 November. Any family can join, not just Celebree families. Its students are also making 10,000 thank-you letters for Operation Gratitude, timed to Veterans Day.
"Young children learn by doing, and they learn gratitude the same way," said Kristen Miller, Celebree's VP of Education.
The Cheeky Rooster take: Celebree didn't run a Thanksgiving sale. It gave families something to do together, opened it to everyone, and tied it to a real cause. Gratitude marketing works when your customer gets to take part, not just receive a discount code. If you're planning a year-end campaign, ask what your customers could do with you, not just buy from you.
Read the announcement on PR Newswire
From the Women [In]… Mic: When the wheel spins fastest
Episode 007 · Melissa K. Diaz · Corporate Finance → Fractional CFO
Melissa did audit at RSM and corporate finance at Starwood, then noticed that a single small change had to travel through four or five approvals. Her summary: "It stole a lot of the curiosity." She left to co-found High Rock Accounting, a fractional accounting and CFO firm.
The lesson for Q4: year-end is when the hamster wheel spins fastest. In Melissa's words, feeling stuck on one with no room to move forward "is a red flag, not a phase."
Also from the mic · Episode 008 · Dr. Gloria Esoimeme, physician and negotiation strategist
Gloria arrived in the US with $250. Years later, her three-day work week at her hospital came from a single raised hand: she asked. Today she lives in Dubai and coaches professionals through difficult conversations.
The lesson: before the year closes, ask for the thing. "Take the first step. You never know what's going to be next."
Coming Friday, 6 November: Episode 009 with Lindsey Wilson, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Maricopa Community Colleges, on stepping back to move up. See all episodes
From the Cheeky Rooster Blog: What 13 women taught me
Thirteen women have sat down with me on Women [In] so far. Not one of them is doing the job she pictured. I wrote a three-part series about what they taught me, plus one piece on the money case for women founders.
- None of us planned this · The most common career plan in the room was the one that didn't happen.
- You can fall out of love with a good job · The money was good. The work was interesting. Their hearts left anyway.
- When the work and the soul stop talking · Misalignment doesn't feel like a crisis. It feels like a phase.
- You want profit? You need women. · Women founders do more with every dollar. So why did they get 1.1% of the dollars in 2025?
Let's talk
If Q4 is eating your marketing plan, or you're already staring at 2027 and wondering where to start, I'd love to hear about it. Any size. Any place. Any stage. I'm happy to give you honest guidance, even if the answer is "you've got this."
Thirty minutes, no pitch deck. Book a call.
That's the crow for November. Tell me who you're thanking this month. I read every one.
Sondra