But for First Watch CEO Chris Tomasso, old-fashioned notes of appreciation are a ritual.
“I just love people that pick their lane, they love it, and they don’t want to do anything else,” Tomasso told Fortune. “They want to be the best dishwasher they can, and so I want to thank and reward loyalty, longevity, [and] the contributions that they make to the company.”
Tomasso traces his approach to a moment early in his career. At 26, he received a handwritten thank-you note from his CEO at Hard Rock Café—a letter he’s kept to this day. When Tomasso became a CEO himself in 2018, he decided to carry that same people-first philosophy forward.
“I tried to minimize the [CEO] title as best I can when I’m interacting with people,” Tomasso said. “I eat lunch in the break room with everybody, which always, for whatever reason, blows new employees away—that I just sit down next to them and bring my lunch and have lunch with them. I think it’s a shame that there’s that feeling.”
It’s a simple act that reflects a broader leadership lesson: connection matters.
While technology has made the world faster and seemingly less personal, slowing down to send a handwritten thank-you note is a practice countless business leaders say still can’t be beat.
“I think of writing as externalized thinking. I still, if I have a very hard problem, or if I feel a little bit confused about something, have not found anything better to do than to sit down and make myself write it out,” the 40-year-old said on the How I Write podcast.
“I’m a big believer of, I take a bunch of notes, and then I clearly rip them out so I can look at multiple pages at the same time, and I can crumple them up and throw them on the floor when I’m done.”
Ultimately, as AI continues to reshape how the world communicates, putting pen to paper may continue to prove that connection can outlast convenience.
