The other evening I was watching the TV show, “NCIS.” It was the episode in which the origin of many of Gibbs’ Rules was explained. His rules are an extensive series of guidelines that Leroy Jethro Gibbs lives by and teaches by. One of the rules even applies to Santa Claus, which started me thinking about communications and leadership lessons from the North Pole.
Teamwork is important. Rule 15 states “Teamwork is important.” For Santa to get all the presents made and delivered, he needs a team of elves and they need to work together to succeed. Gibbs was reminding his team of the importance of working together to solve a case.
Contingency plans are vital. No matter how much Santa and the elves prepare, they can’t control the weather. Fortunately, Santa has a great back-up plan when the weather is bad. Yep, Rudolph with his nose so bright saves Christmas. (And if you didn’t know, it’s the 50th anniversary of the airing of the holiday special.)
Letters work. Each year boys and girls – both naughty and nice – take pen, pencil, crayon or marker to paper to plead their case about how good they have been and what gifts they would like (and deserve). Some children are texting and emailing, but letters remain the most popular way to reach Santa. The USPS even has a program to handle the volume. If you do hear back from Santa and want to share your letter with others be sure to tag it #SantaLetters.
Merry Holidays!
Cynthia's Communique 
That is awesome. Thank you for sharing.
Cynthia, many years ago one of the members of Alaska Professional Communicators was the PR person for the Post Office in Alaska. She recruited many of us (including myself) to be Santa for a day/week. We hand wrote letters to children in response to their letters to Santa. We would encourage them to be good and, of course, never promise what they might receive. What a memorable and rewarding experience.