Great brands are humble, empathetic, and selfless. Those are special qualities that we all would love to be associated with our brands. It's not easy to cultivate those qualities. But when we do, something equally special happens – we become more relevant to those we hope to serve. And, as a result, we become more valuable.

This is where thankfulness can help. Thankfulness can nurture those qualities we want to see in our brands. Here's how:

• Thankfulness heightens our humility. It helps us appreciate what we have and to focus on why we are here – to serve others.

• Thankfulness increases our empathy. It helps us understand the needs and desires of those we hope to serve.

• Thankfulness boosts our selflessness. It helps us take the focus off of what we want to say and put it on what those we hope to serve want to hear.

Embracing thankfulness

Ask yourself, "Why should our brand be thankful?" Write down the answer. Then apply the 5 Whys exercise. Ask, "Why is this answer valuable?" Write down the answer and continue to ask 'why' until you have done it five times. You will uncover some surprising results along the way. And drill down to what may be the most moving reason. Find that and you'll have something you can share with those you hope to serve that can transform the way they look at your brand.

We can spend a lot of time explaining and promoting our brands when what we should be doing is spending that time focusing on the needs and desires of those we hope to serve. Thankfulness can help us make that shift.

It's time to make thankfulness part of how we build our brands.