The Power of Emotional Intelligence in Business with Brendan Kamm
Brendan Kamm, CEO of Thnks, joins The Bliss Business Podcast to explain why gratitude and EQ in business go hand in hand. He shares stories of small, thoughtful gestures, how to measure their return, and how leaders can start building a culture of appreciation.
Gratitude and EQ in business go hand in hand: emotional intelligence shows up as trust, and trust is built in small, specific moments when people feel seen. In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, Stephen Sakach and Mike Liwski talk with Brendan Kamm, CEO of Thnks, the first global platform built on the principles of Gratitude Commerce, about how thoughtful gestures turn transactional relationships into lasting ones.
🎙️ Hosted by Stephen Sakach and Mike Liwski
🎧 Produced by Tullio Siragusa
In this episode we explore:
• Why transactional business erodes trust
• How a $2.80 ice cream cone and a bowl of chicken soup built real connection
• Why a year of Spotify beat a $500 spot bonus for one employee
• How to measure gratitude through shorter sales cycles and returning deals
• The first steps leaders can take to build an EQ-driven culture
• Why vulnerability, purpose, and love belong in the conversation
Brendan traces Thnks back to his early media and advertising career, where relationships were the business. He also recalls a renewal where his co-founder sent dinner to a team working all night, with no ask attached, and the way the two teams worked together changed afterward.
On the people side, he explains why a generic spot bonus disappears into a paycheck, while a year of Spotify for a music-loving employee costs about a fifth as much and lands far deeper. The lesson is to learn what each person cares about, which also builds the psychological safety that makes teams more collaborative and creative.
Scaling gratitude means making it operational and measuring it. A client who sent chicken soup after every missed meeting saw people return about two weeks sooner than the control group. Brendan’s advice for getting started is to begin one to one, keep it felt rather than told, and calendar it until it becomes a habit.
Zero Company uses Thnks with its own clients, and the same belief runs through our work: marketing earns lasting loyalty when it builds genuine emotional connection, not just transactions.
Key Takeaways
• (3:09) On swag versus real relationship building: “it’s not relationship building. It’s got to be thoughtful, it’s got to be in the moment.”
• (8:29) On the Spotify gift versus the $500 spot bonus: “It will cost you literally a fifth of what it cost you to do the spot bonus, but I promised you it’s going to go so much further.”
• (17:55) On the chicken soup A/B test: “they got every one of those meetings back, and actually on average two weeks sooner versus the control group”
• (20:32) On the return on a small gesture: “a cup of coffee is probably not the thing that closed your $2 million deal, but it’s certainly a piece of that.”
• (25:55) On building an EQ culture from the bottom up: “if you really want it to be part of culture, it’s got to be felt, not told.”
• (32:16) On vulnerability in leadership: “You need to be honest, and honest means being vulnerable.”
FAQ
What is Gratitude Commerce?
Brendan Kamm, CEO of Thnks, describes Gratitude Commerce as a new way of doing business that is still business, but built around gratitude. His hope is that leaders will someday budget for appreciation the way they budget for marketing or finance.
How do you measure the ROI of gratitude at work?
Brendan Kamm says to treat gratitude as a business tool and track it. His examples include sales cycles that closed faster, ghosted deals that returned to the table, and a chicken soup test where people came back to meetings about two weeks sooner.
How can a leader start building an emotionally intelligent culture?
Brendan Kamm recommends starting small and one to one, showing appreciation to your own team first so people feel it rather than hear it. He also suggests putting gratitude on the calendar, such as Fridays at 1 p.m., until it becomes a habit.
When gratitude becomes part of how a company operates, relationships move from convenience to commitment. Learn more about Brendan Kamm and Thnks at thnks.com or connect with him on LinkedIn. See his guest profile, watch the video version, and explore more Featured Guest Series conversations.
CEO of Thnks
Brendan Kamm is the Co-Founder and CEO of Thnks, the first global platform built on the principles of Gratitude Commerce, helping professionals turn appreciation into a business advantage.
Thnks empowers teams to build stronger relationships through personalized, meaningful gestures that combine thoughtfulness with technology. With a clear vision and relentless drive for innovation, Brendan leads the company’s strategic growth, day-to-day operations, and the ongoing evolution of its technology and partnerships.
A seasoned media and technology executive with over 20 years of experience in sales, product development, and client engagement, Brendan witnessed firsthand how the absence of gratitude in business eroded trust and weakened connections. Frustrated by transactional, impersonal interactions, he recognized the opportunity to transform professional engagement, creating a scalable way for organizations to weave appreciation into their culture and strategy.
Under his leadership, Thnks is defining Gratitude Commerce as a movement that proves small, thoughtful gestures can drive loyalty, deepen engagement, and turn everyday interactions into lasting business opportunities.
