By Staff Writer – Boonsri Dickinson (@boonspoon)

Oprah handed out iPads and $10,000 checks to her magazine staff. Oprah apparently delivered the gifts in person to O, the Oprah Magazine at Hearst headquarters. And the iPads came with a personalized leather case with the staffers’ initials on it.

That was very nice of Oprah! Gift giving and saying thank you is an art and Oprah seems to be very good at that. Remember when she gave everyone in the audience cars?

I’m sure if iPads existed a few years ago, my boss would have given me one. When I began an internship in New York in 2006, most of the employees at the magazine treated me like an intern — except for the big wig that ran the show. He treated me like a writer. He left a note to tell me I was a good writer, a compliment I needed to hear even though I never believed it.

When my first story appeared in the magazine, he left a yellow Post-it note on my desk to say that it was a great story and to encourage me to pitch him more ideas. (To this day, that short story is one of the most read stories on the site). The encouragement made all the difference, especially in the typical crazed magazine environment.

When I finally became his assistant, I saw how he treated people with respect and appreciation. He always said thank you and it went a long way.

Photo: flickr/ vitamommy