Why not tell her?

She came up with a great idea. (Minimize it by saying that it's not an original idea.)
She helped a customer fall back in love with your company. (Take partial credit yourself for what happened.)
She worked long and hard to grow your company's business (Belittle her efforts by implying that it must be nice to travel and see the world.)

There are special people doing special things. Why can't we recognize them for it? Do we think it will make us look smaller? In the end, we're the ones who look small for not being willing to recognize when someone does something great.

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com
www.labovsaleschannel.com