“Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the Game.”

Michael Jordan

You can decide who you want to bring to work each day. It is the attitude that you choose that will support you and create the reputation you have with your co-workers and customers. How do you want to be perceived? Who are the individuals you most admire and with whom you want to spend your time? Is it the chronically serious or the ones who make you laugh? Start earning your reputations today.

• A survey published by Training and Development Magazine revealed that 84 percent of HR managers said emploees with a sense of humor do better work and 97 percent of executives agree that humor is valuable in business. Additionally, studies have proven that humor greatly reduces stress.

                        – Michael Dougal, Principal Consultant, HRValue Group

• “Take an everyday work item or activity and make it special, personalized, and memorable. Pat Bush, President, of Bush Integrated, prints a personalized calendar for each employee using their favorite color and style. On each person’s calendar is a picture of their dream place — the beach, Las Vegas or Paris — wherever they would like to be if they weren’t working.
• “When the founders of Revolution Group started their business, they created something they called The Culture Club whose focus is to create events that allows employees to bond at a personal level. The camaraderie and, well, fun the Culture Club creates extends beyond the parties into the day-to-day operation of the business. The result is a team that supports you with no managers looking over your shoulder, micromanaging what you do. When I get up in the morning, I look forward to another great day at work.”

                                                            — Jim Wilder, Revolution Group

When Katherine Hudson became CEO of Brady Corporation, she and her executive team decided that fun in the workplace would be beneficial to the employees as well as the company. Hudson was ahead of her time when she wrote, Transforming a Conservative Company—One Laugh at a Time in 2001. “Getting people to loosen up and enjoy themselves has numerous benefits. It can break down jealously guarded turf . . . foster an esprit de corps throughout the company . . . start the conversations that spark innovation and increase the likelihood that unpleasant tasks will be accomplished. It can help convey important corporate messages to employees in memorable ways. It can relieve stress. . . in the right spirit, selective—or even random—acts of fun can help transform an organization.”

During Hudson’s tenure, Brady Corporation grew from 1800 employees in 11 countries to 3000 employees in 22 countries and acquired nearly 25 other businesses.

• The greatest compliment you can receive is to be known as fun loving. Make it a personal mission to infuse fun into everything you do. Share your fun generously with others and let it light up your life.

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” 

— Confucius

Leslie