Fun at work is essential for success, results are essential for fun to appear. I bet you will agree that results won’t surface in a hostile environment. This is why hard work and fun is the true Romeo and Juliette at the office. I have been to some seminars about fun at work and just a few touches the importance of results. Good results give you the power and confidence to stand tall in everyday life. And one more thing; it starts at Monday morning.

Monday Morning Blues

I don’t like Mondays – A major hit at the end of the 1970’s by Boomtown Rats, vocals by Bob Geldof inspired by a tragic shooting. Mondays are considered a reasonable falling down day. The rain stops somewhere between Sunday and Monday morning, the weekend is to short and it is back to work. So how can we make work fun fast on Monday morning?

Monday Morning Kick off

Start the day by writing down two different goals, one goal for Monday and one goal for the entire week. These goals must be measurable. Put them down on a sticky note or on a piece of paper that you can attach to your computer screen or somewhere else your eyes tend to focus. (No! Putting a sticky note on a hot co-worker is not acceptable!) Do not worry too much about reaching the goal yet. Check your score against the note when the day is over. Maybe you did not reach your goal? Maybe you did? Now write down your “high score” you will keep this number for the rest of your week, and your goal is to beat your own high score.

Cherish you co-workers

Grab the can of coffee from the coffee machine and walk around pouring coffee with a smile to your fellow sleepyheads as they come in to work. Talk to people you meet.

I have given my blog a brand new design. – I have just finished the redesigning of my blog. I hope you enjoy my new layout. What I want to achieve is a blog that makes it easier for you to find interesting articles. Sorry for the interruption, keep reading…

Get up to speed

Get into first gear straight after your goals are set. Strive for the results first. You have made every coffee addict happy, now it is time to play ball. Give it your best to get the results that will provide you with a great day. If you reach your goal it is time to celebrate. Figure out your way of celebrating, it might be anything from a walk away from the desk, a short break or anything you can think of that can make you smile.

Have a happy Monday, anybody have any great tips for Tuesday?

I understand that Mondays can be a dread. And you might think that the weekend is a far far away place that seems impossible to reach. I am going to provide you with a day to day guide on how to make your week more fun and interesting. Start by looking in the mirror in the morning and decide that this week is going to be great!

Monday

Start the day by writing down two different goals, one goal for Monday and one goal for the entire week. These goals must be measurable. Put them down on a sticky note or on a piece of paper that you can attach to your computer screen or somewhere else your eyes tend to focus. (No! Putting a sticky note on a co-worker’s behind is not acceptable!)

Do not worry too much about reaching the goal. Check your score against the note when the day is over. Maybe you did not reach your goal? Maybe you did? Now write down your “high score” you will keep this number for the rest of your week, and your goal is to beat your own high score during the week.

When you come home on Monday, think about what you can do for your spouse, if you have not bought a gift within the last three months, you should get a small item to show that you care. Or you can plan a picnic, go for a walk or spend some other quality time together.

If you are single, call a friend and plan an event for Thursday. This can be a trip to the movies, get together for dinner or any other activity. Do try to invite five-six people for a nice time. Start by inviting them on Monday evening.

Tuesday

Bring a small bag of candy or some fruit to have on your desk. Look at your note and figure out how to beat your high score. Add one more goal to your note: Try to make two people smile today.

Tuesday is no complaining day, so be aware of negativity and try to stay positive, even try to turn other negative people around, it can be a sport. When you go home today select another route. If you walk, try to walk a longer route.

At home make a list of at least three things you want to do around the house and do it.

If you lack people for your Thursday night event, keep inviting more.

Wednesday

Are you on your way to reach your goal for the week? Evaluate and adjust if necessary. Do something different today, or try something new. Taste something new; get to know someone at work or anything new or different. Maybe you could get something new for your desk like something decorative or any fun attraction. Special assignment of the day: Thank someone for something.

At home select one room to clean. Make the last efforts to your invitations, if you still lack a person or two for the Thursday arrangement.

Start planning your weekend.

Thursday

Are you keeping track of your high score? How are you doing? You have a new chance to set a high score today! How do you feel when beating the high score? It is Thursday today. This day is great for two things; clean your desk so it is tidy on Friday. And get the worst tasks out of the way, leaving the easy or fun tasks for Friday.

If you are going out with friends, relax and know that Friday will be a great day.

Thursdays are also great for housework, a shiny house on Thursday is a great place to be on weekends.

Friday

Finally it is Friday, last chance to beat your high score and last chance to reach the goal of the week. Even if it is Friday, does not mean that you shall not work, so give it everything, in hope of beating your high score and then celebrate.

Bring snacks to work, put it in a bowl at your desk and share with everybody.
Friday is about fun, make people laugh, make them smile.

So did you manage to reach your goals? Did anyone contribute to this victory? Did you get help from anybody? Make sure to thank them. Thank people that made your week great. The day is over, and the week flew away. Now what? Weekend, enjoy and look forward to Monday and read this once more. Your high score is up for a beating. Do you dare to compare high scores with a co-worker next week? Make a race out of it. 

Have a fantastic week!

Today I am presenting an easy to implement tool to boost work morale, mood and fun around the office. Just give your co-workers or employees the true joy of applause. We got one kind of activity that we manages to complete ten to fifteen times a day, and for each employee that manages to complete this task, gets to put a magnet on a white board to symbolize that we are getting closer to the goals of fifteen completed tasks. And for each person standing up we cheer and applaud. Sometimes we fail to notice it in all the other havoc resulting in one or two clapping their hands all red, but those times when everyone cheers and join in is priceless. The mood rise like a rocket and people is laughing; even the customers is wondering why we are cheering and gets amused. It is a win win win win situation for everybody.

So the challenge of today is to find a reason to make applause a part of your day at work! Try to give a great applause to someone that just enters the room, they will feel GREAT! And you will feel great, and all others that clap hands will feel great. Clapping your hands should replace happy pills as a drug, it is so effective.

So let’s sit back and imagine what it would feel like to be Spanish at Ernst Happel Stadium during the final in Euro 2008. I know that I got sucked into all the joy, as I was standing just about 20 feet away from the Spanish crowd this day.

And for those that have no interest in soccer, let’s take a look at Michael Jordan’s last game and standing ovation. Imagine being in this crowd feeling all this positive energy! WOW!

So if you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands or should it be if you’re in need of happiness clap your hands?   Have a super fantastic day!

Do you ever look at the company you work for? Do you know what it does? Do you know the competition? Are you working for the best company in your line of business? Are you a challenger? Are you losing ground? What is your role in all of this? Are you doing a better job than the people doing the same job for the competition? Do you think you matter in the overall results for the company? Or do you just appear to do your job?

Once there where a CEO that got hundreds of application for a position at his company, he took 50 % of all applications, and to the secretary’s surprise he threw them in the garbage. A bit puzzled she asked why. “You need luck to work for my company, now let’s find someone qualified among the lucky ones.”

I do not believe that it is all luck why one company beat competition or unlucky why one company crumbles. I do not believe that one good manager can succeed if she has twenty useless employees, I do not believe that twenty great employees will succeed if they have one useless boss. But I do believe that the latter is most important. Twenty great employees run a bigger chance of succeeding never minding the manager’s qualities.

“And so, my fellow Co-workers: ask not what your company can do for you – ask what you can do for your company” – A little rewriting of JFK.

This brings me to some employee engagement. Remember you are not hired so that you should be able to live a nice life. You are not hired so that you should need to drag your tired body to a place that you hate to go to. You are not hired so you could fit into the norms and demands of society that kind of imply that you should have a steady job. You are hired because the company thinks that you can add value.

You are hired to do more for less.
You are hired to make money for the company
You are hired to save money for the company

All other tasks is somehow related to these statements, and you are hired to do this more efficient or better that the ones that is being hired at the competing company.

You are being paid to deliver your best, or at least to have an interest in delivering the best. I believe that every single employee of a company can secure their jobs by devoting themselves to make more money for the company or to save more money for the company. It sounds harsh, but it is the back bone in the company skeleton. Having fun at work is a tool to making more money. Keeping employees happy and engaged is another tool. If you are unhappy or hate your job, you should consider leaving your job, as you fail to make money for the company, you do less for more and you are not doing a great job. And you might be missing out on your own dream job, and holding a spot occupied for someone else looking for their dream job.

As an employee you must try to create:

• an environment where you thrive.
• a place where you care about your fellow co-workers.
• a place where you try to evolve and do better, while having fun.
• a place to reach an exceed your goals.

The CEO is busy trying to create money for the company, more money than the… yes, correct… more money than the competition. The leaders of the company shall make sure that you are able to create this place that you would call Home 2.0. Having fun should be work related. Create a fun way to reach goals, not just by goofing of playing Playstation 3 all day long. At work we have changed a “dreadful” task into a fun game and within weeks we have increased the results with 60-70 % in the slow holiday period.