What You Might Need Is -- ME!

So, what does it take to get humor in the workplace into the workplace. Many things indeed, but an essential one is to have someone who enjoys having fun and is willing and able and happy to encourage, aid and abet colleagues and co-workers and administrators to that end.

What you need is me - or someone like me.

Alas, there aren't many job descriptions that call for court jester, minister of mirth, czar of comedy and/or celebration, lord of laughter, guru of good humor and/or good times and so forth and so on. Individuals with these attributes often self-select and emerge over time. It would be lovely if organizations were intentional in looking for such people, but that is rarely the case. After all, it is called work and not play for a reason!

So, if you and your colleagues want more fun in the workplace and don't have the local talent and resources to manage it, i.e., me, well, then call or contact Me! I am always happy to help organizations, work groups, teams, etc., put a little pep in their step through the strategic use of fun.

The Nose Knows Fun

I found this story in my local paper about a couple - Tex Allen and Cat Foshee - who wear clown noses to brighten peoples' days.

http://www.timesheraldonline.com/news/ci_24416276/vallejo-couple-wins-race-happiness-why-nose-movement

In response to the question of why, Tex Allen replied "Just to make you happy, to make me happy. It's fun..."

How cool is that? And it could hardly be simpler. 

(For more information, go to WhyTheNose.com)

Having fun during Hurricane Katrina

This quote is from Five Days at Memorial, by Sheri Fink, and pertains to how staff at Charity Hospital in New Orleans coped with Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath:

"In articles and conversation, [Charity] hospital workers chalked up their resilience to a number of factors, including morale building -- leaders held meetings every four hours in the lobby for everyone from doctors to janitorial staff. They put on a talent show. They painted and laughed." (page 380 of the hardcover edition)

There is a lesson here for leaders and their when in a stressful situation. Keep everyone in the loop; offer diversions; take time to have fun and laugh. And then get back to work.

"Talent Into Team"

Jim Leyland recently retired as manager of the Detroit Tigers baseball time. In his good bye and thank you remarks he said this (among other things): "My goal coming here was to turn talent into team, and with the help of the entire organization, we did that."

Now there's a goal for leaders everywhere - turn talent in to team. I don't know how to measure that; and each leader will proceed based on his/her personality and style; but what a glorious end to strive for. Talent into team. And it was not just his doing. It took the entire organization. Everybody played a role. It wasn't up to only one person or another; but to the entire enterprise from top to bottom and back again (at least that is how I choose to interpret the quote).

What are your thoughts? Observations? Insights?

Mine start and end with if I were working and in a leadership position I would take Jim Leyland's quote to heart and do whatever I could to achieve his goal.

Anniversary of Hiring Date: A Great Opportunity for Recognition

When I worked at Santa Clara University and University of the Pacific I kept a list of the hire dates of all the people who were part of my team (at SCU) or who worked in the library (at Pacific). On the date, I would give the person a hand-written note congratulating them on the milestone and thanking them - as specifically as possible - for their contributions to the team and the university.

I don't really know how my colleagues and co-workers responded - well, I hope - but I felt good for remembering that without their hard work and good cheer less would be accomplished and the workspace wouldn't be as pleasant.

Do you do something similar? If so, what?

Kings and/or Queens of Squash, and I am not talking about Pumpkins

Here's a little something a colleague of mine created for this time of year, which is to say, October/Halloween.

The idea was to identify some one or two people who had a particularly challenging year, handling projects and tasks in and out of their comfort zone, and, in effect, getting squashed.

These individuals were identified by any means possible, although it was usually pretty easy to spot them by the dark circles around their eyes and stress lines on their brows.

And, in a special ceremony, they were presented mini-pumpkins with their names on them and with all due pomp and circumstance and with thanks from one and all for enduring the squash.

This is a nice event that an accompany a Halloween Party or a Thanksgiving event or can take place on any given day which you designate. It is an easy and fun way to recognize and reward your colleagues and co-workers.

Road Trip: U.S. Cities/States in Song Titles

I was on a little driving trip, listening to Sinatra, and having a lovely time when I heard him sing Stars Fell on Alabama. Interesting, thought I; I never knew that Alabama had a song written about it. Then I began to wonder how many other U.S. states and cities appeared in song titles. The answer is, a bunch. For example:

Stars Fell on Alabama

New York, New York

Autumn in New York

Moon Over Miami

Way Down Yonder in New Orleans

Going Back to Houston, Houston, Houston

I’m Just an Okie from Muskogee

Tennessee Waltz

Chattanooga Choo-Choo

Everything’s Up to Date in Kansas City

Kansas City (here I come)

Galveston

Big D (little A, double L A S)

Yellow Rose of Texas

California (here I come)

San Francisco (open your Golden Gate)

I Left My Heart in San Francisco

Chicago, Chicago

My Kind of Town Chicago Is

Shuffle Off to Buffalo

Do You Know the Way to San Jose?

Oklahoma

Georgia on my Mind

The Night the Lights went out in Georgia

North to Alaska

Battle of New Orleans

You know what’s coming, right? Right? Please add your own contributions to this list. Note: The city/state MUST appear in the title. Then the next time I go for a drive, I’ll add these songs to my IPOD  and sing along (and alone) with them.

Boston Red Sox Phone Home (with Tin Cans and String)

Recently, Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz was ejected from a game and demonstrated his displeasure by battering (pun intended) the clubhouse phone that connects to the bullpen. Bad David, bad!

The next day he and others returned to the park to discover that instead of the destroyed telephone there were 2 tin cans with strings in the dugout and 2 more in the bullpen. Sweet.

For me this was immediate nostalgia because as a child that was how we imagined making telephone calls, i.e., via tin can and long string.

And to this day my dad explains that he doesn't use a cell phone because he prefers tin can and string.

So this whole incident might not be funny and warm to anyone but me, but I loved it and it is such a cool way of defusing a tough situation through a little fun in the workplace!

Bring a Wading Pool to Work :)

I found this lovely comic in my local paper and decided to share it for the spirit if not for the practicality of the advice it offers.

http://www.gocomics.com/roseisrose/2013/07/30

The truth is, however, that a little break during the day refreshes the body and reinvigorates the mind. I was thinking of this recently when I reflected on elementary school. We had a morning recess; lunch; and an afternoon recess. And all of those represented breaks from the active learning process and left us to go off to other places - real or not - rechannel our energy, and then return with a clearer mind and better focus.

This already happens. People in our organizations and on our teams find these moments on their own or with friends and colleagues. So why not make it an intentional part of your culture?

As for me, I'm thinking about investing in wading pool!

National Hot Dog Day is July 23

Summer evokes many images for me but a Chicago hot dog, on a steamed sesame bun, with mustard, onions, sweet peppers, relish and a crunchy dill pickle is right near top. Happily there is a place not too far where I live that serves a pretty good dog and that's where I'll go tomorrow to celebrate National Hot Dog Day. So whether you prefer brats to hot dogs or polish to Andouille, put aside your culinary difference tomorrow and treat your to one or the other or as many as you can. For the non-meat eaters, veggie and tofu dogs can be obtained.

Thanks again to my cousin David for teaching me about this important date!

Cheers :)

Leadership: Fun is part of a leader's job!

I want to thank my friend Mark Hines for turning me on to this.

The Six Deadly Sins of Leadership (per Jack and Suzy Welch)

6. Skipping the Fun Part
What is it about celebrating that makes managers so nervous? Maybe throwing a party doesn’t seem professional, or it makes people worry that they won’t look serious to the powers that be, or that, if things get too happy in the office, people will stop working their tails off.

Whatever the reason, too many leaders don’t celebrate enough. To be clear here, we do not define celebrating as conducting one of those stilted little company-orchestrated events that everyone hates, in which the whole team is marched out to a local restaurant for an evening of forced merriment when they’d rather be home. We’re talking about sending a team to Disney World with their families, or giving each team member tickets to a show or a movie, or handing each member of the team a new iPod.

What a lost opportunity. Celebrating makes people feel like winners and creates an atmosphere of recognition and positive energy. Imagine a team winning the World Series without champagne spraying everywhere. You can’t! And yet companies win all the time and let it go without so much as a high-five.

Work is too much a part of life not to recognize the moments of achievement. Grab as many as you can. Make a big deal out of them.

That’s part of a leader’s job too – the fun part.

This content was originally presented as a lecture at the Jack Welch Management Institute

National D(oh!)nut Day

The first Friday in June is designated National Donut Day and for good reasons. See http://donutdayusa.com/ for more information. This year National Donut Day occurs on June 7

But why not make it a special day and celebrate Donuts and D'ohs! Yes, combine Homer Simpson's favorite expression with one of his favorite foods ((http://www.moviewavs.com/php/sounds/?id=bst&media=WAVS&type=TV_Shows&movie=Simpsons&quote=mdonuts.txt&file=mdonuts.wav
) . After each D'oh moment shared, have a bite of a donut; or have a bite of donut and then share a D'oh moment. It's easy, it's fun and it's good for you. There are no calories on National Donut Day; that's my story and I am sticking to it (as donuts stick to my waistline!). Got to go. There's a cruller with my name on it in the kitchen!

What did Delaware? Where has Oregon?

I drove to Oregon this week to see some plays at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Nothing unusual there, except that about half way up I memed myself with a 1950's novelty song called What did Delaware? which has in it the lyric, Where has Oregon? I couldn't get this out of my head and when I got back home had to search for the lyrics to confirm what I suspected.

What did Delaware? She wore a brand New Jersey.
Where has Oregon? She went to pay her Texas.

There are more of these that you can drive yourself crazy with at http://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/perry+como/delaware_20106950.html; in my case, this is a short drive.

Blog at 100: Some shallow observations and analysis

I have just made my 100^th (and 101^st) posts on this Blog and it seems to me appropriate to reflect a bit on whether the reality of this blog has anything to do with what I had hoped (dreamed, fantasized, hallucinated).

Here is the purpose as I thought it: A forum for colleagues to share their stories about humorous and fun activities they have had at their place of work, what has worked and what hasn't, and how they have gone about fully integrating such activities into the organizational culture.

Observations.

1.      There really hasn’t been a lot of sharing, discussion or conversation. Instead the Blog has mostly been me nattering on about ways I think of to have fun paired with the occasional citation from the literature about fun in the work place being a good thing. In that sense, the Blog has not accomplished what I thought it would

2.       I was also hoping to hear back from places where I did my little workshop to see if anyone had actually incorporated ideas that they had come up with. Here, too, not so much by way of response. But I do want to acknowledge and cheer the University of San Francisco Library for their bias to action in implementing a couple of their ideas. Three cheers! So, pretty much no success here either.

3.       That said, on the basis of the workshops I have done and the conversations I have had, hardly anyone disagrees with the proposition that fun in the workplace is a good thing.

4.      The question I keep coming back to, then, is why isn’t there greater attention paid to including fun in the workplace as part of an organization’s wellness plan. In other words, making this intentional. It could be that fun or the appearance of fun runs against the idea that work is serious and the two are not congruent; or, it could be that the organization doesn’t have anyone to encourage fun activities; or it could be that no one has really thought about the cost-benefit advantages of having a less stressed work environment; or it could any number of something elses. I’d love to hear more on this.

What’s Next?

1.        I will continue posting to the Blog as I have, with observations, game ideas, etc. This gives me satisfaction and, yes, it is FUN!

2.       I remind one and all that I am available to do 2 hour workshops on fun in the workplace. As someone remarked, these are silly, but make the point. I think that 2 hours of silly is a good investment for any organization or team!

3.       And, if you ever have a job opening for King of Comedy, Court Jester, Clown Prince, Head Cheerleader, etc., well, sign me up. If not, consider identifying someone in your organization who can serve those roles. That person is probably already there. It’s just a matter of identifying him/her and encouraging their behavior!

Thanks for listening. And come back often, or at least occasionally, so that I can make my parents proud by telling them that this is NOT solely a vanity Blog!

Happy birthday ye Bard of Avon. Share your favorite Shakespeariana!

Today is April 23, Shakespeare's birthday.

What is your favorite Shakespeare play? character? quote? film adaptation? etc.

Laughter is the Best Medicine: A Couple of Articles from ScienceDaily

My cousin David has turned me on to a couple of articles whose authors contend that Laughter is Good! Who would have thought? In any event, here are the links. These may prove useful as you and we and all of us make the case that laughter and, even better,  intentional laughter are good for the work place.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080124200913.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100824103525.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061212213922.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080505225405.htm

Play Ball: Favorite Baseball Movies

Baseball is my favorite spectator sport, from the stands, the TV, the radio and the movies. I know that I have a few favorite baseball movies. What are yours? Play ball and batter up and let's see how big a list we can create.

Who's on First: 75th anniversary

I saw a news piece yesterday that this year is the 75th anniversary of Abbott and Costello's classic routine "Who's on First". Nothing more to say except enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sShMA85pv8M

Shakespeare Game - Easy Peasy

Shakespeare Game 

Complete the Quote and Name the Play

• “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your _____”
• “To sleep, perchance to dream; ay, there’s the  _____”
• “Out, damn’d _____”
• “Good night, good night. Parting is such sweet  _____”
• “Lord, what fools these mortals  _____”
• “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-ey’d  _____”
• “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely  _____”
• “Why then the world’s mine  _____”
• “Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with  _____” 

© 2013 North Atlantic Syndicate, Inc

Answers will be posted AFTER his birthday on April 23.

Whan in Aprille - You Should Have Some Fun!

April is almost here and while many of us are concerned primarily, or mostly, or somewhat about Income Tax Day, here are some fun ideas to explore to take your mind off such nonsense.

April 1-30: Celebrate National Poetry Month. Write a poem for your work team or organization; answer the phone in verse (remember Ms DiPesto from the TV series Moonlighting - she is the extremely loyal and quirky receptionist for the Blue Moon Detective Agency who always answers the phone in rhyme); name someone your organization's Poet Laureate; put white butcher paper all over your work place and encourage people to come in and write their own poems. For more ideas, see: http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/94

April 1: Do something foolish for yourself or someone else.

April 9 and 12: Celebrate the beginning (April 12) and end (April 9) of the Civil War. You know, be civil to all around you!

April 23: Celebrate Shakeapeare's birthday. Sing Brush Up Your Shakespeare; declaim passages from your favorite plays or sonnets; dress up in the style of the times; play the game described in the next post. You get the idea.

Consider songs that have the word April in them and add to this list: April Come She Will (http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/simon+and+garfunkel/april+come+she+will_20124678.html); April Showers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsfXi5BKkNo); and so forth and so on.

So,  is "April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain." Not if you don't let it be!

PS - Anyone interested can name the source of "Whan in Aprille" and "April is the cruelest month". Lunch with Fred is the potential prize.

Tenure vs Friar's Club: Fun article from Chronicle of Higher Education

I came across this article in a recent edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education.

http://chronicle.com/article/Comedy-Club/137591/

It gave me a laugh - which happens often - and made me think, which doesn't. Consider for a moment that you, me, any of us is judged by how successfully and consistently we make make people laugh. That's a pretty tough nut to crack especially given the wide disparity on what is considered to be funny; the same is true for success at teaching and learning; and many other places where we are tried. So, whether you are writing up your tenure documentation; performance review portfolio; or resume to get into the Friar's Club it might be worth a good, hearty chortle to help keep things in perspective.

(Plus I love the Groucho glasses, the wearing of which will loosen up any situation.)

March Mashup: St Patrick's Day and the Ides

There's an opportunity here; not an irresistible one, but a tempting one.

Friday, March 15, is the infamous Ides of March; Sunday, March 17, is St. Patrick's Day.

How about a mashup of these two events? Perhaps coming to the office in Green (or Shamrock festooned)  Togas? Having a potlock that features corned beef and caesar salad? You get the idea. At the least, give yourselves a few minutes to brainstorm the possibilities. This could be as much fun (or more) than any event that results :)

And in any event, Beware yound fred ... he has a lean and hungry look (always). He thinks too much (rarely). Such men are dangerous (well, not Fred)

Remember Your Donors

I am a donor and of very modest means and amounts. And yet, with at least a couple of organizations, my contribution is sufficient that they [continue to] to court me by inviting me to special concerts, lectures, etc and generally making feel more important to them than I probably am. I love it.

So, what have you done for your donors recently?

I think one of the easiest things to do is invite them over and let them see what their money has been spent on and how it has made a difference since the project was celebrated as completed The donors could be reintroduced to people who were there at the time of the donation/opening, meet new people in the organization, talk to people who benefit from the donation, etc., etc., and so forth. 

The most important part of this is that there be NO ASK. That can come at a later date. For this one morning, afternoon, evening, etc., the donors are just regular folks savoring the good thing they helped to bring about. And that's not a bad way to spend time with generous friends.

Fun at the Estate Planner's Office

I was at my estate planner/will attorney today. She and I have known one another since I met Ilene so we are talking 18 years. Consequently, after we finished the business portion of the meeting we schmoozed a bit. Eventually she asked what I was up to. I replied by pulling out a SMF business card and handing it her. She broke out in a great big smile and continued to grin as I related the history of my fascination (obsession?) with having fun at work.

And when I finished I looked her right in the eye and said "You have just had a fun in the workplace moment. Enjoy!"

My point is that fun in the workplace can be that easy. My best friend accomplishes this same great deed by wearing Hawaiian shirts to his office on Friday, hereafter known to his team as Hula Hula Fridays. He is a senior Vice President and as serious about work as anyone I know, but he knows that it relaxes him and his co-workers and colleagues (and bosses) when he arrives in one of splendiferous shirts.

Fun in the workplace - it doesn't have to be - and shouldn't be - work!

Happy Monkey Dance

Thanks to Jim Davis and Garfield for this.

http://www.gocomics.com/garfield/2013/02/19

Sometimes all you can do to get by is the Happy Monkey Dance (or your equivalent!).

Interlude Dance: A Fun Idea from College Basketball

I was watching some NCAA basketball this afternoon and learned that the fans of Kansas ("Rock Chalk, Jayhawk") have the Interlude Dance when nothing is happening on the court. What a great idea. Don't we all have a moment of downtime and wouldn't it be nice if every now and again we gathered and had an Interlude Dance just to get the juices flowing again? And maybe the people we serve would join in. Oh gosh, this is just no fun to do at home alone! Please, someone, some group, give this a try and let me know what happens.

(For my part, the dust bunnies are always amused!)

Librarian: What's the First Word you Think of?

ALA Game: At ALA I asked 75 people (1 for every card I handed out) to tell me the FIRST word they thought of when they heard the word LIBRARIAN. 

3 Responses:

• Information
• Quiet
• Studious
• Library
• Organization

5 Responses:

• Smart

16 Responses and the NUMBER 1 answer:

• Book(s)

Most surprising omission (to me)? Any mention of helpful (except from me).

Fun in Radiation Treatment: Part 2

A little while ago I offered a post about how the staff at Valley Medical Oncology Consultants brought a little fun to the process by offering the "toss the ring" game (http://humorinlibraries.blogspot.com/2012/08/fun-in-radiation-therapy-yes.html) I never did succeed at this, although I had quite a few near misses; and my lack of success had nothing to do with the cheering and encouragement of the staff.

Well, radiation comes and goes and pretty soon it's over. And what do these folks do? They have a graduation party complete with certificate of completion signed by everyone on staff and a bottle of sparkling apple juice. There are also hugs all around and a well-intended invitation to return (but not for radiation!).

I thought this was great and came to think that those of us in the service game could learn something from these specific acts of fun and celebration. If we don't find moments to reduce stress by introducing fun, perhaps we should; and if we don't celebrate our users/clients/customers/colleagues successes who will! Ready. Set. Go.

MadLibs(TM) for the Office

I have to give inspiration to this to the wonderful folks at MadLibs(TM).

(See http://www.madlibs.com/ if you don't know/remember what MadLibs(TM) are/were.)

The gist is that a reader has a piece of prose with some  parts of speech left blank. The reader then asks the players (team members, committee, etc) to provide a preposition, definite article, proper noun, etc. depending on what the story calls for. No Context is Provided!

After all the parts of speech are recorded, the story (memorandum, strategic goal, mission statement, etc.) is read back with the suggestions in their proper grammatical and syntactical place. Usually, hilarity reigns.

Example: Reader asks for a noun and a noun
Possible answer(s): money senate
Context: It was the best of money; the worst of senate.

This could be a nice way to take the sting and stress out of some of that (formal) writing that we are all called upon to do.

It is also a nice diversion as a party game. There is a version for family trees that I am going to bring to our family reunion this summer. I can't wait to see/hear the results!