Cortes Island
As I though about what to write while on a hiatus from thinking deep thoughts on Cortes Island, I realized that I’ve neglected mentioning Have Fun recently. There have been so many things I’ve noticed and thought worth discussing that are more along the lines of Pay Attention and Add Value that they’ve overwhelmed Have Fun.
Not that I’m not following my rule of incorporating all three into everything I do, it’s just that I’ve neglected to remind you that to keep things fresh and lively you have to create a culture that incorporates fun. After all, as I mentioned in a recent talk, given the choice, who would you rather spend time with: someone who energizes and excites you or someone who sucks all the energy out of you and drives you into the ground.
By a show of hands at a number of talks, I’ve discovered that 100% of the people vote for energizing and exciting. It’s an admittedly small sample but I’m pretty sure it holds true for most people.
So why do so many people create cultures that de-energize…and then wonder why those around them stumble through the day without enthusiasm or creativity. Too many people, and managers, are black holes when it comes to energizing their organizations. The energy comes in and never escapes.
Energy in an organization comes from getting people excited, creating a culture that appreciates and encourages fun and enthusiasm. These are not opposed to quality and productivity but, in fact, lead to increases in both. When people like something they want to be there, want to participate, want to do a good job, and want to share it with others.
And if they don’t like something or feel the energy sucked out of them every time they step in the doorway, well, just imagine the opposite.
Could not agree more – but then again I just got back from 2 weeks in Alaska – yes you should all put it on your bucket list – funny how one movie changes how we refer to our to do list.
Any way one other thing just as important is to surround yourself with others who are energized as well. I love to meet with Steve because he is energized and we both come away from the meeting with more energy – unless there are multiple glasses of wine – ahhh for another time perhaps.
A group I meet with we call this those with batteries included or those that need folks around them in order to get energized we call batteries not included. I want those with batteries included – don’t you?