If you read my article Business and Teamwork Lessons from Keith Richards then you may recall that Keith had the quirky habit of naming his guitars and assigning them a personality (he played a lot of Malcolm on Satisfaction). So here's a simple idea to add a little fun and personality into your workplace to help make it rock and roll: come up with wacky, offbeat creative names, or heck, just plain old human names, for some of the workplace objects you routinely deal with: your photocopier, paper shredder, or company cars (yesterday was, after all, Name Your Car Day). I was thinking about this on a walk the other day through Canmore, when I noticed the garbage bins were numbered, and I thought, "Wouldn't it be more fun for visitors and employees if the bins had real names like Bob, Maverick, Quagmire and Waldorf?" Wouldn't it make people smile to ask why Shirley, your temperamental photocopier, is acting up again?  

 

A twist on this idea, that some organizations have done, is to name hallways, cafeteria dishes, or even their stairwells after some of their veteran employees as a fun way to honor their outstanding service.  

Boosting fertility rates may actually be a laughing matter. At least it is to the two Israeli researchers who found a link between clowns and increased fertility rates for women undergoing in vitro fertilization treatments. Yes, accredited medical clowns (who are very popular in Israel) have been shown to boost fertilization rates. Researchers aren't sure if the increase is linked to a reduction in stress levels, or the big floppy red shoes. 

And in unrelated wacky news, October 4th is Improve Your Office Day and Ten-Four Day, while Friday, October 5th is World Teachers Day, Diversity Day and World Smile Day!  For a list of all the October theme days, cruise over to October Theme Days