Inspiring Workplaces: All Leaders Are Readers

Published: Wed, 07/26/17

Humor at Work

ISSUE 689 - July 26, 2017


			All Leaders Are Readers

	There's an old quote, "Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers," which is why many innovative leaders, such as Bill Gates, commit to an annual reading week where they take a week off to catch up on their reading. It's also why so many workplaces have started book clubs to encourage employees to continually learn and grow. Here are some things you could try to encourage employees to read more: 1. Start a reference library and encourage employees to bring in their used, orphaned books from home. 2. Create a book club where employees meet once a month to debrief and discuss the same relevant business or self-help book. 3. Create a club or monthly tradition wherein each member of the club/team reads a different book than everyone else and then offers a review and summary of the best ideas. 4. Create a recommended reading list that all employees can access and add to. 5. Post summaries of business books on your intranet site. 6. As part of their welcome package, offer every new employee a copy of a book that best reflects the culture of your organization. 7. Give away gift cards to book stores or books as contest prizes. 8. Purchase copies of books for all employees on your team or organization as a thank-you or inspiring motivational perk. 9. Bring in local authors for lunch and learn presentations or book signings.

		Mike's Fun at Work Tip

July 27 is official Take Your Houseplant for a Walk Day, which is only slightly more silly than my suggestion for you this week: Name all of your office plants something fun. You could name them after your favorite office buzzwords, retiring employees as a way to honor them (just make sure you water them regularly...the plants, not the employees), or the naming could be part of a fun award where someone gets their name on the plant as a small honor. You could even identify the plants with their new names using small stick labels and email out an introduction to a plant of the week.
		Quote of the Week

"Food. Must. Be. Present. When chomping, we think better. No food, no brainstorm." Bradford Shellhammer, EBay
		It's a Wacky World

August is also Arr-gust - International Pirate Month - a good warm up for September 19, International Talk Like a Pirate Day! And some of my favorite August theme days include: August 3: Watermelon Day August 4: International Beer Day August 5: International Hangover Day (see August 4th, above) August 7: Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day August 8: Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Night August 10: Duran Duran Appreciation Day August 11: Presidential Joke Day August 13: International Left-Handers Day August 18: Bad Poetry Day August 24: Pluto Demoted Day (gee, first Kermit gets fired...) August 26: International Tongue Twisters Day August 28: Race Your Mouse Around the Icons Day For the entire list sneak on over to August Theme Days.

Cost-Savings to Bring Mike in to Speak
Kelowna or Penticton, B.C.: October 26 or 27
Montreal: August 31 or September 5
Toronto: Sept. 7-12
Toronto: October 9-11
Cleveland: Sept. 25
Montreal: Nov. 23 or 25
New Zealand: Feb. 15 - 20, 2018

Leading and Motivating Virtual Teams
100+ Ways to Have More Fun When Your Teammates Aren't All There (in person, that is)

The Value of the Slight Edge A great, quick customer service tip from Hall of Fame speaker Jeff Mowatt - one of four speakers at this year's Customer Service Leadership Summit in Calgary, November 15:
The Value of the Slight Edge

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