| Humor at Work |
ISSUE 784 - Aug. 7, 2019 |
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Quacking the Formula for a Great Workplace Culture |
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I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Jonathan Keyser, the author of You Don't Have to Be
Ruthless to Win. Keyser describes himself as a "recovering ruthless badass" who reinvented himself and his commercial real estate company, Keyser. His epiphany occurred after hearing a professional speaker talk about how you really can succeed by helping others (today is official "Professional Speakers' Day," so "yeah" for speakers!).
Keyser talked about three levels of reinvention that can guide a profound transformation: it has to start within yourself at an individual level; then your company; and finally outwards by influencing your customers and community.
The transformation within the Keyser company culture was profound. It started with everyone shifting their mindset away from "selling" and toward "authentic service." Every employee adopted a "long game mindset" based on the principle that success depends on building long-term relationships based on trust and being relentlessly service-oriented. And in an industry known for being extremely intense, competitive, and serious, Keyser decided they also needed to
up the fun factor. "Being too serious hampers creativity," Keyser told me, "And humor is important because the job of a leader is to keep their employees' energy positive."
So, they lightened up their culture through more social events, funny awards, and with the help of a lot of ducks. Yes, if you visit their office in Scottsdale, Arizona, you'll be greeted by the sight of hundreds of rubber ducks of all sizes and possibly find yourself in the middle of an all-out "duck war." The rubber ducks became their culture mascot after someone brought one into work one day. The ducks help humanize their work environment and they serve as a reminder for
everyone to not take themselves so seriously (have you ever met a serious duck?), to work as a team, to let things roll of their back, and to chill on the outside while working hard below the surface (picture a paddling duck and you get the gist).  |
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Mike's Fun at Work Tip |
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Tomorrow, August 8, is Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Night, but who says we can't turn this into "Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Co-workers Desk Day"? Yes, it's silly, but hey, it's summer. And zucchini is ridiculously healthy, so you'd be doing your colleagues a favor!
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Quote of the Week |
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“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.” Oscar Wilde
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It's a Wacky World |
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Today is Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day, which makes me pine for the days when Consumer Reports would announce the Oyster Awards, which publicly shamed products that were notoriously difficult to open. Here's a not-so-fun fact: an estimated 60,000 Brits are injured each year trying to unpack a preposterously packaged package! One of the
members of the Oyster Hall of Fame included a doll, which, according to Consumer Reports, featured 50 (yup, 50!) unpacking restraints!
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Cost-Savings to Bring Mike in to Energize Your Workplace!
Toronto: Sept. 10
Ottawa: Sept. 11, 12
Vancouver: Oct. 8-10
Montreal: October 17
Toronto: Dec.12-14
Culture Leadership Academy Online Course/Membership Site Coming this fall to a computer near you! 12 Culture Leadership Modules featuring more than 70 micro-learning videos, 4 e-books, and dozens of articles and handouts designed to help you create a truly inspiring culture that drives outrageous results! If you'd like to be on the early bird list to
receive a whopping 50% off, reply to this email!
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mike@mikekerr.com
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