Posts for tag: fun

Top 10 Office April Fools

Here are 10 office pranks that will bring a smile without a stern word from HR:

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What the F?

Have you ever given a talk and wondered if your audience are really paying attention?

Here’s an exercise that will put them to the test.
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Serious Business doesn’t take itself too Seriously

I spent two days of my summer holiday this year at Disneyland. Later in the trip we drove through Hollywood then past Google and Apple’s global headquarters.  It struck me that each of these mega industries was founded with fun in mind. And perhaps there’s more value to this distinctive founding feature than many CFOs have grasped.

Just how important is it for your employees to have fun at work?

When Walt built Disneyland he said “Disneyland is a work of love. We didn’t go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money.” …

Make it fun and it’ll get done

In the opening chapter of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer we see Tom persuade passers by to help him paint a picket fence: “work consists of what a body is obliged to do, play consists of what a body is not obliged to do” – Mark Twain.

Similarly the clip below demonstrates how commuters were persuaded to take the stairs in preference to the escalator, by making climbing the stairs fun.

Teams that play together, work together.

Playing with the Toy Makers – When Leapfrog came to Play

Earlier this year we worked with Leapfrog – a fast paced company making educational toys whose recent growth had brought significant changes, particularly among the leadership team.

The day focused on a colourful and fun construction exercise.

Our approach was to identify the potential of each member of the team using the Strengths Deployment Inventory, a questionnaire based on Jungian psychology that plots team members’ strengths graphically.  …

Learning Through Play – Could bad management be the result of too little play?

This Christmas children will be pleading for the latest toy and many families will dust off their Monopoly sets and rediscover the simple joy of playing a game together. But should we limit our game playing to childhood and holidays, or can play help us in our work, our thinking and our leadership?  

Could playing more games be key to better management?

Attitudes to play are changing and the once ridiculed video game industry is now recognised as a valuable contributor to the economy and culture. …

It’s national Play Day on 3rd August and yes this affects your workplace!

Wednesday 3rd August is National Play Day, inspired in part by the fact that over 80% of adults feel that children should be encouraged to play more outdoors because it builds community spirit. Yet we live in a society where just 20% of children play outside their homes, whereas 30 years ago that figure was 70%.

“If you want your people to be more creative, give them more time to play” John Cleese

Play isn’t just diminishing in the lives of children. As workplaces become busier and leaner there is less time for informal conversations and light hearted activity. This drive for efficiency might not be quite as good for business as you’d think. Comedian, psychologist and successful businessman in his own right John Cleese said “If you want your people to be more creative, give them more time to play.”…

A quick team building energiser: Team Jump

We have just come up with an idea for a new team building energiser that can be run inside or outside and would work especially well with larger teams. It’s called ‘Team Jump’.

This activity is not as easy as it sounds, especially with larger groups

Overview:
A great way to re-energise the team and have a great photo memory of your day’s training.

Running the Activity:…

Fresh or Foolish? – A motivated workforce the Ricardo Semler way

The idea that staff set their own pay, come and go from the office as they please, all within a business that has no written strategy sounds like a recipe for disaster. Not the story of a company that’s gone from $4m to $160m.

Is this man a management genius?

Semco is no ordinary workplace, despite the fact that it operates in an industry as ordinary as engineering….

Don’t cancel Christmas – do some team building

The recession may not be officially over yet but most managers appreciate that Christmas needn’t be cancelled again this year.

Be creative this Christmas

Boozy parties are probably not the best way to mark the end of a tough year but that doesn’t mean there’s not value in gathering everyone together.

As we enter an era when return on investment is at the forefront of our minds the annual celebration needs to deliver more than just a few laughs and sore heads the next day.

So, while everyone is together in celabratory mood here are a few suggestions that will turn a turkey dinner into a turning point:…