The foundation of good morale and productivity is hiring the right people. Yes – don’t hire grumps. And the people must have clear roles, responsibities, expectations and goals. And they must receive training and coaching which includes feedback, direction, support and recognition from a trusted manager or coach.
If these aren’t in place, this article is NOT for you. If they ARE in place, I encourage you to put this quote to work every now and then.
Here are ten July only opportunities for doing this.In some cases, you may feel like a fool. Your teammates may roll their eyes. But they will laugh too. And that will lighten the load, break the tension and maybe even bring people closer together. Not just today – but down the road as they think about or talk about the day that ___________ (fill in the blank).
- Invite everyone to meet for a picnic and local fireworks. That way you get to celebrate Independence Day and National Picnic Month at the same time.
- Invite everyone over to celebrate National Hot Dog Month. Or if conditions allow, grill them at your office. Include baked beans and you can celebrate National Baked Bean Month at the same time.
- Celebrate National Ice Cream Month by bringing in a box of ice cream sandwiches or nutty buddies to the office. Deliver them desk to desk after lunch on one or more hot days. Or bring them to a staff meeting.
- Or you could have an ice cream sundae party. You could supply the ice cream and ask everyone else to bring a favorite topping.
- Or it would be really cool if you could arrange for an ice cream truck to show up in your parking lot one afternoon – or lots of afternoons!
- Or you could take the staff to a local dairy farm, take a tour and of course, eat lots of samples. Perhaps invite spouses and kids to join in.
- This one is kind of odd – National Pickle Month. Get a jar of sweet pickles and a jar of dill ones. Put them on a plate and pass them around. Notice any trends about those who take the sweet ones and those who take the sour ones?
- Get a jar of horseradish and bring it to a staff meeting. Tell everyone that it’s National Horseradish Month and ask them how they plan to celebrate. Best answer wins the jar of horseradish.
- Another staff meeting idea: Celebrate National Cell Phone Courtesy Month by asking everyone about their pet peeves regarding cell phone use. Post these on the wall for future reference.
- Celebrate National Blueberry Month by bringing in a huge blueberry cobbler. Ice cream too to celebrate National Ice Cream Month.
Warning – Before you begin, re-read paragraphs 1 and 2.
Also see: 10 Marketing Opportunities July Only.
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