I recently had the pleasure of reconnecting with a business friend who found a post of mine on Facebook about Tony Hsieh’s book, Delivering Happiness.  She had heard Tony speak at the E-Women conference in Dallas and was very impressed by his enthusiasm and genuine interest in creating a work culture that includes LOVE!  One of the core passions of my business is to bring LOVE into the workplace.  That’s pretty bold as love is not typically a word associated with corporations and organizations.  That coincides with another core passion of Intentional Living and that is being Bold and Authentic.

Even though companies are rightly focused on the bottom line, too many of them forget they are really just made up of people from the CEO to the clerk and the Board of Directors.  What is it people want most in the their lives?  LOVE.  If we can find love for what we do, love for who we work with and love for ourselves in our jobs, we can create an empowered work culture that is sustainable and a powerful force in the world.

Gallup’s survey of employee engagement finds that if someone has a best friend at work, they are more likely to be fully engaged in their jobs. Engaged employees can add up to $32,000 to the income of a company, while disengaged employees can cost a company $16,000 a year.   Now that’s proof that LOVE in the workplace not only increases the bottom line but provides a place where employees want to be, grow and add to the value of the company they work for.

When was the last time you felt LOVED at your job?  Do you  have a best friend at work?

Well, you can and all it takes is two “C’s” – Courage and Commitment.  It takes courage to step outside of your proverbial comfort zone and then commitment to hang tough when everyone around you is trying to get you back in their comfort zone.  They like you the way you were and besides if you take risks and they don’t, it makes them look bad.

“Act boldly and unseen forces will come your way” is one of my favorite quotes given to me by a good friend.  Genius is inside everyone of us and all it takes to bring it out is the courage to do things you aren’t comfortable doing.  Every day I wake up a little bit afraid because I’m on a path I’ve never been on before.  As long as I take my day one moment and one step at  a time, doing the things that make me happy, I fall asleep very content and grateful for the new experiences I’ve encountered.  Life is all about choices so why not choose the things that make you happy?  If you are in a job you don’t like or in a relationship that isn’t good for you, its never going to change, unless you do.  Its all a choice and it starts by becoming clear about what it is you want and then going after it.  Every successful person is very clear about what they want and they’re not afraid to fail along the way to success.  So take the risk, make the leap, have faith and go for it!  Your dreams are waiting for you…What is it you are waiting for?

Different employees want recognition in different ways. What if management knew enough about each employee in his or her department, that they could customize the reward to fit each one’s individual life passions, such as gardening, or running a marathon, or being an animal lover? Then, the recognition would feel very personal and meaningful. Until managers know what gets their employees excited each day, they can’t know how to reward them. It doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming either. If someone is a garden enthusiast, you could give them a card with flowers on it and a package of seeds; the marathon runner may like a water jug with the company logo on it; the animal lover a card with animals on it and a small donation to the local SPCA. By understanding what makes their employees tick, the reward becomes much more engaging and appreciated.

How do you like to be appreciated and recognized at work?

This excerpt is from Page 19 in Tony Hsieh’s book Delivering Happiness.  His quote is “I think that’s when I learned that, even in school, it sometimes pays to take risks and think outside the box.”

I know for myself, when I actually step into that fear (perceived risk) with faith of knowing that the very best will occur, I usually find it wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought it was.  The reason I say I’ll know the best will occur is because I know even if I fail at that particular task or project or conversation, I will have learned something and will have another chance to get it right, if I choose to do so.  Taking risks actually brings me (and most people) happiness because it means we believe in ourselves enough to stretch and move outside of our comfort zones and that feels good. Taking risks makes life interesting and exciting!

Thinking outside of the box also brings me happiness because it allows me to use my creative mind to come up with ideas that I would never have thought possible.  I absolutely love to brainstorm about issues or ideas with no suggestion considered too wild or off the wall!  How fun is that!

When was the last time you took a risk?  What was it? And how do you feel about it now? I’d love to hear from you.

With love and appreciation,

Carol

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