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Fun Can Be Your Competitive Advantage
Having Fun
Can Be Your Competitive Advantage
An excerpt with permission from The Business Woman's ADVANTAGE, an interactive
newsletter for women with the entrepreneurial spirit. July, 1998
Is having fun a FUNdamental part
of your day? Surveys, statistics,
psychologists, medical doctors, and even
our common sense all tell us that fun is
an important part of our life. But. . .just
how much fun have you had lately? Women
are finding that in today's fast-paced,
hectic environment, "fun" is
a rare or non-existent commodity in their
personal lives as well as their workplace.
The reality is that creating
a work culture of productive fun can improve
a company's competitive advantage. In a relaxed
atmosphere people tend to be more open to
new ideas and face problems in a creative
state. Look at Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream
for example. Employees are allowed to bring
their pets to the corporate offices. People
just don't leave this company. The more freedom
people have to express who they really are,
the more opportunity they have to reach their
fullest potential.
The futurists say that
by the year 2000 we'd all have more leisure
time. The opposite is proving to be true.
We have less leisure time and more work than
we had 20 years ago. You can't keep asking
more from yourself or your staff without
giving something back. When you're
not having fun, you have more sick days,
more stress, become difficult to work with
and you're less willing to go the extra mile. Enjoy
a businesswoman's advantage. . .take time
out this summer for FUN! Put fun back into
your life and keep it there.
From the editor of The
Business Woman's ADVANTAGE:
Mershon Shrigley, shrigley85@aol.com
Since I'm self-employed, I have to depend
on myself to provide the fun at work. I
help this along by surrounding myself with
colors and a work environment I love plus
toys on the shelf in front of my desk.
Yes, toys. . .I have a music box, a doll,
Beanie babies, slinky, pick-up sticks,
teddy bear, jacks, a feathered mask. .
.to name a few.
Isn't it easy to spend our
"free" time cleaning out closets,
mowing the yard, grocery shopping? Most
of us don't even know what fun is anymore.
As a coach, I often ask my clients to write
their 10 Daily Joys. . .10 things that
they do everyday that they feel joyful
about. Try it. . .if you can't come up
with 10, add to your list this month!
Making a list of fun things is also a
great exercise because it gets us in touch
with what used to be fun and what can still
be fun. Just writing it down gets us a
step closer to making it happen. What would
be on your list?
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