Friday is Pie Day!

So, you need a little Friday pickup for your staff? It has been a long week, and you want your staff to leave the office this week without heading directly for Monster.com or anxiously awaiting the Sunday Help Wanted ads to plan their exit strategy.

Why not deem "Friday is Pie Day!" While I didn't come up with this one on my own (snaps to Roger at Concordia) it is something that truly brings smiles to faces and the sugar buzz required to push you through the last day of the week.

You can safely figure 1 pie per 6-8 people (12 if you are stingy or have a very weight conscious office), and should easily be able to find something for $1 to $2 per person. Here are some ways you can shake it up, alternatives and options:

1. Stop off at your local Perkins or favorite bakery or grocery store on your way in to work on Friday, this is the most impromptu method, but will still be appreciated as much. Pick up a couple of different flavors so that everyone is sure to find something they like. Make sure that your office has plates and forks on hand, or pick some up on your way as well. Don't announce in advance, just show up with the goods!
   
   
2. So you don't mind getting a little messy? Make it a team building event. Pick up a couple of pre-made pie crusts on your way home Thursday night, or make your own. Bake them and arrive in the office Friday morning with: the crusts, 2 packages of Jello Banana Cream pudding mix per pie, a small container of milk, a bunch of bananas and some whipped cream. Make sure you have a bowl and spoon for mixing the pudding.
   Watch them as they access the situation, designate banana cutters, pudding mixers and whipped cream toppers. Slice the bananas, place them in the crusts, pour on the pudding, top with whipped cream and garnish with a few reserved  bananas. Allow to set up for 10 minutes or so while you conduct a mini-meeting, or verbally acknowledge individuals who have gone above and beyond this week.
   It is a good exercise to get them working together as a team, delegating, and working for a common goal. Time them to see how long it takes and repeat from time to time seeing if they can beat their last time trial. It is a good analogy for your next crisis situation, when everyone needs to drop what they are working on, pull together, and make something happen. Those situations could be rewarded with pie as well.
   I have seen 3-4 year olds accomplish this task, so I am sure your staff can handle this.
   
   
3. A pie of another name, still tastes as sweet. What about pizza? Stop by Little Caesars ($5), order in, or make your own as a team building exercise. Maybe it becomes potluck if you have an oven or pizza oven in the office. Each person signing up to bring an ingredient or topping and you work together to build the ultimate pizza pie!

Remember, it doesn't have to be fancy, or overly planned, the key is to make it fun and make it happen!

Uppercase scarf

Put this on the "I gotta get me one of these!" list. While not entirely functional, the cool factor on these is through the roof. Created by little factory this scarf is laser cut utilizing the letters of the alphabet to create the pattern, giving it a interesting and textured appearance. Almost random feel from afar, but quite interesting as you get close enough to recognize what the design is.

For those of us who love to see letters as art, this is a must have. Check it out at:  http://littlefactory.com/scarf/uppercase/

For those who might not appreciate the random letters, what can this inspire? Perhaps it is your latest tagline, cut into the scarf, which can double as a impromptu banner. How about your next sporting event giveaway? Scarves with your team name, motto, etc laser cut out of them? 1,000 fans holding up your sports team banner could be a really cool effect in a stadium and it would likely be taken home and pinned up on walls, bulletin boards and in offices for years to come. Can you say that for the little foam fingers?

Creating Synergy!

I recently attended the Bigger Small Talk Conference here in Fargo and day two of the festivities was all about finding your genius. I had longed to find my genius, hoping it was in there somewhere, and fearing that I was, perhaps, geniusless. Oh the horror of being sans genius for the rest of my life. Enter Dick Richards, author of "Is Your Genius at Work: 4 Key Questions to Ask Before Your Next Career Move."

So, as we begin the journey in our search for the holy genius grail, individuals were standing to declare that they had discovered their genius. Consisting of a Gerund (ing word) and a noun, people were slowly standing, trying on different genius' and seeing how they felt. Well, after a resumé which reads a little schizophrenic, and having ventured down different tangents and which ever path I was invited to travel, feeling a bit like Dorothy in the wizard of Oz, I was really hoping to find something that fit.  I felt like I have the tools that I need and enjoyed the characters and experiences the yellow brick road had provided, I just need to find my way home to my genius.

So as about a safe third of the attendees had finished standing and declaring their genius, some more confidently than others, I chose to stand and share what I had discovered. I stood and declared that my genius was in "engineering experiences" to which Dick responded, "nope, that isn't it" and as I described what it is that I enjoy doing, what I do without even being asked or paid, words that I don't know that I had ever uttered, crossed my lips and resonated more strongly in me than anything in a long time. "Creating Synergy," he declared to be my genius! Yep, that feels good, really good. So I scribble it on my name badge and try it on for size. Removing the "engineering experiences" which fit, but felt a bit like the 80's shoulder pads I SO loved. At the time, seemed like a good idea, but in reality, a bit big and cumbersome, and a bit out of proportion. Now with my genius was written in ruby red Sharpie, there was no place like my genius "home."

 So, why Creating Synergy? I think it stems from the middle child "can't we all just get along" syndrome. I always seem to find my way into the middle of people and situations, trying to make everyone feel a part of the team, feeling good about themselves and their work, and collaborating to create something bigger together than could evolve in their individual realms. Case and point, my dream for this site was a place where others come come and contribute and learn, more than just me, but a group of friends. I am energized by the process of brainstorming, and finding new ways to look at old problems, and coming up with new solutions. Finding new ways to infuse technology to ease old struggles. And creating visual synergy as well, matching the style and collateral of a company to its culture, making sure that interior and exterior are one.

So, in the spirit of Creating Synergy, I have decided to add another category to my blog in which I share tips and techniques I have found over my years of being an employee and a manager to help prevent burnout, which I have seen and lived too many times. You will find those tips on the home page and then also archived in the left navigation as well.

Please join me on my new yellow brick road and if you have a tip you would like to share, I would love to hear and share it. You will find a number of things out there, but what I hope to share, are the fun and creative and inventive that those even on a tight budget can employ. Here's hoping you find that yellow brick road to your very own genius and know that "There's no place like home, there's no place like home!"