Lighten Up and Lead
Lessons for Fun and Success in Business
by
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Keeping Business Light & Goal Oriented
Having fun and sharing laughter keeps morale up and stress levels down
The desire for success in business drives us to work long and hard to attain our goals. We spend enormous numbers of hours working on projects, staying in our stores and offices, keeping in touch with clients, co-workers, and vendors. The abundance of communication tools allows us, for better or worse, to converse in our cars, on the street, practically anywhere.
We have the ability to communicate with people around the world and around the clock. And keep our eyes on what our competitors are doing from sunrise to sunrise, and that’s not a typo. This new lifestyle enables us to take advantage of so many positive things in our global society. However it has a huge negative side as well. We are constantly standing on the precipice of being poster children for the “No Rest For The Weary Society” and that’s extremely dangerous.
When it all comes down to it, what do we want out of our business lives?
Certainly everyone wants his or her business or career to be a success monetarily. However there is more to it than that. We all or almost all, have additional needs; things that fulfill deep and overriding factors in our lives, the desire for contentment and enjoyment in our business as well as private lives are basic to each of us.
Study after study reinforces the fact that the most important factors in our business lives are a feeling of enjoyment in our careers, an understanding that we’re listened to with respect and appreciation, and a need for lightness and camaraderie in the workplace.
I would venture to say that the large majority of us, when faced with the choice of taking a $100,000 a year position filled with anxiety, stress and long hours or a $75,000 a year position with a minimal degree of those factors, would almost certainly opt for the second option.
Money is usually not the first item on our list. Granted it’s very important but normally given the wrong status by the uninformed hiring community.
The ability to keep business light whenever possible is as important to our emotional selves as is the financial bottom line.
Recently while conducting a seminar I posed the $100,000 versus $75,000 choice question to a group of corporate managers. Every one of them chose the latter.
Lightness in business is not just telling an occasional joke, it’s a pervasive feeling of “wow, I really like working here, it’s fun.”
That feeling should come straight out of the corporate culture. The philosophy and values of the organization should reflect a respect for the people who work in it that is more than a periodic raise or an added health care benefit. It should also include the knowledge that you can speak with your “boss” and receive non-judgmental feedback, and give non-judgmental feedback as well, with complete confidence that there will be no retribution.
That factor alone opens up the organization to creative ideas, and new insights. It won’t be long until word gets out on the street that your organization is a great place to work. And in this competitive hiring market that’s a big plus!
It should also be noted that the feeling of lightness in your organization will also be picked up by your clients and customers as well. Now don’t get confused between lightness and not caring or sloppiness or even negligence, they aren’t even on the same planet. You can be light and extremely proficient and effective.
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About the Book
For more years than I’d like to count I have been training, coaching, and consulting to individuals and organizations on building more effective, efficient, and profitable businesses through leadership…sales leadership, executive leadership, management leadership, and all the other leaderships you can imagine. Obviously each area has a common thread – someone has to lead, even if it’s you leading you!
What does it take? As you read through “Lighten Up And Lead” you’ll be able to discern that laughter, humor and fun play a foundational role in my writing and philosophy of leadership.
Too often leaders take themselves so seriously that they create an underlying angst within their organizations. People either become anxious and learn to deal with the situation (antacids and a glass of wine at lunch may be part of the solution), play “How do we avoid the boss?” or quit. You see…leadership isn’t always positive. A leader can lead his or her company right into bankruptcy, dissolution, or chaos.
The most important element in any organization is its people, even in this virtual world…someone has to be behind the screen. So what’s the secret in being an effective leader, a leader who people line up to work for? Of course focus, planning, understanding the market, knowing yourself and your team members’ behaviors, attitudes, motivators and information processing styles are important elements. As are a complete knowledge of the goals and objectives of the organization, as well as trust, keeping your word, respect, integrity, and being able to make productive decisions. However the real secret is making people want to work for and with you because you are light, bring lightness to their lives, and create an enLightened workplace. And that means laughter, humor, and fun, which coincidently translate into lower turnover and more creativity.
About the Author
Dan Goldberg, MBA, is the founder and former owner of "For Eyes" the highly successful international optical company whose cutting edge approach to the sale of eyewear and related services irrevocably changed the entire industry and had a major impact on how all service businesses are marketed. Since selling “For Eyes” he has consulted to a numerous organizations, from Fortune 500 firms to small enterprises. He is President of Dan Goldberg Consulting L.L.C. a training, coaching and business development firm located in the Philadelphia, PA area.
An internationally recognized keynote speaker, Dan is the author of the book "Stand Back A Second, Just don't fall off the edge," and of "The Six Steps To Solid Sales Success" and "The Seven Elements Of Successful Management" programs. He has been the subject of stories in Newsweek, Business Week, Playboy, Successful Business, Investor’s Business Daily, major newspapers in New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Boston, Baltimore, Miami, San Francisco, Oakland, St. Louis, Chicago, Los Angeles and many other national and local publications. In addition, Dan has appeared on Good Morning America and other national and local television and radio programs.
Dan wrote a monthly column in Smart Business Now Magazine on sales, management and business growth techniques for five years. He has served as an adjunct professor at the Smeal College of Business, Penn State University as well as Rosemont College’s Communications Department. Dan also formed and served as Chairman of the Dean’s Council, Drexel University, School of Public Health for four years through the end of 2004. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Temple University and his Master of Business Administration degree from Kutztown University’s College of Business where he is currently Executive-In-Residence and Chairman of the Dean’s Council.