A cartoonist, a magician, and a dolphin trainer walk into a bar... Certain job titles seem to ooze fun. But I have a hard time imagining very many jobs that can't be made fun with just a little bit of effort. Kim and I are in California this week for a series of speaking engagements. We were able to spend Monday and Tuesday out and about in the San Francisco area before hunkering down and getting some work done in our hotel room today. We saw many examples of people who had fairly ordinary (and even mundane) jobs, but who interjected a level of fun into their work. …
Workplayce
Does Your Tea Kettle Make People Smile?
It can be pretty easy to discount all this Escape Adulthood stuff as floofy (hmm...my spell checker informs me that floofy is not a word). I run in to a lot of business folks from all over who figuratively (and sometimes literally) roll their eyes when I talk about this concept of returning to some of the childlike traits we lost when we grew up. They're in the business of making money, and have no time for all of this touchy-feely nonsense. The funny thing is, if you really look around, the people making the most money are the ones who get the idea of Escaping Adulthood. The smart ones …
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Staples is a Stupid Doo Doo Head
A childish title, I'll admit. But not nearly as ridiculous as the experience I just had at the local Staples office supply store. I patronized the store this afternoon to purchase Post-It Notes and some paper folders for this week's Cartooning Boot Camp. Figured it would be kind of nice for the kids to have a handy place to store all of their handouts and drawings. I looked all over the store for paper folders. Finally, I find them on an end cap for a penny each. Sweet. I am a happy customer. So I proceed to the checkout. The girl at the register begins ringing up my items, and then informs …
Funny Money
I am always interested in learning about and sharing ways that businesses can incorporate a little childlike spirit into their operations that positively affects their customers AND their bottom lines. If I asked you to consider a business that is the most anti-childlike, many of you would probably say banks. Talk about stuffy. The only thing childlike about most banks are the cheap little suckers they hand out to parents at the drive-up window. Do they even do that any more? It may seem like there's little a bank could do to lighten things up without losing its credibility. But the Acland …
Bear Necessities
I'm in the middle of The Bear Necessities of Business by Maxine Clark. Maxine is a former president of Payless Shoe Source and the Founder of Build-A-Bear Workshop. She has a chapter entitled, "Bring Out the Child in Everyone." Naturally, this credo resonates with me a great deal. I have also spent a lot of time on this blog and in presentations for business people about the importance of infusing a business with childlike spirit. Among other things, it improves customer loyalty and can fatten the bottom line. As Stanley Goodman, former CEO of May Department Stores said, "When the customer has …
You Want What On Your Pizza?
Today I had lunch with a friend at a remarkably childlike place. It's called Ian's Pizza, and it sells pizza by the slice as well as by the pie. What's remarkable is what's on those slices. You can choose from Mac and Cheese (their most popular), Lasagna, Steak and Fries, Chicken Cordon Bleu, or Guacamole Burrito, to name a few. (I heard they had Chicken Mashed Potato, but I didn't see it on the menu.) Of course, you can also get -- ho-hum -- pepperoni. I felt like I was in the middle of Escape Plan Challenge #15 -- eating something new. If the concoctions above don't seem too appealing to …
Leader of the Free World
I'm not sure that's a responsibility I'd like to take on. I can't imagine a more stressful job than being President of the United States. Think about it. The decisions you're forced to make have big, life and death consequences. 24-hour news stations and countless radio hosts analyze everything you say and do -- every single day. No matter what party you hail from, or how popular you are, there will always be a big chunk of the population that flat out dislikes you, no matter what. Whether you're Carter or Reagan, Clinton or Bush, it's quite common to have your accomplishments ignored and get …
Mushrooms
It is important to be passionate about your job. And your job should revolve around something you are passionate about. No child willingly subjects himself to spending a third of his life suffocated in an activity that he could care less about. Neither should you. Not only should businesses be staffed by a team of passionate people, they should make it a point to engage the passions of their customers, too. Kim and I were in Rochester, NY for a speaking engagement a few weeks ago. We met a chemist who had a passion for...mushrooms. In fact, he was a member of a national mushroom club. …
Grown-Up Jobs Through a Child’s Eyes
I enjoy writing for each of the characters in my comic strip, but one of the main things I like about Kim is that she seems to best embody the ability of kids to boil down complex concepts into simple, tidy, and logical (at least for them) explanations. This attribute shines forth in vivid detail via interviews conducted by Dave Price of The Early Show on CBS. Dave talked to elementary children for some insight on the working world. Here's my favorite: Dave: Shawn, what does your mom do? Shawn: She works at the post office and sorts mail. Dave: What's the funnest thing about her job? …
Nice Paper
Vickie Milazzo wrote an interesting article on learning. She outlines 8 ways to learn in a more childlike manner. All of her points are pretty sound, but my favorite snippet is #4: "Be willing to learn from anyone and everyone." Grown-ups seem to have a love affair with paper. Specifically, the fancy paper printed with initials like MBA, PhD, JD, and the like. The kind of paper signed by bigwigs at universities -- the more prestigious, the better. These pieces of paper -- also called certificates and diplomas -- are a great sign of accomplishment, but they can also lead to two …