Yes, Work Can Be Fun. Yes, Work Should Be Fun. Bill Murray Knows. So Should You.
Aug 27 2018
Have you ever heard of the minor league baseball team the St. Paul Saints? This is a team whose slogan is “Fun Is Good.” The quality of baseball is solid. It’s basically double A ball. That alone would make it worth watching. But the experience is so much more than that. No one does fun like the Saints. This is a team that has hosted the world’s largest pillow fight, asks mimes to conduct instant replays, and has a pig deliver baseballs to the umpire. Would you expect anything else from a team co-owned by Bill Murray? The upshot: the organization sells out all of its home games and has for years.
What’s the lesson in this? That the team is right: fun is good. Of course we all have business objectives to meet. And it’s wonderful to set ambitious goals and strive for them. We should never apologize for that. But I believe people perform best when they’re relaxed and happy in their work environment. And that means fun is important. I examine this topic in my depth in my latest piece for Forbes, which you can read here. I had fun writing it and I hope you have fun reading it.
Watch “Small Talks” With Lucila, Salty Tart and WSK
Aug 21, 2018
I’ve always heard that the food business is one of the hardest industries to navigate. Think about it. It’s an industry where you regularly throw away much of your inventory. That is one tricky business. Yet Lucila Gigrande of Lucila, Michelle Gayer of Salty Tart, and Sameh Wadi of WSK, have all made it work. I interviewed each of them for “Small Talks” and they were generous with their time and delicious with their insights.