Product Description

What's the best way to revolutionize the workplace? Forget restructuring and reengineering. Have a little fun!

Imaging sendig a pizza to your assistant's home after keeping her late at the office...or writing a "thank you" note to her spouse for being so understanding! It's not business as usual, but as management consultant Matt Weinstein makes clear, recognition and appreciation can play a vital role in boosting morale and productivity among stressed-out, overworked employees. Based on his success with some of America's best-known and most profitable companies, Weinstein presents a step-by-step plan for building an enthusiastic, high-performance team and offers hundreds of tried-and-true techniques for enhancing employee satisfaction and personal pride.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #258731 in Books
• Published on: 1997-01-23
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 219 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Founder of Playfair Inc., a management consulting firm, Weinstein has put into practice many of the innovative motivational techniques prescribed in this manual. The keystone of this approach for businesses interested in team building for increased profitability is "fun in the workplace." Extrapolating from the free-form corporate culture evidently prevailing at Playfair, Weinstein outlines programs, both short- and long-term, that incorporate the intentional use of fun and play on the job in a way intended to promote professional community and enhance productivity at all levels. In a sampling of case presentations, Weinstein demonstrates activities that soften initial skepticism of CEOs, suggest non-embarrassing ways for personnel to interact socially and utilize humor as a humanizing element. "The company that plays together stays together" is the motto of this creative approach to management style and job satisfaction.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
Jack Canfield

coauthor of the bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul

Inspirational, upbeat, practical. I can't remember when I've had more fun reading a business book and learned things I could put into practice the very next day.

Dr. Stephen R. Covey

Author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

Provides practical, amusing solutions, using laughter as a common ground.

Patricia Holt

San Francisco Chronicle

A spirited and fun-filled book.

Ken Blanchard

coauthor of The One Minute Manager

Managing to Have Fun is a fun read, but don't let its playful tone fool you. This is an important book about a serious subject, a must-read of any manager.

Ingram
Pointing out that recognition and appreciation can be very important to stressed, overworked employees, a management consultant presents a step-by-step plan--accompanied by hundreds of additional suggestions--to improve the quality of business life. Reprint. 25,000 first printing.

Customer Reviews

More Fun = More Production
Mr. Weinstein proves again how happy employees are more productive employees. I have worked in jobs that would have been far more rewarding had the other employees not been in such bad moods all the time. With all the corporate scandals lately, companies would definately benefit by using these strategies to boost moral and efficiency.

Rat Race Relaxer: Your Potential & The Maze of Life by JoAnna Carey is another great book for companies to share with employees because it offers entertaining stories and goal oriented advice about improving your workplace and your life.

More fun=more productive work
Mr. Weinstein proves again how happy employees are more productive employees. I have worked in jobs that would have been far more rewarding had the other employees not been in such bad moods all the time. With all the corporate scandals lately, companies would definately benefit by using these strategies to boost moral and efficiency. Rat Race Relaxer: Your Potential & The Maze of Life by JoAnna Carey is another great book for companies to share with employees because it offers entertaining stories and goal oriented advice about improving your workplace and your life.

The Advantages of Fun at Work and How to Grasp Them!
I was delighted when I found this book. I have been thinking about how much better work would be if fun was deliberately emphasized. Wow! Then I found a book that not only subscribes to that idea, but is full of practical advice for how to pursue that liberating concept.

Weinstein is the self-described emperor of a company called Playfair. He and his colleagues give a lot of speeches, and only charge if they fail to get a standing ovation. So far, they've always gotten paid. So here are some people who know how to generate enthusiasm.

In the beginning of the book, Weinstein uses an example of Marshall Hall, a CEO who came to one of his speeches, to show how the ideas can be pursued. At first, Hall could not imagine how he could take any of the pressure off his people. With coaching, he began to make steady progress in adding fun in ways that are consistent with the trust he has established in his enterprise. Skeptical people on the subject of fun will find these examples helpful.

In the middle of the book are 52 examples (one for each week of the year) of ideas for adding fun. You don't have to follow them blindly, but they can stimulate your thinking. One of my favorites was paying the toll for the person behind you at the toll booth, and lingering behind to see the expression on the person's face when they catch up to you on the road. I've done that, and it can be a lot of fun.

In the end, Weinstein tells a story from his own organization about someone who was having trouble dealing with a lot of fears about flying in small planes. Playfair evolved some fun ways to help him that made all of the difference.

Beyond the fact that we would all like to have some fun at work, the book makes a decent case for the role of fun in team building, better customer service, morale, generating loyalty, and in reducing stress. For example, in one study, those who found coins in a pay telephone were 4 times as likely to help someone who dropped packages in front of them as they finished their call as those who did not find any coins.

One of my very favorite examples in the book was of a boss who put little candies and rewards into his memos to encourage his assistant to have fun typing them up. Then, he surprised her one day by inviting her into the office, closing the door, and dancing with her for one minute. He knew she liked dancing, and they do this once a month or so. Basically, it is an affirmation of his respect for her. It was this story that led to Marshall Hall feeling that he could never add fun to his company. He was sure his assistant would sue him for sexual harrassment!

Be sure to read the story about Aunt Jemima. It'll give you a good laugh as well.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in making work more meaningful and satisfying for themselves and others. It is the essence of the fun part of the book, Nuts!, about Southwest Airlines.