April Fool’s Day Matters

Today, I knocked out a post on my company blog on April Fools day:

http://lmfoods.com/blog/april-fools-day-laughter-matters

Here’s the gist of it….

People at work flat out don’t laugh enough. I mean REAL laugh, that takes oxygen, makes the ab muscles hurt. With other co-workers. That’s a crying shame.

I’ve often wondered why WORK is a viewed as a 4-letter word in way too many places. Maybe, because far too many companies….

• Value results over people, when people actually DRIVE the results.

• Have cultures that value rules/process/protocol over individuals and diversity of thought.

• Maybe they don’t value results at all, but value face time, politics and the people that conform to a certain mold?

Regardless of the reasons, April Fool’s Day is a reminder to not take oneself TOO seriously.

When you think of your most trusted, approachable people you’ve dealt with in business, do they take themselves SERIOUSLY, or not so much?

I would argue the people that play lose, both with themselves and others tend to have an extra bounce in their step. They become magnets for people to confide in, to trust. Other functions in an organization seek them out over time.

And dare I use a political metaphor, but people will “cross party lines” to be around those that don’t take themselves too seriously.

April Fool’s day is a reminder to take it easy.

But everyday is an opportunity to Laugh. To laugh hard, and laugh often. At the very least, life is too short not too.