You know how much I like to have fun.

If you’ve seen me speaking at an event, you already know how much fun it is. I’ve even had people leave the sessions they were in to come over to mine to find out why there was so much laughing and cheering.

And we’re always trying to make work fun too at the office. Don’t get me wrong. We work hard. We have some knock-down, drag-out battles sometimes too. But we’ve also made it a priority to enjoy ourselves at the same time.

That’s why I was so impressed when I heard about one company is doing to make it such a great place to work. You won't believe it …

Let me just give you a taste: 90% coverage of health insurance premiums, a medical
center staffed by 4 physicians, a lending library, a summer camp for children, a massage parlor, gym, weight room, a billiards hall, sauna, hair salon, the list goes on.

All describe the many benefits available to workers at SAS, the largest privately owned software company in the world and this year's winner of Fortune's Top 100 Places to Work.

What I described is all part of CEO Jim Goodnight’s sprawling 300-acre campus, in Raleigh, NC where workers not only work hard, but also take time to relax and enjoy themselves.

But what really stuck with me is why he does it. “My chief assets drive out the gate every day. My job is to make sure they come back.”

Isn’t that interesting?

I think a lot of us talk about how we feel our most important assets are our employees but what are we really doing to make sure those assets come back every day?

In a time when most business owners are cutting back staff, reducing benefits and are feeling that their staff should be thanking them at the end of every day for just keeping them employed, treating employees as an asset is like something from a bygone era.

And I realize you’re not running a multi-billion dollar company on a sprawling campus where you can park your helicopter so let me give you a few ideas to keep your assets coming back that don’t require a major investment.

1. Ask your employees for advice. You won’t believe the effect this one question has one employees, “What do you think we should do?” It works because it gives them a sense that you value them and their ideas. The #1 reason people say they leave a job is because they say they don’t feel valued. Simply asking that one question will go a long way.

2. Poke fun at yourself. Humble yourself. Comedians make a living doing this all the time. But most business owners are afraid to let their guard down. There’s no better way to ease the tension and stress at work than to let everyone else know that you’re not perfect and you sometimes make mistakes.

3. Look for ways to make new initiatives fun. Whenever you’re rolling out a new project there’s going to be angst. It’s more work. It’s different. And there’s a sense of uncertainty. Those are the last things you need to get in the way, so create contests, prizes and games to build the excitement you need to make it a success.

Whether I’m in the office, working with clients or speaking at an event I try my best to make the experience fun. In fact, just last Friday I hosted a beautiful lunch in our conference room for several guests for a meeting we had scheduled.

At every launch we hold with clients, we have a gourmet chef on staff who prepares the most delicious meals. These are meals I would put up against some of the top restaurants in any city. I'm getting hungry just thinking about them ...

Do we work hard? You bet. But we also enjoy ourselves and that my friend helps deliver some amazing results.

Always taking you from where you are to where you want to go,

Jon

Jon Goldman
YourBusinessGPS.com
BrandLauncher.com