Why do people consider sports fun and exciting but view work as boring and burdensome? My longtime love of sports prompted me to look more closely at what made me enjoy playing them so much. Maybe I could gain an insight or two that could help turn work into a much more positive experience. Take basketball, for example. When I ask people what the most fun thing to do is in basketball, a few say “passing the ball.” Most say “shooting the ball.” “When is it most fun to shoot the ball?” I ask. “In a game,” is the response. “When during the game?” “When there are two seconds left and my team is 1 or 2 points behind or the score is tied.” “What kind of basketball game?” “In the championship game, in the NBA finals.” Most people experience game settings as “fun,” “exciting,” and “rewarding” when they are playing for something important and have a key role in deciding the outcome of the contest. At AES, we set the audacious goal of creating the most fun workplace in human history. We defined fun to mean rewarding, exciting, creative, and successful. Fun is not about Friday afternoon beer parties. What we meant by fun was captured many years later, in slightly broken English, by an AES employee writing from Kazakhstan: “The common principles of integrity, fairness, fun represent AES culture which are mostly convincing. They are also the basic spirits. I work on the site whether day or night, whether weekend or working days, whether with pay or without. In this kind of working environment, my talent was fully exerted. I felt a lot of fun to use my talent and experiences accumulated throughout years of hard work. I feel I am standing on the shoulder of a giant fulfilling the social responsibilities.” Not only are these proposals new to most executives; the idea of carrying them out can be downright scary. So, it takes no small amount of courage for an organizational leader to embrace them intellectually and then put them into practice. Courage is required when senior executives are asked to let others take the last-second shot. When executives give power away, they often feel insecure, as if they are not doing their jobs. In fact, they are meeting the highest requirements of their jobs when they delegate decisions to subordinates. Not only are decisions being made by the people who are most familiar with the facts, but the act of making them gives more people a real stake in the organization's performance. Joy at Work is the story of how we attempted to create the most fun workplace in history. Send your questions and comments about the book to askdennis@dennisbakke.com. I'll respond to them in next month's journal.Dennis Bakke www.DennisBakke.com
"The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born-that there is a genetic factor to leadership. This myth asserts that people simply either have certain charismatic qualities or not. That's nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born." --Warren Bennis
Power Trip Film on DVD> Emmy award-winner Paul Devlin captures a comic clash of cultures that combusts when AES tries to transform the dysfunctional electricity distribution system in Tbilisi, capital of the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. Struggling against corruption, assassination, and street rioting, AES manager Piers Lewis must convince the Georgians to pay for, rather than steal electricity. This "compelling and passionate tale of a country rebuilding itself" (Hollywood Reporter) has "suspense, comedy and some colorful characters" (Variety) and develops into an "increasingly absurdist standoff between Communist-inspired cynicism and tenacious capitalist zeal." (New York Daily News). The film won 10 International & US Film Festival Awards and is now available on DVD to the Joy at Work community at a special discount of $99.95 ($299.95 retail). Use the discount code QWCYRNUT at checkout. The offer is valid until February 15, 2006. Power Trip Executive Summary>Read the synopsis of Joy at Work online for an overview of the key concepts. Executive Summary Start a Joy at Work Discussion Group> Consider leading a Joy at Work discussion group with your colleagues and watching Dennis Bakke's Video Seminar on DVD. For a limited time, you can order 20 copies of the hardcover and the Video Seminar on DVD for only $495. To order, call 206.730.2463 or fax the order form to 425.787.6900.
Note: Visit the Water Cooler Wisdom page to download all the PDF's of Bakke's Top 10. 1. When given the opportunity to use our ability to reason, make decisions, and take responsibility for our actions, we experience joy at work. 2. The purpose of business is not to maximize profits for shareholders but to steward our resources to serve the world in an economically sustainable way. 3. Attempt to create the most fun workplace in the history of the world. 4. Eliminate management, organization charts, job descriptions, and hourly wages. 5. Fairness means treating everybody differently. 6. Principles and values must guide all decisions. 7. Put other stakeholders (shareholders, customers, suppliers, etc.) equal to or above yourself. 8. Everyone must get advice before making a decision. If you don’t seek advice, “you’re fired.” 9. A “good” decision should make all the stakeholders unhappy because no individual or group got all they wanted. 10. Lead with passion, humility, and love. Dennis Bakke breaks down #3: Attempt to create the most fun workplace in the history of the world.
Most people don’t believe that fun and work can coexist. The key to joy at work is the personal freedom to take actions and make decisions using individual skills and talents. A special workplace has many ingredients. The feeling that you are part of a team, a sense of community, the knowledge that what you do has real purpose—all these things help make work fun. But by far the most important factor is whether people are able to use their individual talents and skills to do something useful, significant, and worthwhile. A fun workplace is one that allows people to work in an environment that is most consistent with human nature. Failure and mistakes are all part of what makes work fun. Even stress contributes to fun, as long as a person has a certain amount of control over the outcome. When all of these factors come into play at the same time, we feel something approaching pure joy. -- D.W.B. -------------------------------------------------
FREE DOWNLOAD - Water Cooler Wisdom - Rule #3 printable 8.5 x 11 pdf document
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Want to start a dialogue in your office about what it takes to create a fun workplace? Download the PDF and stick it up where it will be seen. 
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