Festival in the workplace - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Festival in the workplace - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog What can your workplace learn from this guy? Business is about results, processes, achievement, success, goals and profits. Festivals, such as the carnivals in Rio and the Caribbean and other celebrations worldwide, are about music, dance, arts, self-expression, roots, traditions and fun. So businesses couldnt possibly learn anything from festivals, could they? My Bahamian friend Roosevelt Finlayson is here to tell you that not only can workplaces learn from festivals and carnivals its also good for innovation, team work and the bottom line. Hes been studying carnivals for a long time and, yes, his job does involve going to places like Rio, New Orleans, Barbados, Trinidad and cologne to study and participate in their festivals. The lucky bastard :o) Hes also been applying those insights to various organizations, and now The Global Intelligencer has picked up on it and written an article about his work. From the article: Finally there is a philosophy that can be used in the workplace that brings together productivity, a positive work ethic and an environment that the associates will enjoy. Festival in the Workplace has brought together the need to blend the personal needs of employees to attain self-satisfaction as well as the critical activity to achieve excellence for the employer and the customer. Check the article out its good reading. In my opinion, there are many aspects of carnivals that we could introduce in our workplaces that would create more happiness at work. And no, Im not talking about making ugly co-workers wear masks :o) What people often forget about carnivals is, that while the actual parade or performance looks fun, a lot of very hard work goes into it. In fact, Roosevelt started his work when he noticed that while many Bahamians seem to dislike their jobs and always do as little as possible, they would work very hard to prepare for the annual Junkanoo celebration. And according to Roosevelt, this work goes so well because in a festival: Everyone is equal Everyone learns from everyone else People want to be there People work hard without being told People care about the end result Doesnt that sound like a fairly good work culture to you? Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related Festival in the workplace - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog I had the pleasure yesterday of speaking with Roosevelt Finlayson and Michael Diggiss who are working in the Bahamas on something they call the Festival In The Workplace. It arises from the question of: How is it that many persons who are going at half pace or less on the job, get involved in more creative activities outside of the workplace, such as the annual Junkanoo festival, and become transformed, passionate and highly productive individuals? In other words, how can you bring the dedication and spirit that people display when they work on eg. the Junkanoo festival or the Rio Carnival to the job? You can read their introduction to the project, it certainly brought a smile to my lips. Talking to Roosevelt and Michael was a pleasure, and it was wonderful to discover that we share many of the same ideas and dreams. I admire their vision and dedication, and I find the mere idea of the Festival In The Workplace to be intriguing and inspiring. The contact was made when Roosevelt happened to surf by this site and discovered that we are working on similar projects, which once again proves the value of this internet thing. I personally think its here to stay :o) Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related