There was a lot of excitement around here today in honor of Pajama Day in kindergarten. Their class earned this special day for having such good behavior.
My daughter jumped off the bus the day she announced:
“Mommy, I get to bring Whittle to school and wear my pajamas tomorrow!” Whittle is the beloved teddy bear that has been most everywhere Vanessa has been. He is also super soft and squishy, perfect to love.
The level of her excitement was the adult equivalent of me announcing I had just won $1000!
Don’t we all love incentives for good behavior or a job well done?
Now, I don’t think a pajama day incentive would adapt to the office setting, but there are basic things that do and can work very well.
When I was a sales manager, I initiated numerous sales incentives on top of the traditional bonus structure. Special gift cards were up for grabs for the most creative presentation, most high-tech, best use of the home office marketing dept, etc.
It was FUN, and we all performed better striving for these incentives. It wasn’t always about closing the sale, but doing your best and having fun in the process. Our sales team was the first Midwest region to be #1 in the country in 15 years! Little things DO mean a lot!
So if your workplace doesn’t have fun incentives, create some of your own.
- If I get XYZ done by Noon, I will treat myself to Café Moxo for lunch!
- If I get all of my house chores done by 9:00 p.m., I am going to watch TV for 2 hours uninterrupted!
The best incentive for me?
- After completing a mass of work or cleaning chores around the house, I log on to ITunes and download a few new songs; simple and effective.
Now attack that to-do list and reward yourself!
Thanks for the reminder that “Little things DO mean a lot!” It is easy to lose sight of that. Thanks!