Circus…

I was thinking about childhood enrichment and employee engagement.  Yep… daydreaming on the job again! 

I think childhood should be a collection of in-person experiences that enrich a child’s life while igniting one’s imagination.  I’m worried that kids today live online and endure serious, adult-level expectations our society thrusts on them.  When a child clowns around at school, is that good or bad? 

Kids used to play in the neighborhood where adventure, exploration and fun were as simple as catching fireflies at dusk; limited only by the requirement of being home when the streetlights came on.  Today - we have killed off the fireflies.  I rarely see gatherings of children playing outside; capitulation symbolized by the American Heart Association’s “Play 60” appeal. 

Children used to learn about the magic of entertainment and the wonder of wild animals at a circus: 

When the circus comes to town, go see it.  It’s the circus – does everything need explaining?                           

Robert Fulghum 

We have killed off the circus.  I know, animal rights… animal cruelty… I understand.  But was there no room for compromise?  With all our advancement and all our resources couldn’t we find a way to protect the animals while still preserving the awe and excitement of the circus for our children? 

I’m not sure… maybe the circus lives on in my mind; others have deemed me a clown.  Maybe I’m the cause of a little dissent, occasional disruption, and hopefully a little clowning around at work.  I’d like to believe it’s not my fault: 

     If you hire clowns; expect a circus. 

                         Unknown Sage 

Do passionate employees appreciate proclamations about employee engagement and career advancement on company Zoom meetings?  Or do we feel we’ve become circus animals in the eyes of the ultra-rich CEOs? 

As one IT Professional put it; “We've been reorganized, restructured, re-engineered, right-sized, down-sized, up-sized, TQM'ed, and MBO'ed, and if I hear the word empowered once more, I swear I'm gonna scream!" 

Geoffrey James 

Well, if we have a job in 2021 we are blessed.  It’s just that in 1979 I remember my company gave every single employee a turkey for Thanksgiving; 

every     

single     

employee  

That gesture cost less than $15 per employee.  Yet, the timing of the treat came during the peak of our production; toughest sales quotas; greatest strain on customer service; increased stress on our families.  Our executives thought a little token would be appreciated.  It was. 

I remember Ray Marlinga (General Manager of the company where I started my sales career) added a hand-written note to every sales rep’s monthly commission statement.  Jim Yesko (VP of Sales and a huge influence on my career) would occasionally say, “Let’s grab a beer” when he saw I was struggling. 

Have we allowed Covid to kill off the personal touch?  Will the circus ever come back to town? 

I know it’s hard to lead passionate employees today.  Tokens of appreciation are hard to expense.  I suppose the clown comparison is a stretch.  And I really do appreciate the periodic “Wellness Days” my company has instituted. 

If you’re a CEO, a manager, a colleague, a parent, or even a neighbor, let’s all try to add a little fun back into our daily routine.  Let’s do it for the children; let’s do it for the kid and the clown that (hopefully) still resides somewhere in all of us. 

And the next time you go to shake my hand beware – I may be wearing a buzzer LOL! 

GAP 

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.