A message from Sandy. JOY AT WORK. More than just a good idea. Why not make it your culture? If people really are the key, then what kind of place attracts and keeps the best people? Without a good work environment, many great ideas will never be born. Consider the invention of the Post-it note, it may have been accidental but the creation of the 3M environment that allowed it was anything but an accident. (Mistakes allowed, it could lead to something great– please apply)

Without a good work environment:

• Morale plummets
• Effectiveness falls
• Enthusiasm wanes
• The desire to go the extra mile dissipates

Pretend you are visiting two offices, both have talented doctors and brilliant staffs:

While visiting office A you notice people obviously enjoy being at work. Communication flows freely. People smile. Problems arise,they are discussed quickly and resolved in a friendly and mature manner. Everyone is challenged to do their best work. New employees are welcomed into the fold from day one. Word on the street is, it’s a great place to work.

While visiting office B you notice the cultural environment feels subtly different. Morale seems low, and people joke about  counting the days until they are fully vested. Only some people speak at staff meetings; only some people voice an opinion. There may be a lot of ideas for project, but not many willing to take on the responsibility of seeing a project through to completion. Groups are cliquish, some people are excluded, some are noticeably unhappy. Absenteeism may be high.

I think we can all agree, there is always room for improvement. These examples may be extreme, and perhaps your office falls somewhere in the middle. I would be interested to know if your closest to office A—how do you do it? Consider which office is more likely to sustain the momentum of  a successful month or quarter? Which of these offices is more likely to be forced to use valuable resources for damage control instead of something more productive? Which of these offices is more likely to take a great idea, have the whole team implement it and be successful? Which place is more likely to attract the best employees and encourage them to be the best that they can be?  Which office are you?