Tyler, my almost three-year-old, took a shining to Barney. Since Tyler has been obsessed with the color purple for over a year now, it's amazing he lasted this long. And so, life now consists of some cheesy children singing songs as well as big, colorful dinosaurs imparting life lessons. And you know what came to mind for me? Principle 30, of course!
The Barney video we have features songs about going to the doctor, exercising in the park, eating fruits & veggies, and cleaning up the house. And Barney and his friends make all these mundane activities seem so vibrant and fun! Tyler even voluntarily started picking up our living room as he watched the clean-up song the other day! What?! That's when I realized that Barney has Principle 30 mastered... he makes Tyler happy to do the things he suggests!
As I thought more about this principle, I realized that it doesn't just apply to Barney and my toddler (thank goodness). Principle 30 is also at the heart of my profession, human resources. Recruiting and retention are all about trying to keep people happy at your organization so they will be productive, passionate team members. For example, we are in the process of creating our annual recruiting presentation to take on campuses this fall. Steph, my boss, and I have always prided ourselves on keeping our presentations as interactive and fun as possible but this year we are taking it even one step further. Rather than using the Power Point that business students are accustomed to, we plan to host a "Family Feud" style presentation. The goal? Keep them engaged and get them excited to give Lutz & Company another look!
I'll admit that I will be ok if Tyler's Barney phase is short-lived. I hope the enthusiasm for cleaning up sticks around though... and I hope I can truly learn something from that big purple dinosaur. After all, he's apparently taking lessons from Dale Carnegie, too.
Great post, Marisa. What would you do if you didn't have your "Tyler Lab"? :-)
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