Although I am a firm believer in leaving work at work, I always keep the office door of my brain open in case some bright idea needs to get in or out. And, that very often happens—even more often at inopportune times. I might be streaming the latest (or last!) episode of Mad Men and have to shout: “Pause, please!” so I can write myself a note. Or, I might wake in the night and send an email to my work address containing a barely comprehensible message that I need to decode the next day. Here’s one that was in my inbox this morning:

All you have to do is Google “Team Building” and you will not have a shortage of definitions and ideas. I know as a Manager of a large sales team I have often had to research new ideas, not only to help build the best team, but to keep the best team. I have read a lot about how to use team building activities to keep my sales reps engaged and excited to do their jobs every day. I have to admit that it is not as hard to do that here at Baudville, since it is an awesome place to work, but just like you I still have to work at keeping the employees happy! I have found that I can make my job easier if I follow these 6 steps:

We just started our fifth-annual spring fitness challenge and, I have to admit, keeping it exciting has been a challenge itself! We knew our seasoned employees would be looking for a new twist and The Bod Squad—our team that coordinates all things wellness—was feeling a little ho-hum about the existing program, too. We put our heads together, and, along with some healthy encouragement from Brad, our CEO, we proposed some changes that we hoped would get everyone energized like we were in 2010.

If you’ve been in the workforce for a while, you’ve probably had at least a few different jobs and you’ve likely had a diversity of experiences—with co-workers, bosses, cultures, environments. Of these, what stood out to you? Or stands out to you now? For me, it has been the times when I’ve had a confidant. Not a friend necessarily, but someone I admired and trusted. Someone who didn’t just challenge me to be better, but also helped me get there. Someone whose example I could emulate, even it was as simple as how to dress or carry myself in a meeting. And, most importantly, someone who was benefitting from me, too—and I knew it and it helped build my confidence even more.

High five (n): a gesture of celebration or greeting in which two people slap each other's open palm with their arms raised.

If you follow Baudville on social media, you know by now that when there’s any reason to observe uncommon holidays, we're the ones to do it! Yesterday, we rolled up our sleeves, concentrated on the elbow, and gave out high fives all day long in celebration of National High Five Day!