A couple weeks ago – in honor of my birthday – I asked you to send me your most creative suggestion on how to make it my best birthday ever.
Thanks to all who sent birthday greetings and suggestions on how to make my day fabulous! Here’s just a portion of what I received:
From Sandra: I think that as we get older, we should be entitled to longer birthday celebrations. How about a whole week – ala the Twelve Days of Christmas? So, collect all your “gifts” accordingly. And no, I don’t work for Warner Bros.
- On the first day of my birthday, my true love gave to me – a Tweety Bird toy from the W.B.
- On the second day of my birthday, my true love gave to me – two Road Runner slippers, and a (see above).
- On the third day of my birthday, my true love gave to me – three Acme back scratchers, two…
- On the fourth day of my birthday, my true love gave to me – four Macy’s gift cards, three…
- On the fifth day of my birthday, my true love gave to me – five pair of earrings, four… (diamonds, pearls, mix ‘em up)
- On the sixth day of my birthday, my true love gave to me – six Bugs Bunny DVDs, five…
- On the seventh day of my birthday, my true love gave to me – seven dates out for dinner, six…
From Wendy: Throw yourself a party with a few very close friends…do something fun like a wine tasting party, a self-defense class or a “Yes, NO or GO” party (that’s where your friends all bring 3-5 outfits that they aren’t sure they should be wearing anymore and the rest of the friends let them know that “yes” they can still wear that, “no” it doesn’t work on you but let someone else at the party try it on or “GO”..put it on the Goodwill pile it is out of here!)
And this hilarious note from @dreaminaction (follow her on Twitter if you’re not already – and me too for that matter @jennypratt): @KevinEikenberry says it’s your birthday! That must be why we don’t get mail today!! (That made me laugh out loud.)
There were many others – some in the original post comments and many sent via email and twitter. It’s a tough decision to pick a winner, but since we said there would be a winner, I guess I’ll pick.
The winners are Richard (from an email) and Laurie O. (in the comments section) with their suggestions to celebrate by doing some sort of community service. I love the idea of gathering my friends and finding a way to give back, especially since my birthday often is shared with Dr. King’s day of service. As much as I love gifts, I really don’t need more stuff. And, as Laurie mentioned, going out for a cocktail after helping others would be a great way to end the experience!
For their great ideas, Richard and Laurie are receiving the complete Start Today! Make Your Next 12 Months Your Best 12 Months bundle (a $129 value).
Why did we do this?
Since this is a place generally to talk about leadership (instead of my birthday), there are a couple things to consider from a corporate leadership and supervisor development perspective.
Creating Community – Interacting with our readers and soliciting feedback – on both work and “fun” topics – is just one way we try to create a community, albeit virtually. What are the things you can do within your team or organization to create community? Do you say ‘happy birthday’? Can you have $5 Fridays where employees contribute five dollars to wear jeans to work and use the contributions for a community service project? Could you bring in donuts for the breakroom one morning – just because? Many of us spend more time with our colleagues than we do our families – finding ways to encourage community will increase productivity, decrease sick days and increase retention.
Encouraging Creativity – We didn’t just ask you to write and say Happy Birthday (which many did, for which I was very grateful). We asked people to send a suggestion on what I could do to make it a great birthday. I’ve never heard of a “yes, no or go” party – but I can guarantee you I’ll be hosting one sometime soon. And I likely would have never heard of it, if I hadn’t asked. How can you tap into your team’s creative spirit? When’s the last time you really brainstormed all the possible solutions instead of just doing what you’ve always done? Have you really listened when someone said “I’ve got this idea…”?
I’m sure there are other reasons I’m missing or haven’t thought of, if you have any other ideas I hope you’ll share them!
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