Category: The Site

I was contacted by the nice people who run blog action day and asked if I would like to participate – and of course I would.

The idea is simple: On one date, October 15th, all participating blogs will blog about one topic – the environment.

If you have a blog, why not be a part of this – 1400 blogs have joined so far, this is going to be massive :o)

And what, I hear you ask, does the environment have to do with happiness at work? Lots, I tell you. Many companies are finding, that when they change their business to be more environmentally sustainable, their employees experience a growing sense of pride in the company – leading to more happiness at work.

These companies also find, interestingly, that customers become proud to place their business there and become more loyal – and that consequently the company makes more money.

Two great examples are:
1: Interface (the world’s largest carpet manufacturer) who produced a line of environmentally friendly carpets that, even though they were more expensive than their regular products, became their best selling product.

Ray Anderson, the CEO of Interface, had a rude awakening about the way his company had been polluting, saying:

It dawned on me that they way I’d been running Interface is the way of the plunderer. Plundering something that is not mine, something that belongs to every creature on earth.

So I said to myself “My goodness, some day people like me will end up in jail.”

2: Patagonia who make outdoor wear and mountain climbing gear and who donate 1% of their revenue or 10% of their profits, whichever is greater, to environmental causes chosen by their employees.

Much more on October 15th.

A while back I got an email from Andrew at Sumo, asking me if I would review their bean bag chair for the blog.

I struggled with the question for a while. On the one hand I was afraid to sell out. Could I maintain my integrity in the face of free stuff? On the other hand: “Yaaay, free stuff!”

I accepted and my Sumo Omni arrived two weeks ago.

I’ve been thoroughly testing it and the verdict is in: It’s an insanely comfortable piece of furniture. My favorite position is to lean it against a wall and sit there with my a laptop, as I’m sitting right now writing this. It works even better if you can out your feet up on something.

The material is cool to the touch even when you’ve been sitting in it for a while and the bag strikes just the right balance between firm and squishy. Also: The thing is huge! Further testing found that it is fine for two people watching a DVD together. Or, say, an episode or two of Dexter.

If anything, the damn thing is too comfortable – I don’t really want to get up out of it.

When they ship the Omni overseas, they do it without filling, so I had to order 400 liters of those little plastic pellets on line. This is what such a package looks like:

And let me tell ya: They do look at your strangely at the post office when you pick up those kinds of parcels.

My dream: Make a meeting room where all the walls are whiteboards and the only furniture is bean bag chairs in various sizes. The Omni and it’s smaller cousin The Otto would be perfect for this.

2006 was a spectacular year for my blog. Huge(!) numbers of visitors and traffic. I’ve had to talk to my internet provider several times to increase my traffic quota.

As always, some posts get way more attention than others. Here’s a list of my top 10 hits of 2006:

• 10 seeeeeriously cool workplaces
• How NOT to lead geeks
• Why secret salaries are a baaaaaad idea
• How to handle chronic complainers
• How to lose your fear of being fired
• The top 10 advantages of low-rent living
• Top 5 reasons why “The Customer Is Always Right??? is wrong
• Book review: The Seven-Day Weekend
• Why “Motivation by Pizza??? Doesn’t Work
• Top 5 business maxims that need to go

I’ve been thinking a little about what’s made the blog such a success. The main factor has to be that I’ve found a way to make writing fun. If I don’t have fun writing, my writing is no good. That, and reddit.com.