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I believe every business large and small should have a goal-getters club – a structured meeting of the minds to help its employees go after their dreams. I like to call it the Back of the Napkin Club – a time for creative genius to flow, ideas to percolate and excitement to build.
Why is this important? Because no matter how committed an employee is, the simple fact is that he or she will ALWAYS, ALWAYS have other dreams that don’t fall under the jurisdiction of the day job. When dreams feel realistic, life feels more inspiring which leads to more creative, engaged, productive and loyal employees.
Why Start a Back of the Napkin Club?
Have you ever felt the pull of a dream? You know – that little voice in the back of your mind that keeps you up at night bugging you to take action on something? It might have been something big like starting a business or changing careers. It might have been something smaller like where to go on a vacation or whether or not to cut your hair.
These big and small dreams have a way of lodging themselves into our psyche. When we don’t make progress or take action on these dreams, a subconscious feeling of failure and uninspired suckiness creeps in whether we want it to or not.
But when we make progress on our dreams, even teeny tiny little steps, we feel motivated, inspired and engaged in our lives because we’re working for something that feels exciting. We have control in an often uncontrollable world. When we have a place to actively go after our dreams, not only do we make progress, but we also are fired up and propelled by being around others who are achieving their goals too. 
That’s where the Back of the Napkin Club comes into play!
It’s simple really. Just create a supportive, creative and consistent set of guidelines and a conducive environment to help your team reach their goals!
I get pushback on this all the time.
“My employees will take their great ideas and leave.”
“They won’t be focused on growing MY business.”
“They’ll be distracted and less productive because they’re thinking about their own stuff.”
Here’s the deal. They’re thinking about their dreams anyway – whether you want them to or not. Sometimes those dreams are of getting far, far away from their day job, but not always. In fact, many of their brilliant ideas can and will actually benefit their current companies leading to new innovation, new products and a more engaged workforce.
Think about some of the most innovative companies in the world – Apple, Toms, almost every tech start-up out there. They all provide work environments that allow for dream building, goal-setting, out-of-the-box thinking and creativity. Be it special rooms decked out with games and gear, beer on tap or flexible schedules and work locales, the most successful companies are finding ways to help their employees dig deeper into their creativity and productivity – which means helping them reach their goals and live their dreams.
So what can you do to create a Back of the Napkin Club at your company? Click here for specifics on how Happy Hour Effect can help you make it happen.
What needs to happen at your company to make it real? Share in the comments below.
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