Fighting the Dog Days of Summer
Many of you have been working hard to boost morale and productivity – trying to make the most of this tough year. And now – they’re here. At least for some of us. Those hot, sticky, summer days that Webster describes as “a period of stagnation or inactivity”.
The ancients believed that these hot, sultry days were caused by Sirius (Latin for the “Dog Star”), which rose just before or right at sunrise during this time of year. In an effort to appease the rage of Sirius, they sacrificed a brown dog at the beginning of Dog Days.
In 1813, John Brady wrote that the heat was so excessive that “the seas boiled, wine turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies”. From Clavis Calendarium, by John Brady, 1813 (see title page and full excerpt below).
I see signs of both the ancient and modern definition of “dog days”. Stagnation, inactivity, sour attitudes, madness, hysteria, frenzy. And I know that we can’t afford to succumb to this during a normal year – much less a year like this one.
So we MUST find ways to overcome the dog days of summer. That will be our focus for the next few months – beating the heat – literally and figuratively.
So stay tuned for lots of cool ideas and articles in July*. If you have ideas you’d like to contribute, the answer is “YES”. Just write them in comments section below!
copyright 2009 – Jan Bolick, Business Class Inc
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excerpt from page 84
Find the book at Google Books
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[...] you are fighting the dog days of summer, hoping to block their affect on morale and productivity so you can make the most of this tough [...]
[...] Just DON’T let that Super Size story keep you on the sidelines. Jump in and make full use of the excuse to celebrate. To have fun, show appreciation and break the tension. fighting off the dog days of summer [...]
One way to cool things off for yourself and co-workers is to Stop Sending E-Mails! Read more about this at: http://www.businessclassinc.com/2009/07/07/stop-sending-e-mails/
Sometimes things get heated because of frustration. Frustration with our crazy co-workers. They drive us nuts. And the more we think about it…the more we talk about it…the hotter we get about working with a bunch of crack pots. This might cool you off a bit:
http://www.businessclassinc.com/2009/07/08/working-with-a-bunch-of-crack-pots/
Check out Mick Mixon’s cool approach to customer service in “Service Lessons from 15 Year Old, Mick Mixon” – http://www.businessclassinc.com/2009/07/09/service-lessons-from-mick-mixon/
Stop That Truck!! http://www.businessclassinc.com/2009/07/15/dont/miss/it/
The wrong e-mail to the wrong person about the wrong situation can really heat thing up. Here is a great little test that can help you avoid doing that. http://www.businessclassinc.com/2009/07/14/e-mail-sniff-test/. It’s from Randy Dean, author of Taming the E-Mail Beast.
[...] Just DON’T let that Super Size story keep you on the sidelines. Jump in and make full use of the excuse to celebrate. To have fun, show appreciation and break the tension – fighting off the dog days of summer. [...]
[...] Make full use of this excuse to celebrate. To have fun, show appreciation and break the tension – fighting off the dog days of summer. [...]
Only 3 days left! http://www.businessclassinc.com/2009/07/29/only-3-days-left/
The last day: http://www.businessclassinc.com/2009/07/31/the-last-day/
[...] extra hard to do during the dog days of summer and so at Business Class, we are continuing our focus on beating the heat – literally and [...]
[...] A couple of weeks ago, I raised the question about giving rewards for making mistakes. Some people thought I had gone mad. Too much exposure perhaps, to the dog days of summer. [...]
[...] Time, Be a Better Manager, Get 2 Goal, Quote of the Week With many of us now fighting the dog days of summer, hoping to block their affect on morale and productivity so we can make the most of this tough [...]