A speaker friend just sent me these Easter groaners. Since this is Easter week, I thought I would share them with you to add a smile to your day:

How does the Easter Bunny stay fit? EGG-xercise and HARE-robics!
What’s the difference between a counterfeit dollar bill and a crazy rabbit? One is bad money, the other is a mad bunny!
Why did the Easter egg hide? He was a little chicken!
Why shouldn’t you tell an Easter egg a joke? It might crack up!
What’s yellow, has long ears, and grows on trees? The Easter Bunana!
How can you tell where the Easter Bunny has been? Eggs (X) marks the spot!
How do you catch the Easter Bunny? Hide in a bush and make a noise like a carrot!
What do you call a rabbit that tells good jokes? A funny bunny!
What’s the best way to send a letter to the Easter Bunny? Hare mail!
How does the Easter Bunny travel? By hare plane!
What did the rabbit say to the carrot? It’s been nice gnawing you!
How do you know carrots are good for your eyes? Have you ever seen a rabbit wearing glasses?
Why did the bunny go to the dance? To do the bunny hop!
What kinds of books do bunnies like? Ones with hoppy endings!
Why is a bunny the luckiest animal in the world? Because it has four rabbit’s feet!
What happened when the Easter Bunny met the rabbit of his dreams? They lived hoppily ever after!
Why did the Easter Bunny cross the road? Because the chicken had his Easter eggs!
Why did the Easter Bunny cross the road? To prove he wasn’t chicken!
What do you call a dumb bunny? A hare brain!

Oh, my, did you groan???? Have a blessed Easter.
Barbara

To learn more about Barbara’s serious work, go to www.barbaraglanz.com

I recently received a copy of a global study that reveals “appreciating great work accelerates engagement significantly across cultures, across industries, across the world.”

Engagement is a measure of human potential. QUESTION: How much of a person’s effort, energy, and imagination are you getting for your money?

Opportunity and well-being are critical to a person plugging into their job. A 2008 Global Recognition Study conducted for O.C. Tanner by professional services firm Towers Perrin interviewed 10,333 people from thousands of companies in 13 different countries. The study confirmed that when opportunity and well-being rank high, engagement ranks high as well (even with low appreciation) at an impressive 77%. But as impressive as that is, the study shows that appreciating great work can take an already good engagement score and make it great:

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
Low opportunity companies 35%
Low opportunity companies with appreciation 56%
High opportunity companies 77%
High opportunity companies with appreciation 92%

Trust is another major factor in engagement–so much so that the study showed a 35% to 65% difference in engagement between low trust and high trust companies without appreciation. The real surprise is that adding appreciation boosts engagement in low trust companies up to 63% — nearly the same as companies where trust is high, indicating that before a company spends money developing other management skills, it might just pay to turn on appreciation!

TEAM ENGAGEMENT
Low trust companies 35%
Low trust companies with appreciation 63%
High trust companies 65%
High trust companies with appreciation 91%

Communication is a known path to engaging people’s hearts and minds. But as important as communication is, the study revealed that people are just as engaged at low communication companies that appreciate as at high communication companies that don’t. If your company is good at communication, it can still capture 24% more of people’s drive, energy, and potential by adding appreciation.

TALENT ENGAGEMENT
Low communication companies 39%
Low communication companies with appreciation 69%
High communication companies 68%
High communication companies with appreciation 92%

This study sheds new light on employee engagement. From country to country, scores were always consistently higher with appreciation than without, proving the power of this skill. AND it does not have to cost any money!

To learn more about Barbara’s powerful presentation on “The Simple Truths of Appreciation and Recognition,” go to www.barbaraglanz.com/programs. To order Barbara’s book, “The Simple Truths of Appreciation — How Each of Us Can Choose to Make a Difference,” go to www.barbaraglanz.com/books.php3.

Dear Barbara,

Warmest regards,
Glenn K. Garnes

With Glenn’s permission I am sharing this note with you to encourage you to think of ways you can share your expertise, experience, and knowledge to help make it a little easier for others who are struggling today. I have decided to volunteer to speak in Chicago in June at a fundraiser for MS. I was trying to decide if I could handle that in my busy schedule, and Glenn’s note encouraged me to make the final decision. I hope it will encourage you, too. Thanks, Glenn, for making my day, and for being willing to “be a Johnny!”

To view the full “Johnny the Bagger®” movie, go to www.barbaraglanz.com/johnny.

Monday, March 16. Barbara takes a train to historical Machu Picchu. She explores ithe Incan ruins that remained largely undiscovered until a 1911 archaeological find by Hiram Bingham. The Inkaterra Mach Picchu Hotel hosts Barbara’s group for the night.

Tuesday, March 17. Barbara spends the morning continuing her exploration of Machu Picchu. After lunch, the train travels through the Peruvian Andes to Cuzco’s Hotel Libertador for the night.

Wednesday, March 18. Barbara tourcs Cuzco and the Incan ruins of Sacsayhuaman Archaeological Park.

Thursday, March 19. Barbara flies to Lima to check in to the Casa Andina Private Collection Hotel. She spends the afternoon touring Lima’s Plaza Mayor, the Archbishop’s Palace, San Francisco Monastery, and Casa Luna.

Friday, March 20. Barbara’s long adventure concludes with a flight from Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima back home to Sarasota, Florida!

Thursday, March 12. Barbara explores Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos. Sites to behold include vermillion flycatchers, woodpecker finches, and the famous Galapagos giant tortoise. After lunch, Barbara tours the Charles Darwin Research Station.

Friday, March 13. Barbara’s last day on the M.V. Santa Cruz. The ship disembarks in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristobal. She visits the San Cristobal Interpretation Center and tours the Puerto Baquerizo Moreno for shopping and lunch. Barbara checks into the Hilton Colon Hotel in Guayaquil and spends the remainder of the day visiting Bolivar Park and the famous statue of Simon Bolivar.

Saturday, March 14. Barbara flies to Lima, Peru for the second half of the excursion and spends the night at the Casa Andina Private Collection Hotel.

Sunday, March 15. Barbara travels to Cuzco and the Urubamba Valley. She shops at the Pisac market and visits the village of Ollantaytambo, and spends the night at the Sonesta Posada del Inca Hotel.

Monday will include a tour of the famous ruins of Machu Picchu!

Saturday, March 7. Barbara tours Quito, the capital city of Ecuador. Sites to behold include the Museum of Banco Central del Ecuador and the UNESCO World Heritage site. She visits the Church of La Compania de Jesus, the Church of San Francisco, and the carving of the winged Virgin of Quito.

Sunday, March 8. Barbara heads into the Ecuadorian Andes to Calderon. Crossing the equator, Barbara visits Otavalo’s textile markets and villages in Peguche, where Incan crafts are made and sold. Lunch is served at La Mirage.

Monday, March 9. Barbara boards the M.V. Santa Cruz, lunching on the ship and cruising the northern shores of Santa Cruz. A walking tour of Dragon Hill lasts through a beautiful afteroon.

Tuesday, March 10. Barbara explores the volcanic island of Bartolome. Pinnacle Rock is located on the island. Sites to behold include Galapagos penguins, large schools of fish, Galapagos hawks and herons, and sally lightfoot crabs. Sea lions, seals, marine iguanas and turtles are visible throughout the island.

Wednesday, March 11. Barbara visits Rabida Island and North Seymour Island. Sea lions, marine iguanas, flamingos, Darwin’s famous finches, and blue-footed boobies are all inhabitants of the island.

Thursday will include an excursion to Santa Cruz Island!

On Friday, March 6, Barbara left for South America on a 15-day tour.

Friday night and Saturday, Barbara stayed at the Hilton Colon Hotel in Quito, Ecuador. Saturday, she toured the city of Quito and headed on Sunday to Calderon, in the Ecuadorian Andes, for shopping and site-seeing!

WE NEED YOUR STORIES!

Ever since I posted the blog, “Lost and Found,” just a few days ago about Sister Elizabeth Deceased and how she is committed to helping you find things that are lost, I have had a number of delightful emails of people sharing their stories about what she has helped them find. As I was telling a friend some of the stories tonight, he suggested that I write a book about them to memorialize Sister Elizabeth and at the same time give people a humorous but practical view of Heaven and the work we have to do IF we are lucky enough to “get in!”
😉

Therefore, I am asking you to send your stories by email to bglanz@barbaraglanz.com . Sister Elizabeth has found everything from checkbooks and keys, money and documents, to houses and jobs, so do not give up hope if you are someone who has lost something important. Just say a prayer to Sister Elizabeth and then let us know what happens.

Here is a picture of her gravestone sent to me yesterday by my sister-in-law who was in the convent with her. Miracles have happened all because of a forgetful nun in Indiana!

Happy Finding!
Blessings,

Barbara

SPREAD CONTAGIOUS ENTHUSIASM–Tips to Rebuild Employee Morale
by Barbara A. Glanz

Note: Although this article was published a decade ago and we find ourselves in an even more turbulent economy now, the ideas featured here apply as much now as ever.

Today’s workplace is enveloped by the fear of downsizing, loss of job security, overwhelming changes in technology, and the stress of having to do more with less. According to a recent Roper poll, employee morale and job satisfaction are at the lowest point they have been since Roper first began doing the poll decades ago. Managers must recognize this phenomenon and do their best to counteract it if their organizations are going to survive.

Read More…

LOST AND FOUND

Last week, getting ready for my kids to come for ten days with a 1½ and a 3 ½ year old, I was multi-tasking VERY late at night. In the process, I remember picking up my checkbook, which was lying on the kitchen counter, and planning to put it back in the drawer in my bedroom where I keep it. Two days later, when I went to write a very important check, lo and behold, my checkbook was nowhere to be found! I searched and searched, but in vain.

Days later, I remembered one of our old family legends-Sister Elizabeth Deceased! My husband’s sister, Margie, spent 23 years in a convent as a young woman, and during that time, she would often tell us about Sister Elizabeth, a rather ditzy num who was always losing things. She made a vow to all the other nuns (who were always helping her find what she had lost) that after she died and went to Heaven, they could pray to her, and she would help them find what they had lost. However, since there were two “Sister Elizabeths” in the convent, she was very clear that you must always pray to Sister Elizabeth DECEASED. Over the years, we heard miracles about all the things Sister Elizabeth Deceased found for people!

After continuing to search everywhere and worrying about the checkbook for several days, I remembered one night to ask Sister Elizabeth for help. That very night I had a visions and I knew EXACTLY where my checkbook was!

When I was working in the guestroom preparing for the kid’s visit, I must have laid it on the twin bed for a moment. It had fallen down in the tiny space between the frame of the bed and the mattress. Since there are drawers under these beds, I would NEVER have found that checkbook because there is no reason to look under the beds. So, another miracle occurred at 6140 Midnight Pass Road, thanks to Sister Elizabeth Deceased!

Just remember – whenever you lose something, Sister Elizabeth Deceased is there, just waiting to help! 😉 Who says we don’t have work to do in Heaven? (I am just remembering that I lost a new swimsuit on one of my trips this winter – maybe she can help find that, too!)

To learn more about Barbara’s more serious work, go to www.barbaraglanz.com.