Rating: 
Summary: Awesome book
Review: As a consultant for a regional office of education in Northern Illinois, serving over 200 schools, Fun Works has been an invaluable resource. I have used this book in many different ways. It has provided the foundation for several leadership study group discussions. I have also incorporated the 10 Fun/Work fusion principles into several workshops addressing how to build relationships of trust in a learning community. I appreciate the research foundation of the book and the adaptability of the information for leadership development in education. Thanks Leslie, for an awesome resource!
Rating: 
Summary: Have fun while you work
Review: Begins with an ominous warning by ancient historian Herodotus. "If a man insisted always on being serious, and never allowed himself a bit of fun and relaxation, he would go mad or become unstable without knowing it." The rest of the book is an attempt to prevent these dire things from happening especially in the workplace. The book is bubbly. Bubbly excitement prevails. But near the end, the author cautions us that, "excess is too much even when it comes to fun" And I'm sure a man as smart as Herodotus would also say that if you have fun all the time with no seriousness at all, that could be dangerous too.
Rating:
Summary: A book that provides "real" employee thought in fun work!
Review: I'm Donald Freeman, former General Manager of Operations for Sprint call center in Phoenix, AZ. (Read more about Don in Fish Tales by Charthouse). This books is a must for anyone currently involved in bringing Fun into the workplace and a good book to place beside the book "Fish" by Charthouse. I got real examples from companies and employees in this book that provided me with great ideas to use in my own business. This book provides many detailed examples from companies who have found "being productive is fun". It provides real examples on how companies become a place where people care and where people count. The book demonstrates the importance of celebrations that are honest and really are celebrations of being happy! She provides a lot of insight and their are shared ideas that can be used that have little cost but really make a difference in terms of caring and making work fun! It gives feedback from individuals who found the value and success in bringing "fun to work". If anyone has been challenged with using the Fish philosophy as a tool for fun at work, this book may be the ticket for making it all come together!
Rating: 
Summary: FISH is better
Review: If you're looking for a book that will give you a concise and easy to remember strategy for integrating work and fun--FISH! is the one I'd recommend. In FUN Works, the author presents ELEVEN principles that are supposed to help us "understand the importance of the Fun/Work Fusion." With eleven principles, this book is all over the place, and somehow misses the mark. I fervently believe that work should be FUN, but I didn't find this book particularly helpful in understanding how to make it that way.
Rating:
Summary: Do we have to hate work?
Review: Read it after listening to the interview
on First Voice. Not a subject you hear
much about. The interview is online at
http://www.7to7.net/yks.html There's a transcript for those using dial up. --J. R.
Rating:
Summary: Do we have to hate work?
Review: Read it after listening to the interview
on First Voice. Not a subject you hear
much about. The interview is online at
http://www.7to7.net/yks.html There's a transcript for those using dial up. --J. R.
Rating:
Summary: It's a hard subject to get right
Review: Seems like an easy enough subject. But so many books like this are just fluffy ideas for employers to rah rah, and lie, to the employees. Said to say it's true.
I've known a lot of people who have really strugged with the career thing. I knew a girl who went seven years without taking a vacation to impress her boss. She got laid off the eighth year.
I read the transcript of an interview with this author (www.firstvoicebooks.com/yerks.html) and she just seemed to have something to say. She even mentioned that people need to be paid for their work, a tonic for all the b.s. of people who say working for free will get you good attention. If you work for free, your work is worth nothing.
Rating:
Summary: a resource with built-in return on investment
Review: Seldom do business success narratives warrant a permanent place on a manager's *and* an employee's shelf of resources. This exceptional book repays over and over again the initial investment. Yes, the narratives are inspiring. And, they are packed with all sorts of practical and powerful ideas about how success is supported by the human touch of enjoyment, innovative problem-solving, and the sustenance of people's rich natural capabilities. What's really wonderful about the stories and advice found in Ms. Yerkes' delightful book is how it all just makes sense. It's not either top-down or bottom-up. Instead, this is a book about people working together. It becomes quite clear to the reader that one reason these companies are successful in conventional bottom-line terms is that they are also successful in top-line, human terms. That's a radical idea! But there's no hyping of the latest management fashion here. FUN WORKS is a book of research that doesn't read like an academic exercise; a book of stories that doesn't read like self-promotion; and a book of recommendations that doesn't read like the latest commandments dictated on the consultant's way to the bank. It's the kind of book a manager or employee can dip into long after the first read-through and find something valuable to test that very day. If you're interested in success as a real human motive and fulfillment, you'll keep this book close at hand. It's radical because it's so darn sensible. As I did, you'll read it quickly because Ms. Yerkes is a terrific writer and she walks her talk, but you won't be filing it away!
Rating:
Summary: Fun Works: Creating Places Where People Love to Work
Review: This is an easy read but it by no means is the fluff that you find in so many of these types of books. Many books on this subject are simply a collection of stories that illustrate random examples where others have brought fun into the workplace. This book goes deeper. It provides the "Why" as well as the "How" and not just the "What". The book is divided into principles that you can apply to your business that actually work. You decide the outcome you want based on the principle you want to implement and do it. You tailor it to your specific business environment. In other words, this book can actually help your business!!!
Rating:
Summary: Fun Works Does
Review: This new book from Leslie Yerkes uses a case study format to emphasizes key principles of why having fun at work makes business sense. I like how the book is divided into two main sections, one holds rich and thoughtful case studies and the other, tools and actions to help foster the principles of Fun in your workplace. You can read it like a reference book by using the Table of Contents to find what may be of interest to you. This is good user-friendly design. In each case, a business is highlighted that provides living proof of both the existence and value of a Fun Works principle. I found these examples to be real and full of ideas to build upon. Companies large and small, from coast to coast provide the framework that shouts, Fun enhances the capability of your organization. People feel more compelled to bring their strengths into the workplace when they are allowed and encouraged to express themselves. Going beyond corporate success stories, Yerkes has captured and shared simple experiments to try, and suggestions to implement that may help you take fun to a new level in your organization. Being able to find and create fun on-the-job seems to make the day feel less like work and more like an adventure. I recommend the book as a source of inspiration and a resource for benchmarking practices and principles that can unleash creativity and impact employee retention. Joseph P. Murphy, Senior Consultant SHL Chairperson, NorthCoast Employment Management Association (EMA)
| 
