Do you laugh everyday at your job? If not, why? I think too many people become complacent at their job and accept being bored, frustrated or just generally not happy.

Laughter is not the only benchmark though. I think you should also ask, "Did I learn something today?".

I am not advocating resignation on the first laugh-free day nor should the work environment become a comedy club or a playroom. But I want employees who take their own professional development and satisfaction seriously and demand a "yes" to both questions. It is a character marker of the employee and one of the organization.

I've worked in situations where I could answer yes in some cases and no in others. While obvious, I can't overstate the difference for my own productivity and general mental health when I could answer yes. And don't assume you have to be lucky to either structure such an organization (for the employer) or find one (for the employee). The companies are out there and if you can't change your organization to accommodate such satisfaction, then what can your organization do?

These two simple questions are a good litmus test assessing your current employment, or for the employer, the quality of your work environment. I suggest asking the question every day over the next week and then review your answers.

So, did you laugh today? What did you learn today?

Congratulations to Bring Light! They recently launched and we want to thank Drew of Bring Light, Ruby Red Labs and all the Pivots who worked hard to make it a successful launch.

Bring Light connects charities with the communities that support them. Effective philanthropy really benefits from collective action and Bring Light hopes to leverage the Internet to match the passion, commitment and interests of individuals with worthwhile causes.

Pivotal Labs has been privileged to help Bring Light make a difference.

Alex adds:

And kudos on a killer article in the SJ Mercury News! (Cute picture too!)

In an earlier post, I discussed high concept and how it can focus an entrepeneur. High concepts can be utilized in various scopes, from large scale strategy to the operational goals of individual business units. And they don't have to be clever mashups of existing ideas.

In the early 1960's, President John Kennedy called on the United States to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Aside from any political implications of this, this dream rallied the development and funding of science programs, education and technical innovation. Many think this established the United States' technical foundation and had numerous benefits for the country. It also focussed on the dream; would asking for $9 billion for space exploration have been as effective? This high concept was simple, compelling and served as a simple litmus test for aligning many efforts.

Many software engineering divisions are plagued by operational problems that result in quality and maintenance problems. Their group leader could put forth the following goal: "We should be able to push an application to production within 8 hours from source code check-in." Automated testing, continuous integration and integrating QA upstream are process mechanisms that could all contribute to this goal. Many may support these ideas, some will not and others may suggest alternatives. But the high concept can help separate the goal from implementation, purpose from politics.

High concept is not a panacea; some ideas are non-starters. (I wouldn't go see a movie based on "Signorney Weaver, Kevin Bacon and King Kong on the moon" nor do I think "YouTube on wristwatches" should be funded.) But a simple compelling vision can be a powerful tool to align the efforts of your organization, rally enthusiasm and leverage collective brainpower.