1.  Have a competition.

2.  Place bets on silly things and publicize it.

3.  Post kudos to your staff on social network sites.

Facebook

Twitter

4.  Post amusing tidbits about your staff and photos on your social network sites.

5.  Take a company photo.

6.  Have animals in the workplace.

7.  Take walks together for exercise or throw a Frisbee every now and then.

In the past year, my eating habits have gone downhill and I have gained weight.  I decided it was time to do something about it.  I mentioned dieting as I was passing by Jess’ desk.  We said we ought to throw a weight loss competition.  Holy cow, this took off much faster than I expected.  In our first week of weighing in, we cumulatively lost over 35 pounds!  There are side bets and a bit of taunting going on but we are also talking about being healthier.  Since Grant won the weigh in this week I gave him some donuts and ice cream today.  He didn’t fall for it.

We have a client that often goes silent for weeks.  They don’t respond to emails, voicemails or any other form of communication.  Then all of a sudden we get a barrage of communication.  This client has an awesome story to tell and we really want to be a part of it.  We started placing bets on whether or not the project would happen this year.  Today we got a revised signed contract.

We use our Facebook page and blogs to tell stories about what is going on at TSI.  Posts can be photos from our Christmas party to saying good bye to our cat JPEG.  It is a great way to get to know one another and to share with friends and family.

Unfortunately, Taylor Studios is in two locations.  Our office is a couple blocks away from our production facility.  This can make it difficult for staff to get to know each other.  We recently threw a lunch and photo taking session for all of us.  It was a good time for everyone to talk and we love the photo.

Since we are all about being healthy now, many staff members take walks together.  We have a very nice pond nearby with a walking path all around it.  It’s a great walk and I have seen our design department taking that jaunt often.

These seven little things help make this place fun.  What do you do at work to have fun?  Does the fun lead to good outcomes?

Carlos Santos, Exhibit Designer:

How long have you been with TSI?

1 year

What did you do before you started working at TSI?

Creative Services Manager / Exhibit Designer at the South Florida Science Museum

Independent model maker

What do you do at TSI?

Exhibit Designer

What do you like best about TSI?

The ability to be creative and have a creative outlet for ideas

What’s your favorite TSI project?

Nevada RR Museum

Why?

It’s a challenging, complex project.

What’s something your coworkers don’t know about you?

Played the guitar for 24 years

What’s your favorite part of your day?

At the end of the day when I feel like I have helped moved the project forward.

Rest in Peace

Jpeg

2009-2010

One of our beloved, vocal cats has spoken his last meow. Jpeg died April 23, 2010 near 1320 Harmon Drive in Rantoul, IL.  He was born sometime in 2009 and grew up in the TSI office from the time he was a kitten.  His life was short, but rich.  From the time he arrived at Taylor Studios, the decibel level went up.  He welcomed us all as we arrived in the mornings and bid us goodnight each evening.  He enjoyed post-its, rubber bands, spider-man figurines, and never minded scraps from your plate.

Jpeg, jpeg, wherever you are
Why did you decide to run in front of  a car?
“Meow, meow,” you talked to us all
We’ll all sure miss your feline call.

A successful project is one with delighted clients and engaged visitors.  One of our recent successes is the Puget Sound Navy Museum.  We started with a great story to tell, which is the first key to success.  Taylor Studios was brought on board (no pun intended) to design, build, and install a new exhibition interpreting life aboard the USS John C. Stennis, a Nimitz-class Aircraft Carrier that docks in the navy shipyard near the museum.

The second key to success is having a great client to work with.  The staff at the museum was enthusiastic and really helped us understand the daily life of the sailors.  Our design team also took a tour of the Stennis which enhanced their understanding of life at sea.  One of the challenges we had to overcome was communicating with the aircraft carrier itself when it was out to sea.  The exhibit highlights many personal stories, therefore, feedback from the sailors was critical to the success.

A final ingredient to a successful exhibit is engaged visitors.  Many of the visitors to this is exhibit are the families of the sailors.  They are now able to get a feel for the daily life of their loved ones.  Some of the most popular exhibits are: the mess table with faux food, the bunk bed you can climb into to get a feel for the cramped living space, the ejection seats, the personal videos, and the spin browser that allows you to speed up or slow down video of aircraft taking off and landing.

I went to the grand opening of the exhibit last November.  The Stennis was docked at that time and Captain Kuzmick came to the exhibit opening.  It was great to see the enthusiastic response to the exhibit from the Captain and crew.  I also got a tour of the carrier!!!

These photos tell this story much better than I can.

Ingredients for a Successful Project:

• A Great Story to Tell
• A Great Client
• Add in video of personal stories from the sailors themselves
• Mix in some immersive exhibits like a replica bunk bed
• A smattering of food reproductions
• Engaged visitors

Pete Salmon, Certified Interpretive Planner:

How long have you been with TSI?

A little over 8 years.

What did you do before you started working at TSI?

My first job was working at a bank.  That didn’t last long; I found the environment too…adult like. So, I tried teaching.  I found that environment too…childish.

What do you do at TSI?

I write the exhibit text and help clients develop their exhibit storylines.

What do you like best about TSI?

I would have to say the amount of weird things you encounter each day.  The other day I looked up to check the time on a clock on the wall.  It seems that someone wanted to control time, so he/she replaced the clock with a scanned image of a clock.  It was stuck at 3:00.

What’s your favorite TSI project?

Challenger Learning Center

Why?

I think the interactives are creative, truly engaging, and truly interpretive.  I also find the central theme “You are the future of space exploration” to be one of our best.

What’s something your coworkers don’t know about you?

I announced to my grade school class that someone shot the pope.  My teacher sent me to church to pray for forgiveness.   She sent for me an hour later when she learned it was true.  She apologized, but I did not accept it.

What’s your favorite part of your day?

4:00.  That is when the designers start to decompress.  It sounds like a cross between a zoo and a sanitarium.

On Wednesday night Renee Beere and I went to the 20^th year celebration and opening of Beckman Institute’s Rotunda Exhibits.  We had the opportunity to work with the University of Illinois in creating an exhibit about Arnold Beckman.  The central theme for the exhibit is:  Dr. Arnold Beckman’s personal integrity and deep love of science guided his extraordinary life as an educator, inventor, and philanthropist - and it all began right here in central Illinois.   It is an extraordinary story to tell.  Beckman grew up in the small rural town of Collum, IL.  Through creativity and persistence he became a leading inventor of scientific instruments.  His name can be found in the National Inventors Hall of Fame and he won numerous awards including the National Medal of Science, Presidential Citizens Medal and the National Medal of Technology.  Beckman was also a great philanthropist.  He made possible the Beckman Institute 313,000 square-foot building on the U of I campus with his generous $40 million gift.

Many of us at Taylor Studios’ liked Beckman’s rules that govern his life:

• Maintain absolute integrity at all times.
• Always do your best: Never do anything half-heartedly. (Either get into it, or get out of it.)
• Never do anything to harm others.
• Never do anything for which you’ll be ashamed later. (This is an important one!)
• Always strive for Excellence-there’s no substitute for it.
• Practice moderation in all things - including moderation. (There’s nothing wrong with a little excess once in a while.)
• Don’t take yourself too seriously.

Visitors to the exhibit can take away a flyer with these rules.  They are worth noting.

You can learn more about Dr. Beckman here.

What rules govern your life?

Senior Exhibit Designer, Cory Rodeheaver:

Cory Modeling Sam's Sweater

How long have you been with TSI?

3 years this June

What did you do before you started working at TSI?

Freelance designer and College professor teaching design & photography

What do you do at TSI?

Exhibit Design

What do you like best about TSI?

The great and talented people that I get to work with everyday.

What’s your favorite TSI project?

Hmmm, not sure I have a dedicated fav, but working on the Puget Sound Navy Museum was pretty great.

Why?

I was able to take a tour of the John C. Stennis Aircraft carrier, the client was fantastic, and I think the design team produced a really effective exhibit experience.

What’s something your coworkers don’t know about you?

I used to perform magic shows when I was younger…once for an old girlfriend, but never for my wife.  I think she is still a little ticked at me for that one…

What’s your favorite part of your day?

Anytime I get to see what others in the company are working on.

Great leaders and great people strive for self-knowledge and self awareness.  Self awareness is the ability to recognize and understand your moods, emotions and drives and how they affect others.  Knowing yourself allows you to connect with others in a realistic manner.  If you can identify your personal derailing baggage and work to improve it, it may be one of the most important steps in achieving your goals and happiness.

Some of the things you can do to better understand yourself is to take personality or emotional intelligent tests.  A wide range of self improvement books from goal setting to thinking more like Leonardo Da Vinci will offer suggestions on self assessment.  You can also join groups like Vistage or get a coach.

I joined the Vistage group about two years ago.  One of the first things we worked on was my negative self talk.  I set very high standards and when I don’t achieve them I am very hard on myself.  I would beat myself up for not having perfect conversations, not being a perfect leader, not understanding something fully, etc.   Ironically this weakness made me a worse leader and did not help my connections with people.  The first step to improving this was to be aware of when it was happening.  I would catch myself talking negatively in my head and would stop it.  I have improved this tremendously over the last two years.

Another way to understand yourself and what you stand for is to constantly ask yourself questions and take the time to fully think them out.  Here is a smattering of ten questions you could begin with:

1.  When am I most naturally myself?  What people, places, and activities allow me to feel most fully myself?

2.  What is the biggest mistake you ever made?  What did you learn from it?

3.  What have been your happiest moments in life up to now?  How could you have more of those moments in the future?

4.  What are your three most important goals in your business and career right now?

5.  What is your self-ideal?  What person do you aspire to be?

6.  When do you feel inspired?  Who and what contribute to your sense of inspiration?  How does it feel when you are inspired?

7.  In order, what are your three strongest interests?

8.  If you could accomplish only one thing during the rest of your life, what would it be?

9.  What would you do if you knew you would not fail?

10.  What do you need to do differently to use your time more effectively?

Can you articulate your personal goals and ambitions?  Or are you content to merely drift along in life?

“Happiness is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal, or goal.” ~Earl Nightingale

Graphic Designer, Phil El Rassi:

How long have you been with TSI?

About a year and a half.

What did you do before you started working at TSI?

Design, illustration, portraiture, photo retouching, moving pool tables.

What do you do at TSI?

Design, illustration

What do you like best about TSI?

No day is the same. Design, illustration, murals, storyboards, break room cleaning, sabotaging co-workers work stations - you never know what you’re going to be doing.

What’s your favorite TSI project?

Living Desert

Why?

It made me a better artist.

What’s something your coworkers don’t know about you?

I am a terrible guitar player.

What’s your favorite part of your day?

Sitting next to my space heater.

I found one of my burning desires when I was about three years old.  I believe that is about the time I fell head over heels in love with horses (or ponies at that time).  We had a Shetland pony named Buck.  He taught all six of us kids how to ride.  His occupation before we adopted him was to go in a circle and give kids rides at carnivals.  Supposedly, my mom let him babysit me when I was three years old.  She would tie him to a tree and set me on his back.  I guess I would hang out on his back for quite some time content as could be.

As I grew up I begged for a bigger horse.  I eventually got a pony named Charlie.  He was great, but I wanted a real horse.  I begged, I wished for one on birthday candles and falling stars and I took good care of the ponies showing responsibility.  Finally, when I was in seventh grade I got Charlotte.  She was a small Quarter horse with a very big heart.  She was fast!  I spent hours and hours on this horse.  We went everywhere.

Several years later I went off to SIU.  I was on my own once I left for college so money was very tight.  I came home my Freshman year and worked in a glass factory, a TG & Y store and sold pots and pans that summer.  I went back to SIU that Fall without my horse.  The next summer I wanted to stay at college for summer school, but wasn’t about to live without a horse.  I put out an ad that I would work for board.  I found a great horse farm that let me bring Charlotte and her foal.  Eventually, I really ran out of money and the farm owner gave me a place to live, too.  I worked that job and another to make ends meet.

As the years went by I always found a way to have my horse.  At times, this meant my living conditions were not ideal.  Often landlords saw that we would be good tenants and let me have the horses without additional rent.  I built fences, did some of my own farrier work and even built a barn once.  Given my burning desire I was able to have Charlotte for 28 years.  She just passed away a little over two years ago.

Betty & Charlotte

Betty with her Friend Sharon & Charlotte

I believe if you have a burning desire for something you can have it if you are willing to make the sacrifices for it.  Many people ask what time do you get up in the morning to feed the horses…?  When I describe the effort it takes to have my love, they want no part of it.  The sacrifices have been well worth it.

Do you have a burning desire?  What are you willing to sacrifice to have it?

A friend gave me a plaque with this written on it after Charlotte passed away.

“Don’t cry because it’s over…

Smile because it happened.”  Dr. Seuss

This is a video of me and Charlotte a few years before she passed away.  I’m a little embarrassed at my form.  I’m pulling on her mouth a bit too much and my elbows are flapping.  I knew our running fast bareback time was coming to an end.  I was enjoying the moment.  It’s still hard to follow Dr. Seuss’ advice.  I miss that horse.  There are tears on my keyboard.