Greg de Lima

Note: This is my 200th post on GregdeLima.com (I’m throwing a party in my mind!)

When was the last time, during a work day, that you took an honest-to-goodness nap. Whether you went home and took one or sat in the break room for 20-30 minutes and just napped.

While this might go contrary to about 100% of businesses in the U.S., as a college student, like many, I am a firm believer in quality nap time. This 30-minute part of my day is one that increases productivity, mental awareness, and physical stamina. During my time in Spain this was only reinforced by the type of workday they had. Like the American schedule they would begin their workday at 9am and work until 2 or 3pm (most commonly 2). They would then take a two hour break, and come back to work at 4-5pm and work until 6-8pm. That two hour break is the reason that 5 Hour Energy only exists in the U.S.

In that two hour break time workers have time to go home, see their family, eat lunch, take a nap, and come back to work. They are still getting a full day’s work and in fact are more productive because of it. Now I’m not saying sit around your workplace and nap at your desk so you can increase productivity later, but go home, relax, take a load off your shoulders then worry about it when you get back to the office. You’ll have a clearer mind, a more focused mind, and you will be a hell of a lot better for it just because of a 30 minute nap.

Think about it, if you work from home give it a shot.

What do you think? Leave a comment and thanks for reading my 200th blog post!

Every business has it’s own culture. Whether it’s one that is relaxed and liberating where it doesn’t feel constricting going into the office every day or maybe not having to go into the office at all. One way or another the culture of a business is the business.

Know What’s Ahead

According to the IBM 2010 Global CEO Study,

Eight in ten CEOs expect their environment to grow significantly more complex but only 49 percent believe their organizations are equipped to deal with it successfully – the largest leadership challenge identified in eight years of research.

While being one of the most difficult things to predict in today’s business world, the expectation of growth and the understand of the direction in which it’s heading matters just as much as understanding the culture of a business in itself. More importantly is embracing the changes that occur every day. Listening to employees, accepting feedback and changing the aspects of your culture will lead to better employees and better clients.

Understanding your employees is a factor that is as strong as the culture, and in fact is your culture. Every person inside your company is an integral part, know who you’re working with, hire people that might not necessarily be the top pick as far as their individual job, but help to define the future of your company and where you will go as part of that culture.

Value Time

Time whether in the long run or the short run should always be beneficial to you, your employees, or your employer. Knowing that everything has its commitments really focus on what needs to be done. As an employer though, much more productivity (and creativity) has been shown to occur when the people are given the opportunity to take matters into their own hands. Give employees the chance to do something they love, do something they want to do for themselves, and see where it takes the company.

Valuing time isn’t just a part of the company, but it’s a part of the lives of the people who work for that company. If things are going well, hell, give people some time to go home early to their kids and spouse. Time value shouldn’t just be taken for the money that could have been made, letting employees know that you care about them and their families. That’s Culture.

Defining your culture is a part of many, many aspects, it’s the way you treat people, the way you grow and the way you engage your customers.

What defines your culture?