Do Your Walls Inspire?

I love my teenager’s room. It’s fun, bright and busy. To me, it captures her personality because she is also fun, bright and very busy! What do your walls say about your personality, environment or culture? If I were to walk into your place of work what would I think of your culture? Does your environment represent the type of company you want to be?

Let your walls play a part in supporting the type of culture you desire or inspiring the atmosphere you need. Here are some examples to help you with applying this concept.

Pick-Me-Up Atmosphere Needed!

During the recession, I needed to reinforce that we were not going to stay at our injured level. I hung rubber balls from the ceiling with an elastic string and signs proclaiming, “bounce back.” It was a fun way to express that we were going to bounce back from our plunge in business.

“Let’s Fight For It Pilgrim.”

When opening a new office I needed all hands on deck. I hung up a picture of John Wayne from the movie True Grit. The picture showed John riding his horse with the reins in his mouth and a gun in each hand. This picture represented our current conditions. The nick named, “one-eyed fat man,” Rooster Cogburn, was our inspiration that year.

Fun and Laughter in the Air.

I love to work in a fun, noisy and active environment. I even pay cash for laughter. My favorite activity to stir up some fun with the team is the “Cash for LOL” challenge. Taking random pictures of the team is a great way to record your history. I like to hang the funny pictures on the wall with a marker for the team to write out picture captions. The caption that makes me laugh the most wins $20. It’s a fun way to bring laughter into the office and everyone loves the opportunity to write a funny quote about one of his or her teammates. And if you’re the subject in the picture, well, it teaches you to laugh at yourself.

What are the challenges your business is facing right now and how are you using your four walls to reinforce, remind and motivate the right attitude from yourself and your team? Whatever your situation, let your walls help inspire and lead to those conditions.