Does Valentine's Day have any business in the workplace?

Cards, candy hearts, roses, and chocolate –- if you haven’t noticed, Valentine’s Day is upon us once again.

As our family prepared for this week, my 8-year old happily reviewed with me her Valentines she made for each of her classmates.  On Friday she will proudly give her cards and candy to friends at her class party. Valentine’s Day has always had a place in the schools and classrooms -– but what about the workplace?

Thousands of people across the country will happily give chocolates, cards, candy and flowers in the workplace on Friday or in turn receive them from loved ones outside the workplace. It seems innocent and harmless right? It would be ludicrous to think that such a fun and casual holiday could have a negative impact on the workplace. But hold on ...

For a holiday like Valentine’s Day, a commercialized annual celebration of love, often times gifts, cards or emails celebrating this holiday can lead to unintentional mixed messages among co-workers.  A simple card, gift or flirtatious comment from one co-worker to another has the potential to create a negative response on the receiving end, which can lead to damaged working relationships and even -- based on the nature of the gift, card, email or behavior -- claims of sexual harassment.

At the management level, if gifts, cards and candy go to selected employees and not everyone, this can lead to charges of favoritism. These issues can damage relations between co-workers and affect internal operations in ways that far exceed the initial impact on Valentine’s Day.

As if this didn’t seem problematic enough, think of how productivity itself is decreased on Valentine’s Day – especially for the employee who has to sign for, receive and distribute deliveries to the workplace. As employees receive cards, gifts and flowers, others are stopping to see what their colleagues have received. I am pretty sure if one were to observe the productivity and efficiency levels of a business on Valentine’s Day the results would be shocking.

Still, for all the bad there can also be a light and appropriate side to Valentine’s Day in the workplace. Valentine’s Day is a perfect opportunity to have fun internal events like potlucks, teambuilding exercises, employee appreciation events and sharing tasty treats like desserts.

It's your business.

Cardon files plans for new car wash

The building plans at the Idaho Falls Building Department office for Cardon's new car wash.

Matt Cardon, owner of Cardon's Car Wash and Lube on First Street, has filed building plans with the city of Idaho Falls to develop a 4,483-square-foot tunnel car wash on the lot at Holmes Avenue and North Yellowstone where the Bank of Commerce used to have its offices.

Last summer, Cardon received variances that reduced the width of landscaping strips and setbacks on the Northgate Mile and Holmes sides of the lot (also bordered by Poulson and Payne Streets).

Cardon had filed a site development plan in late. No zoning change was required (the lot is zoned Highway/Commercial-1), which meant that he has had a green light since then to proceed with a formal site plan, building plans and a permit.

TEDxAmmon speakers announced

Here is a list of speakers and topics to be presented at TEDxAmmon, scheduled for Feb. 21 at Eastern Idaho Technical College.

TED and TEDx presentations draw from a wide variety of subject matter and are meant to be thought-provoking, captivating and inspiring. Speakers are encouraged to give “the talk of a lifetime,” and for many speakers who’ve found a worldwide audience, they’ve been precisely that.

Stipulations by TED require that there be no more than 100 people at TEDxAmmon. Anyone interested in attending may apply at www.TEDxAmmon.com, after which they will be informed if they have been selected. For those unable to be at the live event, all presentations will be simultaneously broadcast on the internet at www.TEDxAmmon.com. Every presentation will be recorded, edited and uploaded to the TEDx event database for later viewing.

The talks run from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., with a break for dinner at 7.

Chris Haskell: Blowing Up the Gradebook

Victor Walker: Our Machines and the Stories We Tell Them

Matt Ridley: When Ideas Have Sex (video)

Monica Bitrick: What's Your Story -- Creating You As A Brand

Zane Schenk: The Cutting Edge

Break for dinner

George Brunt: The Value of Cheap Energy

Don Miley: Making Sci-Fi Sci-Fact: Nuclear Energy History and Perceptions

Bastian Schaefer: A 3d-Printed Jumbo Jet? (video)

John Hart: The Life Cycle of Creative Movements

Heidi Reeder: How Commitment Shapes Our Lives

David Gallo: Underwater Astonishments (video)

Tyler Price: The Importance of Failure

Troy Chipps: Conquer Your Key Moments

For updates, information may be found at www.TEDxAmmon.com, on FaceBook at www.facebook.com/TEDxAmmon and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TEDxAmmon.

Work begins on 17th Street Starbucks

Work has begun on the Starbucks planned for the corner of 17th Street and Jennie Lee Drive, with an opening planned for late May, according to Bob Hayes of Keller Construction. A crew from the Salt Lake City-based company is removing the front of the old Los Albertos. Remodeling of the shell will be extensive, but the foundation was solid enough that a complete demolition was not necessary, Hayes said. Keller Construction has built more than 15 Starbucks in the west, including the one on West Broadway in Idaho Falls.

Arts Council chooses visual arts director

Georgina Goodlander

The Idaho Falls Arts Council has hired Georgina Goodlander as its visual arts director, to  lead content selection, program development and activity integrity at the ARTitorium on Broadway. She will also be responsible for the development, coordination and installation of all visual arts exhibitions at the Carr and Hall community galleries, located inside the Willard Arts Center.

“We have known since the beginning that ARTitorium on Broadway would need someone with a uniquely advanced set of skills to meet its mission," said Brandi Newton, the council's executive director. “Georgina doesn't just meet those expectations, she exceeds them.”

From 2003 to January 2014, Goodlander lived in Baltimore, Md., and worked at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Beginning at the museum as an intern in 2003, she went on to manage its innovative Luce Foundation Center for American Art, coordinated The Art of Video Games exhibition and then became deputy chief of media and technology, where she oversaw web and social media content.

Before this, she taught English in Songjiang, China, worked in a gift shop in Toronto, and was lead hostess at the Old Faithful Inn Dining Room in Yellowstone National Park which began her dream to relocate to this part of the country.

Saving Center demolition begins

We had been watching the Saving Center lot at Memorial and A Street all weekend, waiting for action to begin. By the time we got to the scene Monday afternoon, the work was well underway. This is going to open things up considerably. There has been no word about possible buyers, but the according to Bob Everhardt of the Downtown Development Corp. the owners felt the property would have more appeal without the building than with it.

What Can Businesses Learn From Professional Sports

Professional sports have a major impact in our society, don’t they? As I write this, I am one of millions of people across the nation patiently waiting for the Super Bowl. In a few short hours, I will be cheering on my favorite team, watching professional athletes who earn millions in salaries and endorsements, and choosing my favorite $4 million commercial for the year.  Halftime will come and all of us will talk about how we did or didn’t like this year’s show.  The game will end and life will go on as the nation looks forward to the Winter Olympics.

What do professional sports have to do with the way my company does business? 

Whether you are a fan of any of professional sports organization or not, professional sports organizations can teach us a lot about business management.

Last week we focused on the challenge of finding the best fit for the job – not necessarily the right fit. Imagine how hard that is organizationally for professional sports organizations. Recruiting efforts involve thousands of coaches, business professionals (i.e., agents, managers, consultants) and marketing executives. One player, or even head coach, being recruited and/or traded on a team is a precise calculation of what is needed for the organization based on budgetary restraints, statistical analysis, talent, experience, cultural fit, strategic planning, marketability and risk analysis. There are countless hours, and sometimes years, put into the process of on-boarding one player or coach. The recruiting and retaining doesn’t end with the on-boarding process either, due to the fluid nature of the industry. Organization, team performance, injuries – an organization’s structure can change early season or even mid-season. It is incredible in itself for these organizations to operate seamlessly despite the factors that are working against them at all times. So how do professional sports organizations do it – besides finding the best fit of professionals, coaches and players for the team?

Pretty easy answer – teamwork.  As coaches and players band together in a supportive manner to accomplish common goals, their organizations in turn benefit through increased efficiency and productivity, improved employee relations, increased accountability and responsibility, and opportunities for coaches and players to increase their knowledge and skill set from learning through others.

In turn when any organization or business does not encompass an environment of teamwork the results can be disastrous. I am a true believer that every organization is only as strong and successful as its poorest performing employee. When an organization encompasses an environment that is every man or woman for themselves. morale is low, productivity is low and efficiencies are thrown out the door. Think of how poor the quality of work completed is as well. Think of sports teams that have had all-star players without the teamwork environment – on the outside it seems as though they may have a dream team for success – but in reality they perform poorly and likely don’t make it in post-season playoffs (think L.A. Lakers a few years back with Kobe Bryant).

It is easy to see that through professional sports organizations it is important to find the best fit employees for the right job. In turn, recruiting and hiring these people is only half the battle in long-term sustainable success with an organization. Ensuring that the work environment encompasses teams that work together to accomplish goals is crucial in the long-term success of any business.  While I am not encouraging mid-day tackle football in the break room for any organization, I am saying that there is a lot we can learn in how to manage our own businesses and organizations from professional sporting organizations.