My 5-year-old niece asked: \u2018Hey, what are those stickers on your laptop?\u2019 She had discovered the, 2 cents a piece, childish stickers on the cover of my very professional Macbook Pro. \u2018Oh, my colleagues gave me those because I did some things well!\u2019 She immediately got it: \u2018<\/span>Oh wow, then you did six\u00a0things well already!\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n Do you r<\/span>emember the stickers? The ones you got for doing a good job, back in primary school? When I was a little child it was something I looked forward to. Every sticker made me happy. Receiving a sticker for my work gave me confidence and joy; I was proud, I smiled all day. It even made me want to do more, next time at least as well!<\/span><\/p>\n A<\/span>re stickers only for children? Is it too childish, not serious enough, for the real world of the grown up? <\/span>This would of course never work in the real world called \u2018the office\u2019. Or at least I thought so.<\/span><\/p>\n I am a nerd. At our office they poke fun at me when they call me that. Be it because I dwell on wonderful math, a brilliant solution or a far fetched word joke. I know most of my colleagues will never share my love for those things. Yet I wanted them to know I appreciated their effort to learn useful, and often necessary, nerd skills.<\/span><\/p>\n So, I started to verbally hand out \u2018nerd stickers\u2019. Those recognize and reward progress in learning or application of computer skills. I thought I was being ridiculous, although I very sincerely meant the recognition and reward part. No one would want a sticker. We are grown ups, right?<\/span><\/p>\n Then one of my co-workers said: \u2018Okay, you have promised me over 20 stickers now. Less talking, more stickering!\u2019 Wait, what?! Ah well, I went out to find \u2018nerd stickers\u2019. Couldn\u2019t find any. Stumbled across a kids sticker sale. Bought them\u00a0and started handing them out. Expecting nothing but: \u2018Grow up, you! I was obviously kidding!\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n It didn\u2019t play out like that. Everybody liked the stickers. Okay, everybody but one person. Our Media & Technology Expert. He does not want to receive nerd stickers. But he most certainly does like to hand them out, and does so in a very serious fashion.<\/span><\/p>\n Today we hand out stickers still. And I think I get it. The stickers are not that important, they are just means, means with a meaning. They say: \u2018Well done! I am proud of you.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n Remember that <\/span>colleague<\/span> who said I owed her over 20 stickers? She was about to turn ‘a certain age’ and the jokingly said that she was working so very hard to get all those stickers before that certain age milestone. So on the last day before that, another colleague and I went\u00a0on a secret mission\u2026<\/span><\/p>\nNot serious enough, for the real world of the grown up?<\/h2>\n
Less talking, more stickering!<\/h2>\n
Means with a meaning<\/h2>\n