I stopped in Barnes & Noble the other day and noticed a promotion around a children’s book, called The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt & Oliver Jeffers.
Have you read it? I did even though I have no children. While this book targets children ages 3 – 7, you might be surprised by how familiar the story sounds in relation to disengagement on your team.
The book begins by introducing us to a boy named Duncan. “One day in class, Duncan went to take out his crayons and found a stack of letters with his name on them.”1 In the letters, each color makes its case for quitting.
How many of these colors sound like the people you manage or that you know within your organization? Isn’t this an interesting metaphor for disengaged employees?
How does the story end? “Well, poor Duncan just wanted to color and of course he wanted his crayons to be happy. And that gave him an idea.”2 Does this story give you any ideas on how you can better engage your employees? Duncan figured it out. I hope you can too!
What are your thoughts on the “crayons”? What are some other metaphors for disengaged employees?
1 Daywalt, Drew, and Oliver Jeffers. The Day the Crayons Quit. 1st ed. Philomel, 2013. Print.
2 Ibid.
P.S. First time here? Welcome to the Agent In Engagement site. Thanks for taking the time to stop by! I hope you’ll explore the rest of the site. Let me know what employee engagement topics interest you.
Other recent Agent in Engagement articles by Gregory F Simpson:
- Employee Engagement Briefing for Week of September 22 – 26, 2014
- Employee Engagement and Opportunity Cost
- Now / Later / Soon: The Semblance of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music to Employee Engagement
- Dear Managers, Here’s Some Feedback
- When is Your Personal Fiscal Year?
- The Importance of Networking in the Workplace
- Give Employees Their “DOSE” of Chemical Injections to Influence Engagement!
Let’s Engage!
I’m Agent in Engagement Simpson…Gregory F Simpson.
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