Work Like Your Dog is an inspiring call to "come out and play" at work. Dogs seem to have endless energy and tackle tasks with enviable enthusiasm, and Matt Weinstein and Luke Barber believe that most people could take a course from their canines. By learning to play more at their jobs, workers can "lick" difficult challenges, take pleasure from tasks previously dreaded, reduce their levels of stress, and recharge their creative side. People spend more time working, thinking about work, and traveling to and from work than all other waking activities combined. Employees are asked to do more for less--making their work lives more exhausting and less satisfying. More hours are far from the answer; honing a sense of frolic and fun is. Book jacket. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

If people bring a playful attitude to their jobs and think of work as a game, the authors believe, they'll achieve more and find the same work more enjoyable. In 50 brief chapters, Weinstein (Managing to Have Fun), the founder of the Playfair management consulting firm, and Barber, a professor of philosophy at Richland College in Dallas, outline ways to make work fun and offer an offbeat guide to career development. Recommendations for lightening up the workday include wearing Tweety Bird slippers into the office ("Don't Be Afraid to Be a Fool") or cracking an egg on one's head ("Turning Fights Into Frolics"). In the title chapter, the authors--who employ the first-person singular throughout--extol the way dogs approach their canine vocations, exhibiting the renowned virtues of dedication, loyalty, discipline and sensitivity. The more thoughtful strategies on display here highlight interpersonal skills such as looking for the good in others, turning problems into opportunities and avoiding stress--and are exemplified by high-profile corporate Playfair clients. This book is certainly more fun to read than conventional business manuals, but readers will have to avoid the temptation to jump up onto unsuspecting officemates. Author tour. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Matt Weinstein is founder and Emperor of Playfair, Inc., an international management consulting company. He lives in northern California with his wife, Geneen Roth. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

I. The Game of Work
1. Treat Work as a Game	3
2. Turn Work into Play	6
3. See Every Situation as an Opportunity to Play	9
4. Take Every Opportunity to Celebrate	14
5. Work Less, Play More, Earn More	21
6. Have Fun with Your Customers	26
7. If You Haven't Been Rejected Recently, Then You Probably Haven't Been Trying Hard Enough	30
8. Take the Company on a Shopping Spree	35
9. Work Like Your Dog	39
10. Honor Your Fabulous Failures	45
11. Value Who You Are, Not What You Have	51
12. Memo to Managers: Treat Your Employees Even Better Than You Treat Your Customers	56
13. Five Unusual Ways to Have Fun at Work	60
14. Do Something Different	66
15. Integrate Your Home Life and Work Life	72
16. Find a Child to Be Your Teacher	77
17. Learn to Receive Recognition	84
18. Celebrate International Fun at Work Day	88
19. Take Your Message to City Hall	92
20. Thank Your Boss for Firing You	96
21. Don't Be Afraid to Be a Fool	101
22. Play Fair: Ethics Is Good Business	110
II. Turn Problems into Opportunities
23. Change the Way You View the World	117
24. See the Flowers in the Garbage	120
25. Secrets of Stress Reduction Part I: Don't Choose Stress	125
26. Secrets of Stress Reduction Part II: Learn to Reframe Life's Little Upsets	130
27. Secrets of Stress Reduction Part III: Rethink Difficult Situations	132
28. Remember the Democratic Character of Life	136
29. Turn Fights into Frolics Part I: Crack an Egg on Your Head	142
30. Turn Fights into Frolics Part II: Be Creative with Your Arguments	146
31. Turn Fights into Frolics Part III: Let Go of Being Right	152
32. Learn to Laugh at Yourself	158
33. Remember to Play Under Pressure	164
34. Dance, Don't Wrestle	170
35. Learn the Wisdom of Water	175
36. Make Your Ordeals Benevolent	180
37. Be Happy When Things Change	186
III. Learning to Laugh and Play with Life
38. Surround Yourself with People Who Like to Laugh and Play	195
39. Give Your Friends a Year of Fun	199
40. Stay in Touch with Your Friends	201
41. Live in the Moment (Not for the Moment)	207
42. Sing More, Complain Less	211
43. Remember You Are a Human Being, Not a Computer	216
44. Take Pleasure in the Little Moments	219
45. Don't Count Your Nightmares Until They Hatch	223
46. Practice Having Fun Part I: What Do You Like About Yourself?	227
47. Practice Having Fun Part II: What Can You Change?	231
48. Don't Repress Your Natural Urge to Play	234
49. Create Some Playful Memories	239
50. Take the Pledge	242
Acknowledgments	247
Index	251

Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.