I was in the grocery store checkout line with a very dear friend. We were roaring with laughter about one thing after another, which made the monotony of our wait hardly noticeable.

In front of us was an important-looking man in a business suit, who without a doubt could hear every one of our punch lines and giggles. My friend decided to try to bring him in on the joke too, but he wouldn’t have it. No smile. No laughter. No reaction. Nothing!

My suddenly sad-faced friend then turned to me and said, “Aww! No funny with strangers.”

Since then, this anecdote has transformed into an inspirational allegory. We at LightBox Collaborative do not want to live in a world where there’s no funny with strangers. We want to be able to laugh with the man in front of us at the grocery store, laugh with our colleagues, and importantly, laugh at ourselves.

We want funny with strangers.

We also strive to make it fun to work with us. One of our goals is to have lots of fun. No one wants to sit in a boring, stuffy meeting, and neither do we. When people are having fun they become more productive and generate better work. All around, it’s beneficial to make funny with strangers.

Here are a few simple tips to make your life and work a little more fun:

Be present: Be emotionally alert and available for the people around you. Being present shows respect, improves communication, and strengthens relationships. Interact and relate to those around you. Set aside the text messaging, inbox, and IM for a while. Squash the urge to multi-task.

Pay it forward: Find a simple way to help or delight someone in a meaningful, memorable way. Do something nice for someone because it makes them, and you, feel good.

Play! Take a time each day to channel your inner child, your creative side, your most fun self. Fun drives a creative mind, so play with every idea. Fun is a frame of mind you can—and should—bring to everything you do.

(image courtesy Flickr user presta, Creative Commons)

Imagine some of your favorite photographs. Serene landscapes by Ansel Adams. Haunting portraits of poverty by Dorothea Lange. Images of labor in the urban landscape by Alfred Stieglitz.

Each photographer had a vision, transformed from a photographic negative—itself likely illuminated by a lightbox—into a finely crafted final product that speaks volumes to large audiences. Light brought their ideas to life, and it can do the same for yours.

A lightbox is a lit surface most often used for viewing photo negatives or slides. Just as a photographer uses a lightbox to illuminate negatives, the LightBox Collaborative takes your good ideas and holds them up to the light so that we can help you craft sounds strategies to realize your goals.

We dive deep into your organization’s intentions and purpose. By immersing ourselves into your situation, we are better equipped to illuminate the deep knowledge that you already possess. We believe that our clients have the assets and the expertise on their organizational issues. Our job is to dial up the wattage, and shine a light on your ideas so that you can better connect with public audiences and increase your intended impact.

We honor your expertise and your good intentions to change the world. By sharing a fresh perspective, we hold your good ideas up to the light and inspire others to take part in the solutions. So flip the switch and let’s get started.

(image courtesy Flickr user leonem, Creative Commons)

Before a ship sets sail, it’s customary to christen it with a bottle of champagne and festivities for good fortune.

But sometimes naming takes a bit longer. In some cultures, they wait five days to name their babies. Some cultures even wait an entire year. The LightBox Collaborative, my latest and most exciting venture, is more like that.

Although it’s precious to me, it took me almost two years to name my consulting venture. I needed at least that much time to be certain that my moxie, ideas, and know-how would translate into a viable operation.

I needed at least that much time to consolidate my gains, and to reflect on the challenges I wanted to tackle. So I took a moment to sit back and reflect on what I knew: I am good at what I do, I am happiest working in teams, and I want to have fun while making a real difference in the world. And I find myself increasingly intrigued by new models or working, new organizational structures, and new modes of problem solving made possible by rapid changes in technology and communication.

So I decided to stop yappin’ and make it happen. (Many, many thanks to the friends and family who kept my feet to the fire on this one!) I went from a consulting practice of just me, myself, and I, and started to build a team of collaborators who bring their own talents and skills into the mix, and who push me to bring my best work to the table each day.

We are the LightBox Collaborative. We’re not a PR firm, we’re not a strategic planning shop; but, we are a consultancy group somewhere in between. We use our unique tools and talents to create tailored solutions for nonprofits, philanthropies, and other do-gooders.

We believe that our mission is too important for B.S., and life is too short to wear a suit. We offer integrity, candor, personality, and many decades of combined experience. Most importantly, we care about the issues that matter to our clients. We genuinely want to help you shape the direction of your organization by offering strategic solutions, setting goals, and crafting messages that motivate, inspire, and ultimately impact the social and political process around the issues that matter to you.

So…the champagne bottle has been uncorked and the bubbly is flowing! The LightBox Collaborative has been christened and is ready to set sail. We look forward to accompanying you on your journey to success.

(image courtesy the New York Public Library via Wikimedia, public domain)