Sometimes all your team really needs is a change of scenery and a little bit of fun.

That means:

1) getting them out of the office,

2) doing something really different.

With sunshine and temperatures in the 70's projected as far as the weather forecasters are willing to predict, an outdoor scavenger hunt (or charitable fund-raiser, or immersion spy game) seems like it would fit the bill just perfectly.

In Seattle, you could get a game like those arranged for your team by the end of the week in:

• Seattle Center
• Downtown Kirkland
• The Woodland Park Zoo

In Portland:

• City Center
• The Pearl District
• The Oregon Zoo

Sounds like fun?

You bet it does.

How many times have you had a bad customer service experience and thought, "Wow. That person (serving me) is REALLY unhappy."

Probably a huge percentage of those bad service experiences came from the employee's bad attitude rather than incompetence or a truly customer-unfriendly company policy.

And even those reasons might be traced back to poor morale. Incompetence is often caused by lack of interest in obtaining training or to even bother learning the job.

By contrast, how often do we consider it a bad experience when we're served by an inexperienced but cheerful person willing to keep on trying to help us?

Company-unfriendly policies are (thankfully) becoming more rare in this era of rapid information sharing where reputations matter as much as price or convenience, particularly to new customers. Even the cable companies are scheduling installations in shorter time windows and offer money-back guarantees for being on time. (Some say this is a sign of the Apocalypse... we shall see.)

But a boss who works hard to make sure his or her employees are happy builds a positive working atmosphere that carries over into customer service. Customers can tell when you love your job, and it makes them much more willing to work with you.

What have you done to make your employees (and therefore, your customers) happy today?

Earth Day hit the Pacific Northwest with a ton of sunshine, and if you planned ahead, you took advantage of it by getting your team together to plant trees, pick up litter, walk instead of drive to the beach/mountains/forest for your company picnic...

Ah. Maybe not so much. Who knew it'd be so gorgeous out?

But don't worry. It's not too late to keep it green.

Friday, April 27 is Arbor Day - yet another chance to Play it Forward and support your favorite cause and boosting team morale at the same time.

In fact, you don't even have to plant trees. You can support a variety of your favorite causes - whether it's keeping the earth green and cool, teaching kids to read or fighting homelessness. Play it Forward mixes it up, both indoors and out, giving you some fresh air as well as some shelter from that amazing spring sunshine we ALWAYS get around here.

Because it's good for your team, good for the world, and... well, we KNOW the weather's only going to get better, right?

Has Mother Earth been good to you?

Maybe it's time to Play it Forward.

Sunday, April 22 is Earth Day - a day to get outside into the warming weather and show the planet that you appreciate the beautiful world we live in, especially here in the breathtakingly picturesque Pacific Northwest.

It's an especially great thing to do with your team.

There are lots of great ideas out there - beach or park cleanups, adopting a highway, planting trees. But there's an even better way to give back if team building and bonding are on your list - while having a fun day, of course.

If you Play it Forward, you can engage in crazy fun challenges (and show those bozos down the hall who REALLY can bust it loose while busking it by the bus stop) while raising awareness and much-needed donations for your favorite Earth-friendly causes.

You pick the beneficiary organization. We'll bring the fun.