Boss Day gift giving can be tough. Right off the bat, you are trying to buy the perfect gift for your Boss and that can be nerve racking. Your boss is the one who will decide or significantly influence your destiny in the company. Thus, don't give him/her a lame gift on Boss's Day. Since we specialize in Office Toys and unique corporate gifts, we felt it was time to provide some help to those seeking the ideal Boss Day Gift.

Buy a physical thing – Not a gift card and not lunch. That stuff is not memorable. Buy them something to display in their workspace. That means they will remember your kindness all day, every day, forever.

Don't be late – Give it to them on Boss's Day and not after Boss's Day. Giving a Boss Day gift says "I really appreciate you and I'm on my game". Giving a Boss Day gift late says "whoops, I blew it". Not giving a Boss Day gift at all is, well, not advisable.

How much to spend – This is the classic question surrounding Boss Day Gifts. The amount you spend is directly proportional to how much you like your boss or how badly you want a promotion. Our research indicates the perfect amount, in most cases, is $20.

Personality Type – Get your Boss a gift that corresponds to their personality type. You'll really score if you match the gift with their true self. Here are some of personality types to get you thinking:

Technology Geek	The Thinker	Playful Eccentric	Stressed to the Max!
Computer Toys Electronic Gadgets	Puzzles	Slingshot Animals	Stress Balls Stress Toys

Outside of work Interests – People tend to have little reminders of stuff they love in their office. Ask yourself "what do they love to do when they are not at work?". Since I love to fish, for instance, I'm a sucker for fish oriented toys on my desk. Here are some ideas:

The Golfer	The Animal Lover	The Jock
Golf Stuff	Office Pets	Sports Toys

We hope this helps you nail the perfect Boss Day Gift this year. For more ideas, please see our Boss Day Gift Guide Here. We are happy to offer you free Boss Day Gift consulting, just call us at 800-458-1948 or email us.

Playfully,

Bill Ross
The Office Toy Guy
OfficeToyGuy@OfficePlayground.com

www.OfficePlayground.com
We make work fun!

Bad business decisions are something every company tries to avoid, but they happen. Some legendary ones include the makers of M & M's decision to not allow their candy to appear in the movie ET. Reese's Pieces were used instead and the sales exploded. Jerry Yang decided to walk away from Microsoft and missed out on receiving $44.6 billion of Bill Gates' money. Many book editors rejected the Harry Potter book series and Decca Records had the opportunity to sign the Beatles and didn't.

An example of important decision making can be shown through choosing stock investments. The Chicago Sun-Times wanted to illustrate the often chance nature of picking stocks, so they had a monkey sit on newspaper stock pages and make marks on five stocks. As of January 2007, the stock-picking monkey had beaten the market four years running.

If you don't have the resources to hire a monkey, perhaps a fortune-telling item such as the Wall Street Guru Ball, the Mystical Orb, or the time honored Magic 8 Ball may help. The Dartboard Decision Maker is a fun and active alternative.

Next time you're faced with a landmark decision, give the Affirmation Ball a shake; its response might be "Brilliant Idea!" However, the Sarcastic Ball might warn "Not a Chance!" and the Wall Street Guru might suggest "Ride it Out". The Dartboard Decision Maker offers many options. Give it a spin and toss the dart, which might land on "Take a Vacation," "Stay Late," "Call a Meeting," "Hire" or "Retire". A fortune telling ball or decision maker may not offer the appropriate advice, but it's sure to generate some lighthearted stress relief.

Are you still bringing donuts to meetings? WAIT! You don't need to do that anymore. There's a better way to get everyone energized and excited at your next meeting. It's simple: bring toys, not donuts.

We all know that donuts are bad for you and the sugar crash is a serious downer. Bringing donuts to meetings is like saying, "Here, I hope you all feel sick for the next 5 hours and act like zombies all afternoon." Donuts only take a minute to eat, give you heartburn and require an extra workout to burn off the empty calories. On the other hand, a good office toy is long-lasting, stress relieving and brightens up your workspace.

Note the health considerations of Donuts versus Toys:

Have some fun at your next meeting and bring a box of office toys. Who knows, maybe you'll impress your boss so much, you'll get further in your career (we make no guarantees).

Instead of a dozen donuts
Image Credit: Emran Kassim
Bring some Fidget Toys	Or a bunch of Stretchy Toys	Or a handful of Stress Balls

Be more playful and bring some fun and health to your office...Bring toys, not donuts!

Playfully,

Bill Ross
The Office Toy Guy
OfficeToyGuy@OfficePlayground.com

www.OfficePlayground.com
We make work fun!