Elijah Medge, the owner of several direct marketing firms throughout the United States, has seen first-hand the value of an attractive corporate culture. In the highly competitive sales industry, the only way to be successful is to persist through long days and frequent rejection. In a business that can so easily foster a negative environment, Elijah Medge has become passionate about reversing this effect. He and his team have implemented a work environment that facilitates positivity, energy and excitement. This, in turn, has fostered productivity, and ultimately financial success for the business and everyone on the team. Here you will read the top 10 tips from entrepreneur, Elijah Medge, for creating a great place to work.

1. Elijah Medge, Entrepreneur and Mentor Shares:
9 Unique Tips for Creating
a Great Work Environment

2. Elijah Medge | Long Beach 2015
Does YOUR team have THIS much fun?

3. Elijah Medge | Long Beach 2015
1. Team Bonding Outside of the Office
You’ll be surprised how far guacamole, chips and a happy hour will get you. Away from the
office, people tend to feel more comfortable sharing about themselves. Your team will
learn about each other’s families, hobbies, and passions. They will develop genuine
relationships which will translate extremely well into working together in the office. If you
want your people to look forward to coming in to work each day, create opportunities for
them to build genuine relationships.
The hallmark of a great work environment is a
close-knit team. In order to build this dynamic
within your company you have to provide
opportunities for team bonding after hours.
Yes, to a certain extent, your employees will
naturally build relationships during work hours,
but the real bonding happens outside of the
office.

4. Elijah Medge | Long Beach 2015
2. Mix It Up!
A certain degree of consistency is important to run a smooth business; but if you look
around your office and see people staring at the 4 walls of a cubicle all day long, you are
doing something wrong. If you want people to actually enjoy working for your company, as
a manager, it is your job to mix it up. Think about what the standard routine looks like and
plan something completely different. Maybe a fun motivational meeting, maybe an
interesting new assignment, or even a game! As an example, it is not atypical for Elijah
Medge to walk into the room and start an impromptu game of office-wide Pictionary. It’s
important to keep your people laughing and having fun. When people enjoy what they do,
you’ll find they do better work.

5. Elijah Medge | Long Beach 2015
3. Ban Negativity
If you start pointing out each time someone is being negative they will become more
self-aware. Soon, the people on your team will start to call each other out. Before you
know it, your team will start being more selective with their rants. If you do this right,
people's ears will perk up when they hear something negative because it will sound out
of place. Changing the behavior will start to influence people’s mentalities. You’ll notice
your team starts becoming more solution-oriented, rather than downtrodden.
Of course, like all of these tips, this one starts at the top. The moment your staff hears
their manager complaining, all of your efforts will go right out the window. You must
lead by example by speaking constructively, rather than negatively about everything.
Yes you read that right, tell people that they aren’t
allowed to be negative within the walls of your company.
To clarify, it’s not about creating an official rule, but more
so an expectation, and ultimately a cultural shift.
Eliminating negativity starts with raising awareness. Most
people don’t realize it when they’re complaining because
they think they’re just making normal conversation. But
when it’s socially acceptable to complain, you are
fostering a negative environment without even knowing it. Flickr CC via Kate Ter Haar

6. Elijah Medge | Long Beach 2015
4. People Helping People
There is a huge difference between being
competitive individually, and being competitive as
a team. As a manager, it is your job to set the tone
for how the whole company will operate. If you, as
an executive, personally take the time to meet
with entry level employees, your people will take
notice. Elijah Medge spends just as much (if not
more) time with his new people as he does with
his senior staff. In doing so, he has successfully
implemented an environment that is team-
oriented, rather than cut throat. Within his firm,
it’s entirely normal for executives to meet with
entry level employees to mentor and motivate
them. Peers meet with peers to discuss challenges
and wins. Ultimately, the firm operates as a
cohesive team.

7. Elijah Medge | Long Beach 2015
5. Incentivize, Incentivize, Incentivize
If your mentality about your team is “they should
just be glad to have a job”, then you’re going
about it all wrong. You will never build a
successful company if you take your people for
granted or ignore human nature. Even the most
self-motivated go-getter needs a reason to
perform at her peak performance. As a manager,
you must find ways to regularly incentivize your
people. This might mean weekly bonuses for top
performers or cool gifts when a goal is achieved.
The best way to find out what your team wants is
to ask them! While at first it might hurt to spend
the extra cash, you’ll be amazed at how much
more you’ll get out of your people.
Flickr CC via nist6dh

8. Elijah Medge | Long Beach 2015
6. Encourage Learning and Mistakes
The worst environment you can create is one in which
people are afraid to get their heads bitten off each
time they make a mistake. This creates a workplace
where people fear taking accountability. No one will
want to take on more responsibility if they think it will
place them in the line of fire.
To be a great manager, you must facilitate opportunities
for professional development and openly encourage
your people to take on new roles. In doing so, the most
important thing is that your people know that it's okay
to mess up. They need to know that mistakes are a
natural part of the learning process, and that you have
their backs. As a manager, you must learn how to keep
your cool and give constructive feedback each time a
mistake is made.

9. Elijah Medge | Long Beach 2015
7. No Micromanagement
Micromanaging your people is a sure fire way to encourage a bare-minimum
mentality. Would you rather work with people who think like minimum wage
employees or CEOs? If you want your people to be able to think for themselves,
you absolutely have to give them the freedom to succeed or fail on their own. As
a manager, your job is to set the initial guidelines, and then offer coaching and
support. If your goal is to develop a team of unhappy robots, then micromanage
all you want. If you want a crew of excited and ambitious professionals, give
them some space.
Flickr CC via Herval

10. Elijah Medge | Long Beach 2015
8. Consistently Recognize Top
Performers
Taking the time to publicly recognize top performers will have
three fantastic results. First, the individual being recognized
will feel appreciated and special, and will therefore be more
motivated to continue doing a great job.
The second reason to recognize your employees is to motivate
others. Watching another be recognized usually inspires us to
want to be recognized too. When we see a peer succeeding
before we do, we immediately become curious about what
they are doing differently. This curiosity leads to great
conversations and coaching opportunities.
The third reason that recognition is beneficial is because it
lets people see the results of struggle and hard work. It’s
important to show your people that they are not alone in the
challenges they may be facing. If their peers can overcome
obstacles, they can too.

11. Elijah Medge | Long Beach 2015
9. 100% Alignment of Goals
Let’s start off here: Do you even know your peoples’ goals? If you do, you’re a giant step
ahead of most managers. But the next step is to ensure that your staff’s goals, your goals
as a manager, and the company’s goals, are all in sync. Successfully accomplishing this
means having frequent and regularly scheduled conversations about goals. It means not
being afraid to ask your people for their feedback. In order to manage a successful
company, your people must fully buy into the company's mission. If they don't feel like they
are part of that mission, you will never see them perform at their best.
Flickr CC via www.flazingo.com

12. Elijah Medge | Long Beach 2015
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
There you have it, 9 Unique Tips for Creating a Great Work Environment
from entrepreneur and manager, Elijah Medge.
What do you think of these tips? Have you tried any of them?
Have any additional tips to share? Share your comments below!
For more tips from Elijah Medge visit his website
Read more about Elijah Medge on Crunchbase

13. Elijah Medge | Long Beach 2015
About
As the owner of several direct marketing firms
throughout the United States, Elijah Medge has seen
first-hand the value of an attractive corporate culture.
In the highly competitive sales industry, the only way
to be successful is to persist through long days and
frequent rejection. In a business that can so easily
foster a negative environment, Elijah Medge has
become passionate about reversing this effect. He and
his team have implemented a work environment that
facilitates positivity, energy and excitement. This, in
turn, has fostered productivity, and ultimately financial
success for the business and everyone on the team.
Here you will read the top 10 tips from entrepreneur,
Elijah Medge, for creating a great place to work.