Every successful business owner or manager understands – or should understand – that happy employees make productive employees. Many also wonder if it is all really so simple.

Outside of a great salary and awesome benefits, many companies have developed systems (which sounds overly serious) to create active, energized and (gulp) fun workplaces to increase employee productivity. If that’s a counter-intuitive concept to you, then you might want to listen up.

While some companies, most notably those like Google, NIKE, Zappo, or Foursquare, have blazed the trail in creating fun workplace environments, there is research to suggest a fun workplace not only improves productivity, but also fosters organizational community, pride, and loyalty. A University of Florida study found employees who had fun on the clock accomplished more and showed more creativity. Likewise, a professor at the Mayo Clinic [told The New York Times] workers don’t take enough breaks, while another study shows regular breaks increase productivity.

On the flip side, recreation in the workplace not only promotes creativity and innovation, which increase productivity and profitability, it also reduces costs in employee turnover and health care. The World Health Organization suggests that workplace-related stress actually costs American companies more than $300 billion. As it is, more than 40 percent of American workers report chronic workplace stress, and other research points to the fact that employee stress squashes creativity and competitiveness.

It could lead one to believe stress is bad for business, and fun is good.

So what are the best ways to take a break, goof off or recharge your batteries that lead to less stress and increased productivity when you get back to work? 

Get out of your chair. Do anything that gets you up and moving, whether it’s a walk around the block, running an errand or just visiting co-workers to chat. If your company has a gym, take advantage of it during the middle of the day.

Add fun or relaxation space. A game room will give employees a reason to take a mental break, while a quiet relaxation room could be used for reading or naps during mandatory breaks.

Use fun tools. If you’re a fan of gadgets, use them to manage your productivity and make more time for fun. Check out these mobile apps that can make you more efficient. 

Ditch the mundane meetings. Traditional meetings can be boring and a huge time waster. Try different approaches to the traditional meeting that focus on different principles for hyper-productive sessions.

New thoughts on workplace design. Let employees create a sense of ownership by decorating their own spaces, such as with lights or chairs, and bring in personal artwork for the office. Take down walls that separate employees, create open environments, or even standing work stations. 

Celebrate good things. Instead of a pat on the back, take time away from the desk to celebrate victories and recognize good work. Take afternoons off or let people out early for a holiday weekend.

Research shows, mothers are influencing way more than their own families lives.  Whether they are connecting with family and friends on Facebook, adding Pins to their Pinterest board or researching their child’s ailments on WebMD, mothers are changing the way we view the Internet.

They have become the predominant user of social media in the past 3 years.  Leading the pack with most visits to social networks, mothers are more willing to Like and Share a brands page with their online community.  Online Brands have recognized this and have become more interactive by communicating directly with mothers through online conversations.

Brands have also noticed that Mothers rely heavily on product reviews and soundboards.  Mothers are more likely to purchase something that was recommended or reviewed.  Since mothers do the majority of their shopping online, brands have become aware of the importance of tracking their reviews and customer satisfaction.

Mothers are blogging queens.  A mother writes about 1 in 3 blogs you will find on the Internet.  Thanks to their words of wisdom and reviews, brands are able to notice what is trending, and how they can tailor their advertisements to the trends.

Brands have started tailoring their marketing efforts specifically to mothers by establishing an emotional connection with them.  This is done by focusing on what mothers care about.  Moms these days are not only buying groceries, but electronics, cars, and other major purchases.  Brand have recognized these changes and have made campaigns that focus on the needs of a mom in this day and age. With that said, it is worth your while to see how you can get your brand noticed by such a powerful sector of online consumers.

Some view cold calling as a behind-the-times, antiquated tactic that is no better than a waste of time. But cold calling still has its proponents, those who view it as an effective, tried and true source of lead-generation if done correctly.

Make no mistake, cold calling can be daunting. But in the digital age where the decision makers you want to reach are maxed out with hundreds, and even thousands, of emails a day, a phone call can cut through the clutter. With a strategy and a methodology, cold calling can still be targeted and effective.

Maybe there is no “perfect” cold call. But there are many commonly-used tactics and strategies for effective cold calls that can achieve the ultimate goal – generating leads and opportunities to set up appointments. Here’s a round-up of seven successful cold calling strategies.

Create a targeted list. Plan ahead and do your research on who you’re calling to develop personal connections and common interests or networks. Determine your target centers of influence so you have identified the right prospects. Look for prospects with the right profile, prospects who have bought in the past or have traits (industry, title, region) that might help you position your product or service.

Have a script, but don’t sound scripted. With a limited amount of time to get to the point and deliver your call to action, be compelling and grab attention. You know your product better than anyone, so show value but don’t sound disingenuous.

Incorporate questions. Open-ended questions give you the chance to engage in conversation, build rapport, gain insight and most importantly listen. Create opportunities to close an appointment.

Anticipate objections. Create a list of commonly used objections, responses and strategies. It’s effective to address objections and say you will address them later in the conversation. Embrace the objections and use them as an opportunity to promote your service. Make sure to listen and provide solutions.

Keep track of the gatekeepers. It’s valuable to make the right contacts, gain scheduling information, and be professional yet courteous with your initial point of contact. It will make your time more efficient and allow you to prioritize your calls.

Timing matters. Experts suggest the best time to reach busy executives is early in the morning and at the end of the day, on each end of daily meetings. Know your clients and keep track of what times of day are effective.

Follow up and stay in touch. Develop a follow-up system that keeps track of your calls and progress. Utilize emails, newsletters or social media to stay top-of-mind with your potential clients.

It’s commonplace for business projects to become stalled or lose momentum. What happens next – in the context of project management –  is critical for your business.

Many circumstances can cause the momentum of a project to slow or grind to a halt, and it is all too easy to lose sight of a project once it becomes stalled. Sometimes uncertainty can slow progress, or other projects take a priority, or outside factors – such as client needs, or even the Holiday season – cause inadvertent paralysis.

These situations are all too common for project managers, but the key is you can’t let a project to be mired in a stall for too long. As important as it is to understand why the project stalled, it’s equally important to recognize what steps to take next.

So how do you jumpstart a stalled business project? Here are five steps to take.

Focus on the objectives. The obvious can easily be overlooked. An effective leader should refocus the project team to review the objectives – each of the goals and why they matter to the project and the organization.

Seek objective advice. Sometimes you can be too close to a project to accurately recognize the obstacles. Find a trusted and objective voice who has nothing to do with the project for advice and a fresh prospective for a possible solution.

Review the stakeholders. Are the right people involved in the project? Is it necessary for every person to be working on the project? You won’t always achieve a consensus, and often times it’s not necessary.

Set appropriate deadlines. The wrong deadlines – such as those set too far in advance – can help derail a project. Adjust deadlines appropriately as the project progresses, moving them up if necessary, to motivate those who work best under pressure.

Define priorities to build momentum. Find near-term project tasks and goals that are attainable, and set the priority and focus to complete them. Communicate, define, and execute the steps to achieve the tasks. Focus on today first, and slowly, the momentum will build.

Corporate culture is often described as “how you do business.” So it stands to reason that in today’s data-driven culture, doing business necessarily blends analytics and business know-how.

When it comes to businesses who aspire to improve their corporate financial planning within a more data-driven decision-making culture, the key may be to widen the brain trust involved.

At least that’s the recommendation of Ben Lamorte, senior manager of customer excellence at financial management software vendor Adaptive Planning, who suggests financial planning decision makers need to collaborate with and involve operations managers throughout the corporate financial planning process.

How to undertake and achieve such an objective might not be completely obvious. How do your financial leaders involve the right operations managers to the right extent, at the right time, to drive more efficient planning?

Get operations on board. They key is to integrate the broad organization view of executives with the perspective of managers who see the day-to-day picture. So who to recruit? Find respected managers who are tech-savvy and comfortable with applications. Lamont says training should be accessible and accomplishments recognized to foster enthusiasm.

Implement customized driver-based plans with operations. The goal is to create integrated driver-based plans that emerge organically. With the help of the operations teams, start by asking department-level leaders what decisions the model should inform, suggests Lamont, starting with one department.  This collaborative focus on target decisions will also support finance and operations leaders to collectively define key performance indicators (KPIs).

All about analytics. By giving more people throughout the business more access to analytics and input into which metrics to track, it increases understanding as to what drives the company forward. Finance leaders should create dashboards utilizing visual analytics with real data to show operations managers and solicit feedback. The use of simple and tailored performance indicators is important. The key is to get insights that inform decision-making and influence department- and corporate-level goals.