Stress an ally? You bet.

Imagine this. A Weiner dog is skipping down the street in the late afternoon sun. His belly’s full. He’s holding his head high. Just as he’s passing a fenced-in yard, a hulk-like howl followed by an enormous set of gnashing teeth and the muscled body of a German Shepherd invades the Weiner dog’s happy world. The Weiner dog bolts. He sprints for a good half-mile until he slows to a trot. He shivers and shakes for another 10 minutes before finally returning to a skip. His head lifts. The sun is out. Life is good.

So, German Shepherds and Vann’s. . .

Recently, George ManLove, CEO of Vann’s, gave a town-hall type of presentation about the overall health of the company. Considering the sudden German-Shepherd like changes in the CE industry and the company, Vann’s is quite healthy. I became curious about what employees are doing to “shake off the stress” of changing business strategies. Because ultimately a company’s health IS the health of its employees.

Here are my favorite examples of stress-release at Vann’s:

Two of Vann’s employees (Matt Ranta, Marketing Manager, and Pobzeb Amerding, IT guru), participated in a triathlon last Saturday. Reading their tweets in the past few months about biking 10+ miles, beating personal swim lap times, and carbo-loading has been quite inspiring. They’re literally transforming stress into a new challenge.

One of our merchants, Annabel Zeigler, is in a bodybuilding competition in Seattle this weekend and Spokane the next. One example of the dedication this requires: she ate asparagus and boiled eggs throughout the holiday season. This is serious follow-through, especially when caramel-fudge brownies and all forms of cakes keep showing up in the break room and occasionally on her desk.

Shipping processor Diane Westbrook has simply begun walking during her 15 minute breaks. This is more my style – I’ve found that breathing fresh air and getting away from my computer helps dissipate stress.

George ManLove downhill skis frequently. I’m betting some of his best ideas for the company show up while he’s on the chair lift or zipping down moguls.

The list of stress-release goes on in many different creative ways, from quilting to piano playing to cooking. I focus on exercise because it produces endorphins, allows for periodic solitude, and literally shakes stress out of the body. For me, that’s a winning combo to turn stress into an ally. Which is why Vann's is so resilient in the face of such change.

Puts the German Shepherd in a little different light, too, doesn’t it?