Reduce stress and make it a lot more fun! When is "Take your Girlfriends to work day"?

Today is "Take Your Dog to Work Day." Okay, here at Girlfriendology, every day is take your dog to work day! It is a wonderful environment to relieve stress, bring some humor (and sometimes unpleasant smells knowing my dog Brando!) to the home office, etc.

USAtoday wrote about what your dog can teach you about business in this article, like great lessons on loyalty, patience, acceptance and being grateful.

What can we learn about business from our girlfriends? I'd love your thoughts but I'll get us started:

* Relationships - There's so many books on the business relationships we have to develop with our coworkers, clients and colleagues. Why do we need the books? We don't 'get' it. Girlfriends do. Female friends understand' the importance of relationships. We value the personal bond between women that allows us to be ourselves and puts us not in a competitive situation, but a supportive, helpful, "I'll cheer for you no matter what" role. Like "man's best friend," this gets down to the real stuff like loyalty and affection.

* FUN - At my previous job, I would stop periodically throughout the day to visit with Carole or Katie - my girlfriends in the office. (After Lisa, Angie and Beth Anne left us!) I need the break in my day to relax, de-stress and laugh. Often my girlfriends are my sounding-board and assist me with problem-solving and brain-storming. I couldn't make it through an hour or two in the office without them. They kept me sane through many a seemingly sans-sanity situation!

* Learning - I learn so much from my girlfriends (and also from Girlfriendology Podcast guests!). My friends Katie and Angie are fashionistas so I'd often get style ideas and shopping pointers from them. Carole had been at the company much longer and understood a lot of the helpful history that was a great asset in strategizing and deciding the best course of action.

Dedication, passion, mentors ... so many things we learn from our girlfriends that easily apply to our business decisions and relationships. If Girlfriends ran businesses, it would be a friendly, social, successful and savvy world! So, what business lessons have you learned from your girlfriends?