Issue No. 517 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting trumpets a Laugh-Out-Loud book that promises humor can be a secret weapon in business and life—even for you! Plus listen to The Discerning Leader Podcast (see below) for Steve Macchia's interview with John. And this reminder: click here to download free resources from the 20 management buckets (core competencies), click here for over 500 book reviews, and click here for John's new blog, Pails in Comparison (PIC), with shorter book reviews of his latest “PICs.”
The “Global Humor Cliff” is featured in the LOL book, Humor, Seriously. For a taste, view “How to Make a Sense of Humor Your Superpower” in this “five lessons in five minutes” video from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
The 4 Styles of Humor: What’s Your Style?
In their 2021 serious—but very humorous—book, Humor, Seriously, a Stanford Graduate School of Business prof and a business strategist/stand-up comedian describe how a business and board consultant puts his funny to work.
Using humor—instead of put-downs—to address organizational and boardroom dysfunction, this senior management consultant always packs a copy of the “CIA’s Simple Sabotage Field Manual, a set of guidelines devised by U.S. government officials to sabotage terrorist organizations from the inside.”
That 50-page quick-read resource for your leadership toolbox is noted in the wonderful book by Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas, subtitled, “Why Humor Is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life (And how anyone can harness it. Even you.)”
The authors laugh along with their readers: “Originally developed by the OSS during World War II, the Simple Sabotage Field Manual is a guide for, as the CIA puts it, ‘teaching people how to do their jobs badly.’” They add:
“Here’s a sample of some of the tactics our nation’s best intelligence officers recommend you use to undermine the operations and efficiency of a terrorist cell—or a typical American board meeting.”
• When possible, refer all matters to committees, for "further study and consideration." Attempt to make the committees as large as possible — never less than five.
• Make "speeches." Talk as frequently as possible and at great length. Illustrate your "points" by long anecdotes and accounts of personal experiences.
• Haggle over the precise wordings of communications, minutes, resolutions.
• Bring up irrelevant issues as frequently as possible.
• Refer back to matters decided upon at the last meeting and attempt to re-open the question of the advisability of that decision.
I’ve been in those board and staff meetings! LOL! But the sabotage resource is just one of dozens and dozens of creative ways to inject humor into our boring and lackluster workplaces (and Zoom calls!). The authors explain how the best leaders and managers use humor at work—and no surprise—the book has hilarious moments. But you’ll also discover that humor is very serious business. Start with the research.
Really—there’s research on humor? Of course—if you’re a Stanford prof, you survey more than 700 people to ask, “What’s holding you back from using humor at work?” Four myths popped out of the clown car (I mean...the research car):
MYTH #1: The Serious Business Myth. The authors bust this myth with research and insightful quotes—even from President Eisenhower (1953-1961), “the second-least naturally funny president after Franklin Pierce” (1853-1857). Bottom line: employees love humor.
MYTH #2: The Failure Myth. This erroneous belief often plagues team members who “express a deep, paralyzing fear that their humor will fail.” Aaker and Bagdonas come to the rescue again with a helpful four-quadrant chart (aka Boston Consulting Group Matrix)—positioning “appropriateness” on the vertical axis versus “laughter” on the horizontal axis. (See page 28, just three pages beyond my “Page 25” standard for charts that summarize great books.)
MYTH #3: The Being Funny Myth. Good news! You don’t have to be funny all the time—just look for “a moment of delight that leads to a smile, or an ‘aha’ rather than a ‘haha’ (or, if you work for a supervillain, a ‘mwahaha’).” And get this—Gallup has documented the “Humor Cliff,” when humor rises and falls. The authors note that “we tend to smile and laugh much more on the weekends than on weekdays.” They add, “So you’ve been practicing.” (That’s funny!) And more good news: my age group on the Gallup chart, “Humor Cliff, Weekend Edition,” documents that we laugh more on weekends than those stuffy 40- to 60-year-old people! But…then it's downhill until you’re in your 80s and 90s. Those folks, apparently, have more to chuckle about!
MYTH #4. The Born With It Myth. Even comedians “need both talent and training to succeed.” More good news—with training and exercise, you can learn how to use humor in your life and your workplace. Humor is a skill “…we can strengthen through training and use, much as we would strengthen our leg muscles by working out at the gym…and walking to and from the fridge during videoconferences when our ‘camera isn’t working.’” (See the “No One Is Born Funny” chart on page 31. It involves puppies!)
WHAT’S YOUR HUMOR STYLE? Of course, this business strategist/professor writing duo offer a “Humor Styles Questionnaire.” I completed the online assessment and received a three-page report (in color!). The book explains the four humor styles and begins with this: “First, like any good lumberjack, let’s understand our axes.” (Funny!)
Have you ever segmented your humorous friends and family members into four groups? (Not me!) The four styles:
• The Stand-up (Aggressive-Expressive)
• The Sweetheart (Affiliative-Subtle)
• The Magnet (Affiliative-Expressive)
• The Sniper (Aggressive-Subtle)
Sniper? Yes! “Snipers are edgy, sarcastic, and nuanced, unafraid to cross lines in pursuit of a laugh. They describe their humor as an 'acquired taste’—one that not everyone will acquire—with a delivery that tends to be dry and under their breath.”
Me? They tag me as a Magnet—but you’ll need to read the book to see why I enjoy injecting humor into my book reviews, my meetings, and my wardrobe (says my wife!). So…put on your own clown clothes and take the free HUMOR TYPOLOGY QUIZ. You’ll receive your own “Custom Humor Typology Report” and you’ll be on your way to injecting appropriate humor into your workplace. (I’m serious! Take the quiz!)
What’s your Humor Style? Stand-up, Sweetheart, Magnet, or Sniper? Click here to take the Humor Typology Quiz featured in the seriously funny book, Humor, Seriously.
YOU WILL THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT HUMOR. There’s way too much in this book to mention here—but for the record—I made 45 notes in the front blank pages of my book. Very funny/serious stuff! You (yes, you!) and even your boss can learn how to leverage the power of humor in business (and life), based on the popular class at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Here’s a taste from the book:
• LOL. The late night TV writers for Seth Myers deliver 100 jokes each day. Myers thins it down to just 12 of the best. (I’d like to read the left-overs!)
• LOL. Read about the prank that the White House senior advisors pulled on President George W. Bush (2001-2009) during a policy meeting. (Everyone wore tan socks.)
• LOL. Chapter 2, “Your Brain on Humor,” highlights a student-written underground newspaper at West Point that emerged after 9/11. (The purpose: “lift the collective spirits” of the cadets.) This chapter reminded me of the brain science in Brain Rules for Work (read my review).
• LOL. In “The Anatomy of Funny” chapter, they note the classic humor technique of exaggeration—with Sarah Cooper’s “Airline Seating Chart” on page 83. Hilarious! Cooper reveals the real truth about your airline experience: First Class, Economy Comfort, Economy Discomfort, Economy Agony…and worse!
MORE LAUGHS COMING...
• LOL. When Deloitte consultants “like so many of us, had stopped speaking like humans,” the team developed software that called out the objectionable jargon—“holding a contest to see who could provide the most egregious ‘bullwords.’” (They list the top bullwords, like “bleeding edge,” “robust,” and "synergize”!) The winner won a trip to bullfighting school. For real! This reminded me of the classic mission statement video by "Weird Al" Yankovic.
• LOL.The authors highlight a company that “created a wall of ‘quotes of the week,’ where they would document the funniest moments and phrases, encouraging all employees to be on the lookout for moments of humor and joy throughout the workday.”
• LOL. Another company created enormous signs highlighting their core values. One sign to spotlight “AGILITY” was misspelled and read “AGLITITY.” (The fun-loving team reports that the typo is still on the sign and prompts chuckles every day!)
• LOL. In the chapter, “Creating a Culture of Levity,” read why one company has a budget line item for chicken-themed socks!” (Hilarious!)
• LOL. Don’t skip the laugh-out-loud footnotes like this one on page 124 referencing your pet frog: “If you got this deep-reach callback [a humor technique] to the negotiations study in chapter 2, we are proud of you.”
3 OPTIONS! Want to cannoball deeper into the humor pool? Here are three options. Oops! Four options! (See what I did there?)
[ ] #1. Read Humor, Seriously.
[ ] #2. Listen to Humor, Seriously.
[ ] #3. View “Class Takeaways: Humor Is Serious Business” from Stanford Graduate School of Business. The video: “Five lessons in five minutes — learn how to make a sense of humor your superpower.”
[ ] #4. Take the free HUMOR TYPOLOGY QUIZ.
To order from Amazon, click on title for Humor, Seriously: Why Humor Is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life (And how anyone can harness it. Even you.), by Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas. Listen on Libro.fm (6 hours, 5 minutes). And thanks to Sydney Romanov for generously gifting this book to me and giving me many laughs (and insights). Note: The authors sometimes use what Trey Gowdy calls “non-church words”—so buyer beware!
Also, to order the 50-page declassified CIA resource from Amazon, click on title for Simple Sabotage Field Manual , by United States Office of Strategic Services. (Per above, consider bringing this book to every dysfunctional board meeting! LOL!)
YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:
1) Try a “Bad Idea Brainstorm” session with your team! Humor, Seriously suggests that “instead of just assuring your team that ‘there are no bad ideas,’ explicitly ask for the silliest, craziest, worst possible ideas they can think of—the ones they think have no chance of working.” Read the chapter, “Putting Your Funny to Work” and try this at your shop. DISCUSS: After taking the Humor Typology Quiz, discuss how the four humor styles might approach the “Bad Idea Brainstorm” session!
2) One of my many books of quotations includes this keeper, “Humor is God’s aspirin” (author unknown). Humor, Seriously notes that writing jokes can be a counter-intuitive way to create new ideas. In 2017, a global retailer asked a “pitch” company to write jokes on how brick and mortar stores should compete against e-commerce. One standout: “Amazon never lets you keep the hanger.” The authors noted, “But underlying each of these jokes was real insight.” ASSIGNMENT: Write some jokes your church could use to inspire members and attenders to exit online church and return to their favorite pew! (You might unearth some deeper insights with a few LOLs!)
The Book Bucket affirms that “leaders are readers” (and listeners). How about a pie-in-the-face award for managers who have read the LEAST number of books in the past 90 days?
Buckets Countdown:
The Book Bucket (#5) Insights from Mastering the Management Buckets Workbook: Management Tools, Templates and Tips from John Pearson, with commentary by Jason Pearson (2nd Edition, 2018) - Order from Amazon.
The Book Bucket Core Competency: “We believe leaders are readers! We create a culture that embraces a healthy appetite for leadership and management books, journals, articles and audio resources. We mentor team members with thoughtfully selected titles and chapters to help them leverage their strengths, grow in their faith and serve others with passion. We don’t just talk about books—we actually read them!”
LOL from the Book Bucket! We’ve chuckled over a few LOL books over the years, including these favorites that were featured in Issue No. 480 (click here):
• A Comedian’s Prayer Book, by Frank Skinner (order from Amazon)
• Laughter Therapy: Good Medicine to Make Your Heart Glad, by Jonny Hawkins and Bob Phillips (order from Amazon)
• Humorists: From Hogarth to Noel Coward, by Paul Johnson (order from Amazon)
LOL! SIGN ON A PASTOR'S DESK:
“Don’t feel totally, personally, irrevocably responsible for everything;
that’s my job—God.”
(From Quotes for the Journey, compiled by Gordon S. Jackson)
The 20 management buckets are perfect content for the lifelong learning segment in your weekly staff meetings (you do have weekly staff meetings, right?). Visit the 20 buckets webpage here. For more, visit the Book Bucket.
BONUS! Listen to The Discerning Leader Podcast for Steve Macchia's interview with John Pearson (Episode 4, April 21, 2022). And click here to read John's review of Steve's new book, The Discerning Life.
THRIVE! “The Resiliency Diagnostic” in Arrive and Thrive is worth the price of the book. See the 20 statements on the “Effective Crisis Leadership Competency.” That’s just one of many helpful resources in this brilliant book by three women authors, subtitled, “7 Impactful Practices for Women Navigating Leadership.” (Read the review at my value-added, jargon-filled, synergistic blog, Pails in Comparison.)
JASON PEARSON: UNEXPECTED CREATIVE. Know how to use appropriate humor in your marketing and communication pieces? Call us to learn why humor is a “secret weapon” in your storytelling. Contact Pearpod Media (Design, Digital, Marketing, Social).
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