Humor at Work: Stand Up for an Inspiring Workplace

Published: Wed, 01/29/14

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Humor at Work ISSUE 523 - JAN 29,  2014
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Stand Up for an Inspiring Workplace

 

Steve Cody, the co-founder and managing partner of Peppercomm, a communications agency based in New York, understands the power of humor and storytelling to help package his clients' messages. But as a part time stand-up comedian, he's also a huge believer in the power of humor to change the way people interact and communicate with one another, and in the process transform an entire workplace culture. I had a fascinating conversation with Cody last week, where he explained how humor has completely become embedded in Peppercomm's DNA.
 
After taking a comedy course, Cody was such a comedy convert that he insisted the entire Peppercomm management team take the training as well. "At first everyone balked. They couldn't see the connection to business, plus some managers were terrified!  But after doing the workshop there was unanimous support to bring it to all the employees."  Now every new employee must take the training and all employees must take a refresher course so it's not treated as a one-off experience. Here are five key benefits that came out of Peppercomm's stand-up comedy training: 
 
1. Everyone communicates better, particularly when it comes to listening skills. As Cody explained, "Doing stand-up teaches you to listen intently to audience feedback and to read body language cues." 
2. Presentation skills are improved. Cody stressed that the training isn't about telling jokes, but about telling stories, so everyone becomes better storytellers, plus they are able to think on their feet faster, and they're more confident because after doing stand-up, any business presentation seems like a breeze by comparison! 
3. It's a great team building experience. The training has become a rite of passage for everyone at Peppercomm where everyone bonds due to the intensity of the experience. People are vulnerable when they are on stage and 100% supportive when they are in the audience, and that all carries back to the office. They especially find a profound difference occurs in how younger employees relate to the older managers.
4. It's helped Peppercomm attract and retain employees. "Word has spread about our unorthodox training," Cody said. "Younger employees are drawn to us because they like the creative approach and positive culture, so it's helped our recruiting practices immensely."   
5. The entire culture is strengthened. Every aspect of Peppercomm's culture has improved. The key, Cody stressed, is to not treat it as a gimmick or a one-off flavor of the month phenomenon. Building the comedy into the culture requires that everyone stands up for an inspiring workplace. 

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    Mike's Fun at Work Tip
 
Following up on last week's tips for starting a meeting on time, here are a few ways to ensure your meetings are short and sweet and end on time:
 
1. Do what some Google teams do: Record the length of your meetings and strive to beat your fastest time. (You don't want to sacrifice quality for brevity, but this might help for an information sharing or team huddle type meeting.)
 
2. The online photo sharing site Flickr has everyone drink a 16 oz. glass of water before each meeting. The meeting is over as soon as the first person has to go. Literally. 
 
3. When you hit your target end time have attendees stand for the rest of the meeting: It's amazing how much faster things will move along!
 
4. Use a fun noisemaker (such as giant gong or kazoo) to signal each 15 or 30-minute mark and again to signal the close of the meeting.
 
5. Agree that any issues not dealt with by the scheduled end time will be "parked" until the next meeting.
 
6. Assign a "meeting ref" to ensure meetings stay focused and on track in a lighthearted manner without having to hit anyone over the head with their copy of Robert's Rules of Order.  
 
7. Arrange to have a collie burst into the room at the scheduled end time and bark out, "The barn's on fire!" (This should be reserved for extreme situations only.) 
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    Quote of the Week
 

 
"If it bends it's funny, if it breaks it's not funny." Woody Allen
 
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    It's a Wacky World

January 30 is "Inane Answering Machine Message Day."  Here's a few, well, if not inane, then at least mildly amusing options to try on for size:
 
"Hi, this is ______'s answering machine. He's not here, but I'm open to suggestions."
 
"Hi there. I'm probably home...I'm just avoiding someone I don't like. Leave me a message, and if I don't call back, it's you!" 
 
"We might be in, we might be out, but leave a message and you might find out!"
 
"I am not here right now. If you are a friend leave a message, if you are a creditor or telemarketer you can kiss my...BEEP"
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Cost Savings to Book Mike 
 
Kelowna/Penticton: Special "need to see Mom" discounted rates all year
Toronto: February 27
Frankfurt, Germany, London, England, & Bahrain: March 20-22; April 1-4 
Vancouver: April 10-12
 
 
 
 
Inspiring Reading
 
Mike has a post on the Speakers' Spotlight speakers bureau blog: Culture is Everything and Everything is Culture
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Humor at Work TV
 
From the archives: How IBM used the art of humor in the art of sales to help soften their image: The Art of the Sale
 
 
 
 
  
Humor at Work
Referral Program 
 
For every speaking referral, Humor at Work will donate 10% of Mike's fee to your organization's charity.
 
 
 
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mike@mikekerr.com