| Humor at Work |
ISSUE 595 - Aug. 19, 2015 |
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If You Can Teach a Robot to Have a Sense of Humor... |
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Some random thoughts, musings and ideas...
- One of the mindsets that drives success at Apple is this: Employees are encouraged to consider two separate achievements at the end of every project - the actual product itself and what they learned in the process. They stress the learning aspect because they realize that what people learn during a project will largely determine their future success.
- I love this observation from the book Great Places to Work: "Why is it that when we see the CEO picking up trash in the parking lot he's a hero, but when we see a custodial employee doing the same job we consider it menial labor?"
- A Harvard Business Review research report shows that 96% of employees experience rudeness at work; 80% of employees report losing work time worrying about the incident; 12% left their jobs because of rude behavior; 25% admitted to taking their frustrations out on customers. Rudeness at work costs you time and money! (So...be NICE!)
- More and more workplaces are creating alumni databases in order to maintain contact with retired employees.The consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton has a "Manager of Alumni Programs" and over 3,000 alumni.
- It's easy to shoot down ideas, so try this to generate some interesting discussion: Make the naysayers present evidence that an idea won't work.
- Rather than providing feedback to fellow employees, adopt a mindset and approach of "feed forward": Focus on the positive behaviors in the future that will help get the results everyone wants without ever talking about the past.
- Microsoft is partnering with The New Yorker to teach a robot how to have a sense of humor. Which begs the question, if they can teach a robot to have a sense of humor...why can't they teach everyone? (Like the guy who served me at the store this morning, as just one example.)
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Mike's Fun at Work Tip |
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You may have heard the story of the Boston transit bus driver who pulled his bus over at a lemonade stand and bought a round for the seven passengers on his bus, which naturally made everyone's day. It's one of those uplifting stories that makes you smile and perhaps motivates a few people to look for similar opportunities to do something a little different and surprising as they go about their day.
If you want your team or employees to stay inspired and encourage them to perform random and planned acts of kindness, then start a file of uplifting stories that demonstrate kindness, humanity, service, and humor. Create a special bulletin board to post the stories, create a space on your intranet site for them, and/or open each meeting or daily team huddle with an inspiring story.
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Quote of the Week |
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"People with a sense of humor tend to be less egocentric, more realistic in their view of the world, more humble in moments of success, and less defeated in times of travail." Bob Newhart
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It's a Wacky World |
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From the book, "On the Job," some responses you can offer your boss if she catches you sleeping:
- "They told me at the blood bank that this might happen."
- "Ah, the unique and unpredictable circadian rhythms of the workaholic."
- "This is one of the seven habits of highly effective people. Really."
- "Why did you interrupt me, I almost had our biggest problem solved!"
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The Humor Advantage
is available as an e-book, on Kindle, on Kobo, and of course, as signed hard cover copies via our website at The Humor Advantage.
Inspiring Reading
Mike is quoted in the Business Insider article: "7 People You Should Suck Up to at Work"
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Contact: mike@mikekerr.com
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mike@mikekerr.com
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