| Humor at Work |
ISSUE 665 - Feb. 8, 2017 |
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Failing Your Way to Success |
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NASA has a policy of never using the term failure. Setbacks at NASA are instead considered "early attempts at success" - not a bad way to look at failure when you're trying something bold or innovative. In fact, every highly creative entrepreneur or business I've researched goes out of their way to maintain a healthy attitude when it
comes to failure. Failure is research, it's education, it's how you discover what NOT to do, and failure is how you grow.
That's why the Centiro Software company in Sweden holds regular "Failure Parties" to remove the stigma around failure and to help people celebrate failure and share the hard lessons they learned in a fun way. A U.S. company has a fun Wall of Shame where they humorously poke fun at some of their bloopers and missteps. On a smaller scale, BambooHR uses what it has coined an Oops Email where employees can send out an Oops Email to everyone when they've made a mistake that
might impact other people in the company. The Oops Email keeps things light and encourages people to speak up in a timely and honest manner when they've mucked up. Silicon Valley recently held a Day of the Dead event where tech entrepreneurs shared their most instructive mistakes and failures, and a group in Prince George, B.C. held their first "F***d Up Friday" event where people shared their best failure stories in an attempt to reframe failure as opportunities to learn and grow.
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Mike's Fun at Work Tip |
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It's Laugh and Grow Rich Day today, so today's tip is to simply remind you to look for ways to use a little humor to boost your sales. As I mention in my book, The Humor Advantage - Why Some Businesses Are Laughing All the Way to the Bank, studies show that when salespeople use more humor, buyers are willing to pay a higher price. Another study cited in the book shows how sending a safe, inoffensive cartoon to someone you are
negotiating with generates higher levels of trust and 15% higher profits. And finally - my favorite study - which revealed that offering to throw a pet frog into the mix during negotiations can result in a better offer from the buyer.  |
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Quote of the Week |
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“What is funny about ourselves is precisely that we take ourselves too seriously.” Reinhold Niebuhr
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It's a Wacky World |
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Some accidental humor found on church bulletin boards:
- The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.
- Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.
- The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the church basement Friday at 7 PM. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.
- Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use the large double doors at the side entrance.
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mike@mikekerr.com
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