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Humor, Seriously: Why Humor Is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life (And how anyone can harness it. Even you.) Kindle Edition
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Don’t miss the authors’ TED Talk, “Why great leaders take humor seriously,” online now.
“The ultimate guide to using the magical power of funny as a tool for leadership and a force for good.”—Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of When and Drive
We are living through a period of unprecedented uncertainty and upheaval in both our personal and professional lives. So it should come as a surprise to exactly no one that trust, human connection, and mental well-being are all on the decline.
This may seem like no laughing matter. Yet, the research shows that humor and laughter are among the most valuable tools we have at our disposal for strengthening bonds and relationships, diffusing stress and tension, boosting resilience, and performing when the stakes are high.
That’s why Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas teach the popular course Humor: Serious Business at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where they help some of the world’s most hard-driving, blazer-wearing business minds infuse more humor and levity into their work and lives.
In Humor, Seriously, they draw on findings by behavioral scientists, world-class comedians, and inspiring business leaders to reveal how humor works and—more important—how you can use more of it, better.
Aaker and Bagdonas unpack the theory and application of humor: what makes something funny, how to mine your life for material, and simple ways to identify and leverage your unique humor style. They show how to use humor to rebuild vital connections; appear more confident, competent, and authentic at work; and foster cultures where levity and creativity can thrive.
President Dwight David Eisenhower once said, “A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.” If Dwight David Eisenhower, the second least naturally funny president (after Franklin Pierce), thought humor was necessary to win wars, build highways, and warn against the military-industrial complex, then you might consider learning it too.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherCrown Currency
- Publication dateFebruary 2, 2021
- File size15834 KB
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“I’ve learned (often the hard way) that the best way to be taken seriously is to not take yourself too seriously. My teams are always at their best when approaching problems with levity, which entails both humility and optimism and always engenders trust. Plus, it’s more fun—like this book!”—Eric Schmidt, former CEO and executive chair of Google (Alphabet)
“Humor is an act of social courage that, when used correctly, has a transformative effect. Humor, Seriously gives us the tools we need to deploy humor expertly in any environment.”—Susan Cain, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Quiet
“If you think your workplace would work better if everyone laughed more, this is your playbook.”—Chip Heath, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Power of Moments
“Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas make a scientific case for the importance of humor and show that it’s an incredible way to connect with customers and build culture. This book will help anyone embrace the power of laughter.”—Sara Blakley, founder and CEO of Spanx
“A sharp, incisive, and genuinely funny read that translates knowledge of the world of comedy to tools that actually work in the world of business.”—Anne Libera, director of comedy studies at The Second City
“Business is serious and the world is serious, especially right now. That means we need the ideas described in Humor, Seriously even more than ever. Not because levity and humor are ways to relieve the pressure of serious times, although they are, but because they unlock our humanity in the moments where we most need it.”—Tim Brown, chair of IDEO and author of Change by Design
“Eye-opening, hilarious, and absolutely original, Humor, Seriously will change the way you think on the job, about the world, and in your life.”—Leslie Blodgett, founder and former CEO of Bare Escentuals
“Fresh, profound, and consistently entertaining. I know the words ‘evidence-based’ don’t immediately connote riotous laughter, but Aaker and Bagdonas bring some irresistibly compelling science to the art and application of humor.”—Kelly Leonard, executive vice president of The Second City
“Of all the known ways to ruin humor, the most common start with the words ‘research,’ ‘analyze,’ and ‘professor.’ The bad news is that this book features all of those words. Prominently. The good news is that against all odds, you’ll actually have fun reading it.”—Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take, and host of the TED podcast WorkLife
“In this eye-opening, important and utterly enjoyable book, Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas use science to explain how humor at work (and in life) helps alleviate stress, anxiety, and burnout. Come for the humor, stay for the insights.”—Arianna Huffington, co-founder of The Huffington Post and CEO of Thrive Global
About the Author
Naomi Bagdonas is a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and an executive coach. She facilitates interactive sessions for leaders, Fortune 100 companies, and nonprofits and coaches executives and celebrities for appearances on shows ranging from Saturday Night Live to Today. Formerly trained at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, Bagdonas performs at comedy venues and teaches improv in San Francisco’s county jail. Her constant stream of foster dogs describe her as gullible and full of treats.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The Humor Cliff
“Humor is mankind’s greatest blessing.”—Mark Twain
It’s the first day of spring quarter at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Fifty students excitedly file into a lecture hall, a few still wondering whether the course they’ve registered for is an elaborate joke played by the administration. “Humor: Serious Business” is about to begin.
Whiteboards line the walls; all the chairs and tables have wheels, for easy rearranging. It’s a setting that’s ideal for workshopping and terrible for napping. Jennifer, in her self-appointed role as DJ, has David Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel” blasting. Naomi has a clip from SNL cued up to kick off the lecture.
And yet trepidation hangs heavy in the air.
Before class begins each semester, we have our students complete a “Humor Audit,” a self-reflection exercise / terrifyingly personal quiz about how they use humor in their lives. It includes questions like “Who or what makes you laugh the most in your life?” and “Who do you feel the funniest around?” and “Please submit complete documentation of your income, expenses, and assets for the previous fiscal year.”
So it’s understandable that the students feel spooked: A sense of humor is like a muscle—it atrophies without regular use. Unfortunately, we find that in most students and executives we start working with, atrophy abounds. Just look at these responses to the question “When was the last time you really laughed?”:
“I honestly can’t remember. Is that terrible?”
“I’ve been thinking and am drawing a blank! I know I laugh. Or at least I thought I did, which now I’m questioning . . .”
“On Tuesday, I did not laugh once. Not once. Who knew a class about humor could be so depressing?”
The good and bad news about these responses is that our students are not alone. And it’s not Tuesday.
The Humor Cliff
The collective loss of our sense of humor is a serious problem afflicting people and organizations globally. We’re all going over the humor cliff together, tumbling down into the abyss of solemnity below.
At the bottom of that abyss we’re joined by the majority of 1.4 million survey respondents in 166 countries who revealed in this Gallup poll that the frequency with which we laugh or smile each day starts to plummet around age twenty-three.
To some extent, this pattern makes sense. As kids, we laugh all the time. The average four-year-old laughs as many as three hundred times per day. (The average forty-year-old, by comparison, laughs three hundred times every two and a half months.) Then we grow up, enter the workforce, and suddenly become “serious and important people,” trading laughter for ties and pantsuits.
Before long, we lose levity entirely in a sea of bottom lines, slide decks, and mind-numbing conference calls. Our sense of play is repressed by a dizzyingly complex and dynamic professional environment, full of social land mines that are difficult to gauge and feel safer to avoid. As a result, most of us choose to keep our interactions sterile, measured, and professional; we go to work each day and leave our sense of humor—and so much more of ourselves—at the door.
This response signals a fundamental misunderstanding about how to work—how to solve important problems, how to conduct ourselves, and how to be successful.
We don’t need more “professionalism” in our workplaces. Instead, we need more of ourselves, and more human connection—especially as in-person meetings are replaced by video chats and more relationships are sustained entirely by email. Often, all it takes is a hint of levity to shift a moment, or a relationship, from transactional and robotic to relational and authentic.
So what’s holding us back?
Our research reveals four common misperceptions—or, as we like to call them:
The Four Deadly Humor Myths
After we surveyed more than seven hundred people across a wide range of industries and levels about what holds them back from using humor at work, four themes emerged, each rooted in a myth that needs debunking. It’s MythBusters, Business Edition.
The Serious Business Myth
A large portion of our respondents reported believing that humor simply has no place amid serious work.
Early in our careers, this myth often stems from insecurity about our lack of experience. (This is before we’re experienced enough to know nobody really knows anything.) We worry about harming our credibility and not being taken seriously.
Yet according to surveys of hundreds of executive leaders conducted by Robert Half International and Hodge-Cronin & Associates, 98 percent reported preferring employees with a sense of humor, while 84 percent believed employees with a sense of humor do better work. And humor affects not just how our leaders perceive us, but also how our peers do: Showing our sense of humor can make our peers more likely to attribute higher status to us and to vote us into leadership roles.
As we rise through the ranks in our careers, this misconception evolves. With greater status comes greater scrutiny; when we find ourselves on progressively bigger stages, we feel pressure to signal even more professionalism and “seriousness” to shareholders, customers, and colleagues. What’s more, leaders report that the status differential makes it harder to show up as their authentic selves while also fulfilling the responsibilities of their public role.
But now more than ever, they need to do both.
Today’s leaders are facing a crisis of trust; nearly half of employees cite their lack of trust in leadership as the single biggest issue impacting their work performance.
What’s more, when employees are asked what characteristics inspire trust in a leader, the responses that rise to the top—like “knowing the obstacles the leader overcame” and “speaks like a regular person”—tell a consistent story: Today’s employees yearn for more authentic, human leaders. Aspirational, yes, but also flawed. Humor is a powerful leadership strategy to humanize oneself to employees, break down barriers, and balance authority with approachability. (So powerful in fact that we wrote an entire chapter about it—damn.) As one example, leaders who use self-deprecating humor are rated higher on measures of both trustworthiness and leadership ability by their employees. While the bosses in question would probably downplay those gains with self-deprecating humor, they’re very real.
And beyond the signals we send to our employees, a culture that balances serious work with levity and play can actually improve team performance. In a study involving more than fifty teams, researchers analyzed prerecorded team meetings as well as supervisors’ ratings of team performance, both immediately and again two years later. The presence of humor in team interactions predicted more functional communication and higher team performance both in the moment and over time. Playful cultures allow teams to thrive, even (and especially) when the stakes are high and the times are hard.
Of course, we shouldn’t go for funny all the time—that would be exhausting (and counterproductive). But we’ve swung so far in the other direction that our businesses thirst for it. The secret to success for many of the brilliant executives featured in this book is their ability to strike a delicate balance between gravity and levity; much like hot fudge and ice cream, each enhances the other. And both make something (your business prospects and glycemic index, respectively) rise precipitously.
And if that adorable balloon heroically balancing an anchor isn’t convincing enough, then let’s pass the mic to President Eisenhower, who once said “A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.”
If Dwight David Eisenhower, the second-least naturally funny president after Franklin Pierce, thought humor was necessary to win wars, build highways, and warn against the military-industrial complex, then you better learn to use it, too.
Product details
- ASIN : B085BSHHK1
- Publisher : Crown Currency (February 2, 2021)
- Publication date : February 2, 2021
- Language : English
- File size : 15834 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 275 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #161,220 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #179 in Business & Professional Humor
- #261 in Personal Success in Business
- #709 in Communication & Social Skills (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors
DR. JENNIFER AAKER is the General Atlantic Professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a leading expert on how purpose and meaning shape individual choices and how technology can positively impact both human well-being and company growth. Her work has been widely published in leading scientific journals and featured in The Economist, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and Science. A recipient of the Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award and the MBA Professor of the Year, Aaker counts winning a dance-off in the early 1980s among her greatest feats.
Naomi Bagdonas is a Lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business and an Executive Coach. As a strategist and experience designer, Naomi unlocks creativity, innovation, and levity in leadership teams. She facilitates intentional, interactive sessions for the boards and executive teams of Fortune 100 companies to help them dissolve barriers to progress, spur alignment, and create lasting impact.
As a strategic advisor versed in humor, behavioral science, and human perceptions, Naomi coaches executives and celebrities in discovering and telling their authentic stories. This includes preparing clients for organization-wide events, political campaign speeches, and talks delivered at international forums such as the UN, as well as appearances including on The Today Show, Saturday Night Live, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Naomi co-created Business Chemistry, a personality system that enables leaders to collaborate seamlessly across different working styles, which over five hundred thousand people all over the world have used to build powerful relationships in their businesses and lives.
Naomi co-created and teaches popular courses at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, including "Humor: Serious Business" about the power of humor in our lives, "Rethinking Purpose" about how to achieve moonshot goals while building a life rooted in purpose, and "A New Type of Leader" about designing organizations where happiness and well-being can thrive. She lectures at Harvard Business School and gives talks to organizations and conferences around the world.
When she isn’t teaching and training others, Naomi spends time onstage at a local comedy theater, backpacks in the Sierras, and coaches San Francisco County Jail inmates to use improv comedy skills for agility and resilience (plus to laugh together, generously).
Customer reviews
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the information insightful, useful, and relatable. They describe the book as an enjoyable, fun read with good tips on how to formulate a joke. Readers also praise the writing quality as well-written, easy to read, and carefully structured.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the information insightful, useful, and relatable. They also say the book is engaging and thoughtful. Readers mention the techniques help create an awesome roadmap to help readers refine and connect at the soul level.
"...The tips, tricks, case studies and techniques help create an awesome roadmap to help readers refine and strategically adapt humor to practically any..." Read more
"...Humor smooths the way, encourages friendships, cements relationships, sparks innovations, and resonates with love...." Read more
"...You can do it!The book has a great tone to it. The authors did a lot of research...." Read more
"This is a lovely short book that has some useful ideas in it. It’s light hearted but it’s ideas are actually quite powerful...." Read more
Customers find the book enjoyable, fun, and insightful. They say it's a lovely short book that has useful ideas. Readers also mention the authors do an excellent job of explaining how to harness humor.
"...But once the pain subsides, it makes for a great read. It’s the funniest serious book I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading...." Read more
"...Definitely a good read." Read more
"...Tips.“Humor, Seriously” is highly practical as being a great read. Try the tips they suggest...." Read more
"This is a lovely short book that has some useful ideas in it. It’s light hearted but it’s ideas are actually quite powerful...." Read more
Customers find the book enjoyable to read about humor from an academic perspective. They say it provides an entertaining and informative spin on how effective it is. Readers also mention the book provides good tips for how to formulate a joke, what's appropriate at work, and why. They describe it as lighthearted and fun to learn science.
"...Humor, Seriously provides an entertaining and informative spin on how effective humor can be when developed as a powerful communications tool...." Read more
"...One reason we care is that laughing is good for us. Another is that jokes can pave the way to smooth relationships in the workplace...." Read more
"...There are some good tips for how to formulate a joke, what's appropriate at work and why leaders with a sense of humor excel. Definitely a good read." Read more
"...this IS a must-read for its information on developing a natural and warm sense of humor that will make you (and others) happier and more successful..." Read more
Customers find the book well-written, easy to read, and engaging. They also appreciate the examples and organization.
"...and the benefits of their fruitful efforts emerge in a carefully structured and engagingly presented trip through the subtleties of what makes..." Read more
"...And while I loved how clever and well-written and entertaining the book was, that is not why I am giving it five stars...." Read more
"...The book is easy to read while at the same time being detailed, informative and educational. Everyone can benefit from reading this book...." Read more
"...Writing is hard work and I am glad that Jennifer offered us cutting edge research from Stanford in this fun to read book. Thank you!" Read more
Customers find the book beautifully marries science, stories, and practical tips. They appreciate the clever anecdotes and personal reflections. Readers also mention the book is memorable and immediately practical.
"...at least this book will make the world a better, funnier and more interesting place." Read more
"...In short, they assemble personal reflections, clever anecdotes, experimental research findings, comments from real-life comedians, and observations..." Read more
"...is, this book validates my humor hunch, and backs it by research, stories, and gloriously entertaining infographics...." Read more
"One of the best, most memorable, and most immediately practical books I’ve read in awhile...." Read more
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Top reviews from the United States
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Humor, Seriously provides an entertaining and informative spin on how effective humor can be when developed as a powerful communications tool. The tips, tricks, case studies and techniques help create an awesome roadmap to help readers refine and strategically adapt humor to practically any situation. And Jennifer and Naomi have artfully broken down the process into bite-size pieces that can be enjoyed bit by delicious bit or in entire binge-worthy mouthfuls, sort of like my favorite chocolate.
What I love about this book is that it while it cracks me up, it also cracks the code on what makes humor funny, appropriate and successful. This book also provides a solid foundation for using humor as a force for good, not just getting laughs.
Up to now, I’ve taken great pride in my marginally funny sense of humor, but it was really a hit-or-miss proposition that involved throwing things out there and hoping for the best, with wildly mixed results. Humor, Seriously gives someone like me hope that I can actually be more funnier (industry term) simply by understanding concepts like the relationship between truth, pain and distance, and paying attention to how words might land for listeners.
And if you’re willing to learn from “humor bombs”, there’s even a formula for recovering from those backfires, too. Brilliant. The bottom line is that this book will make you a better person. Do yourself a big favor and buy it; your friends, family and colleagues will thank you. Seriously.
P.S. Quite frankly, Jennifer and Naomi are geniuses. I hope they both get a raise. But if not, at least this book will make the world a better, funnier and more interesting place.
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2021
Humor, Seriously provides an entertaining and informative spin on how effective humor can be when developed as a powerful communications tool. The tips, tricks, case studies and techniques help create an awesome roadmap to help readers refine and strategically adapt humor to practically any situation. And Jennifer and Naomi have artfully broken down the process into bite-size pieces that can be enjoyed bit by delicious bit or in entire binge-worthy mouthfuls, sort of like my favorite chocolate.
What I love about this book is that it while it cracks me up, it also cracks the code on what makes humor funny, appropriate and successful. This book also provides a solid foundation for using humor as a force for good, not just getting laughs.
Up to now, I’ve taken great pride in my marginally funny sense of humor, but it was really a hit-or-miss proposition that involved throwing things out there and hoping for the best, with wildly mixed results. Humor, Seriously gives someone like me hope that I can actually be more funnier (industry term) simply by understanding concepts like the relationship between truth, pain and distance, and paying attention to how words might land for listeners.
And if you’re willing to learn from “humor bombs”, there’s even a formula for recovering from those backfires, too. Brilliant. The bottom line is that this book will make you a better person. Do yourself a big favor and buy it; your friends, family and colleagues will thank you. Seriously.
P.S. Quite frankly, Jennifer and Naomi are geniuses. I hope they both get a raise. But if not, at least this book will make the world a better, funnier and more interesting place.
The book has a great tone to it. The authors did a lot of research. Some of their examples may have you going, “Who’s that?” if you go to bed before 11pm (I got a sense that the authors relate more to Seth Meyers more than Stephen Colbert). Other examples will have you smile, laugh, and say to yourself “Great suggestion!” If you purchase the print version, be liberal with a highlighter or post-its for some of the pearls that are sprinkled throughout the book. Or wait, pearls roll and aren’t sprinkled. Tips.
“Humor, Seriously” is highly practical as being a great read. Try the tips they suggest. Better yet, incorporate them in your professional/personal dealings with others. People may not be rolling on the floor with your comments during meetings (and they shouldn’t), for example, but your points will probably be listened to more, people will probably at some level, will enjoy working with you more, and you won’t require a food taster or Kevlar attire during lunches and meetings.
Even Snipers (from a test you can take online), will benefit from the book. Some people just don’t get irony and haven’t even heard of Oscar Wilde!
Top reviews from other countries
Es práctico y muy simple de leer. Por la parte práctica te hace fácil entender en qué situaciones y cómo usar tu sentido del humor.
Creo un libro muy válido para estos tiempos y cambios de generaciones donde algunos toma n a mal una broma y otros no, deja mayor claridad, cuando si, como si, donde si.
Es un buen libro de ayuda, aún no siendo el libro que más me atraiga si recomiendo leerlo. Y más aún si puedes compartir con personas de confianza para enredarte mejor.
A sério, este livro é uma leitura fantástica para qualquer pessoa que queira dar um pouco de leveza ao seu trabalho ou à sua vida pessoal. A autora Jennifer Aaker faz um excelente trabalho de quebrar a ciência por trás do humor e seus vários usos, desde a construção de relações mais fortes até o aumento da produtividade.
Uma das coisas que mais gostei no Humor, Seriously: Why Humor Is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life, foi a forma como Aaker incorporou exemplos da vida real e histórias ao longo do livro. Fez com que o material se sentisse relatável e acrescentou um toque de humor (veja o que eu fiz lá?) à experiência de leitura.
Se você está precisando de um pouco de "pick-me-up" ou apenas quer aprender mais sobre o poder do humor, eu recomendo altamente dar Humor, Sério, uma leitura. É um livro divertido e informativo que te fará rir e pensar sobre o papel do humor na tua própria vida. Só não espere tornar-se um comediante stand-up da noite para o dia - esse não é realmente o objetivo do livro. Mas ainda é uma boa leitura.