Post by Steve Mallory

SHOULD YOUR BUSINESS BE IN THE FUNNY BUSINESS? I was a level three class clown (L3) in high school. Not a chaos agent (L1). And not a petty prankster (L2). I was a joke piledriver. Funny in small doses but without the brass to move up a level. Eventually, I turned my class clown cred into a gig writing comedy movies. But years before I was receiving mediocre Rotten Tomato scores, I spent time (did time?) in corporate America. And during my decades long stint, I learned to put a lid on my wisecrackery because it was made clear that the office was no place for class clowns. Except, maybe it should be? Having a sense of humor isn’t like other talents. Kids who are naturally gifted at math do… computer stuff, I think. And a predilection for organization can get you into the C-suite. But a sense of humor is a “nice to have” not a “need to have”. This is because, in general, businesses aren’t funny. And if you aren’t funny, you don’t know what is required to make something funny. Or how that talent can be a superpower that can be directed at your business’ greatest challenges. Explaining how comedy works is an excruciating laugh killer. But in a nutshell, here is the mental process a spontaneously funny person goes through to make with the ha-ha: 1.       They intuit societal, cultural and circumstantial dynamics within a cohort. 2.       Then they parse the language style, syntax and comprehension acumen of that cohort. 3.       Then they distill the quintessence (truth) of the conversational topic or information set. 4.       They employ all four intelligences (IQ/EQ/SQ/AQ) to rapidly assess the viability of a quip. 5.       Then they mentally model linguistic variations of the quip, testing setups and punchlines. 6.       They present a quip that contradicts the common understanding of the topic/information while simultaneously clarifying the essential nature of the topic/information. 7.       This must be done within about 2000 milliseconds. That was painful to write. But it’s important for the less comically inclined (not you, you’re hilarious) to understand that “being funny” isn’t haphazard. It’s not an unthinking blurt (unless you’re a thirteen-year-old boy. Then it’s probably that). It is a cognitive gift. Funny people are able to sift through complex, continuous data that they utilize… to get a laugh. Or – with training and direction – to develop creative strategies. Or provide affiliation insights. Or create stronger teams. Or, or, or… Business has been hamstrung by its ahumorous dispositions since forever. And because of that, they have let a dynamic talent pool grow green with algae. Now, I’m not saying HR should be recruiting at the midnight show at Zany’s Chuckle Hut. But they should keep an eye on that junior employee who makes staffers cough up their cream cheese on bagel Friday. Because that class clown might give your business the last laugh.