In The Light Touch, Malcolm L. Kushner tells the story
of Adelle Roberts, a police officer called to the scene of a
domestic disturbance. As she approached the house, a TV came
flying out a window. She knocked loudly to be heard over the
yelling.
"Who is it?" an angry male voice snarled.
"TV repairman," Roberts replied.
The man burst into laughter, and opened the door. She
probably wouldn't have gotten quite that response if she'd
said, "Police."
Humor's effectiveness in diffusing anger and breaking
down resistance can be particularly important in today's work
environment. In one study, 49 percent of the respondents said
they're usually at least a little angry on the job. Forty-
nine percent say they are usually angry.
I've known salespeople who have walked into businesses
and been threatened with guns. Some of them deserved it.
Though that's carrying sales resistance to an extreme. The
hostility managers face is usually more veiled. Usually.
Tip: Nobody is going to shoot you while they're
laughing.
Tip: Long after people have forgotten what was said,
they'll remember how they felt about the person who said it.
Self deprecating humor is also a great way for
executives and managers to put themselves on the same level
as their subordinates. It shows they can take a joke, that
they too put their pants or their pantyhose on one leg at a
time.
When Jack Kennedy wanted to defuse the issue of his
family's wealth, he told everyone he'd just gotten a telegram
from his father. "Dear Jack," he read, "Don't buy one more
vote than necessary. I'll be damned if I'll pay for a
landslide."
A new manager was obligated to post a lengthy list of
rules right after being promoted to the position: hardly the
best rapport builder. He posted the list all right, but he
signed it at the bottom, "A. Hitler, Gruppenfuehrer." His
superior snatched it off the wall as, "inappropriate."
Perhaps. But by then everyone had already seen it.
"We'd read the rules," one worker reports. "We figured
the 'Gruppenfuehrer' was going to enforce them. We knew the
iron fist was there, and we appreciated that he'd stuck it in
a velvet glove and used it to poke a little fun at himself.
Otherwise we'd have seen it as a new guy coming in and
throwing his weight around."
Another mid-level manager had a grumpy looking doll
with a tape recorder inside that he'd programmed to say, "Get
your mangy butts back on the job and stop wasting the
company's time." The doll would deliver the message whenever
the manager decided it was needed. People took the hint, and
nobody was offended.
Walk the Elephant
If you're trying to make the job fun for your people,
watch out for simply foisting your own concept of fun on
them. One supervisor created dissention by scattering candy
dishes around an office where most of the employees were
trying to diet. She had Muzak pumped in, and everyone hated
the music she selected. Then she decided to fill the office
with motivational banners, and insisted that everyone
contribute a saying. This, at least, was fun for one person.
The last time I was there, his inspiration message still hung
proudly by the main entrance: "Walk the elephant and pitch to
the giraffe."
You may not find that inspirational. You may even find
it confusing, if you don't recognize it as the answer to the
ancient philosophical question: "What do you do with an
elephant with three balls?"
You walk the elephant and pitch to the giraffe. Let
that be an inspiration to us all.