How "Humor" Strengthens Companies

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As a serious person when it comes to management, I often feel that I should have a bit more humor… (sweat)

In fact, top global companies like Apple, Pixar, and Google place great importance on how to incorporate "humor".

〈Toyo Keizai Online / November 11, 2022〉

Stanford Graduate School of Business professor Jennifer Aaker and lecturer and executive coach Naomi Bagdonas state that a workplace filled with humor brings psychological safety, builds trust, boosts employee motivation, and fosters creativity.

"Humor" Increases Productivity and Creativity

For example, at one giant IT company, there is a conference room named "We Didn’t Start the Firefox", a play on Billy Joel’s song "We Didn’t Start the Fire".

......... (sweat?)

…Well…, setting aside whether it’s funny or not…,it is positioned as something that conveys a clear message from the company.

Here, they want to tell employees that this company "welcomes cheerfulness".

Additionally, at the IT company "JibJab", when they decided to hang several huge signs with the company's core values, they accidentally misspelled one of them, "AGILITY", as "AGLITITY".

Normally, one would want to rewrite it here, but co-founders Evan and Gregg Spiridellis deliberately chose not to correct it.

The reason was that they wanted to tell their employees, "You don't have to take such mistakes too seriously".

Additionally, at Forrester, one team created a "Quote of the Week" corner on their office wall where they post funny moments and comments, ensuring that everyone in the company can actively experience humor and joy even in the office.

Some companies incorporate ping pong tables or trampolines, and other various forms of play, but research has shown that even simple things like placing plants or using bright colors, by incorporating a sense of playfulness into the office space, employees' motivation and sense of well-being are boosted, which in turn productivity and creativity are improved.

By the way, this is a slightly different topic, but there is also research suggesting that a messy room can lead to higher creativity than a tidy one.

In any case, incorporating humor into space design seems to be effective.

The "Comedian Skill" That Turns Business Around

Regarding "humor," something I found interesting recently is a collaboration project between 10 Osaka startups and 10 Yoshimoto Kogyo comedy duos.

Titled the "Businessman Comedian Grand Prix," the comedians worked at their respective companies to create new businesses and expand business operations, and competed on their results.

<Toyo Keizai Online / November 5, 2022>

In other words, it is a startup support project by Yoshimoto Kogyo.

First, each company presented their own appeal and business plans.

After hearing them, the 10 comedy groups then performed the matching.

And then, for three months, the comedians participated in meetings at their respective companies as business professionals, proposed business ideas, and engaged in on-site practical work, essentially working as full-fledged company employees.

The contest itself was won by the team-up of the comedy duo "Missile Man" and the real estate startup "Ikura", but this project itself reportedly had a significant synergistic effect.

For example, Missile Man provided training in communication skills and public speaking to employees, and then accompanied them on sales calls to partner companies.

Their reputation spread within the local industry, and the number of contracted stores reportedly increased by 150 (a 2.5-fold increase in registered seller users) compared to before they started working with Missile Man... (Wow)

Of course, it wasn't just Missile Man; the other comedians also contributed to improving the employees' conversational abilities and communication skills.

Along with the birth of an entertainment-based hospitality mindset aimed at delighting customers, motivation for work also increased.

Furthermore, unique perspectives are also a charm of the comedians.

It must have led to the creation of new ideas that are not bound by existing ways of thinking.

Daisuke Sakane, the Representative Director and CEO of Ikura, which won the contest, also said,Daisuke Sakane

He seems to feel a great sense of accomplishment with this collaboration.

Toward further establishing a "dual career" style

I believe such initiatives will also lead to great future hope for the comedians themselves.

Toyo Keizai Online's perspective

they say.

I have high expectations for this, as it connects directly to the "wearing two hats" hiring model that I am currently very interested in.

Shortened working hours and promoting remote work, as "liberalization of work styles" progresses, I feel that we are entering an era where people involved in creative activities, such as comedians and actors, will find it easier to get hired by companies.

My company is a marketing firm, but even if a comedian couldn't work full-time, if they joined us, they would surely become a tremendous asset in terms of sales and planning.

Until now, it was common sense for those in creative fields to pursue their dreams hungrily while working part-time jobs, but I hope that corporate employment and creative activities become more seamless.

Recently, with the collapse of the lifetime employment system, "parallel careers" have been gaining attention, and by making it easier for various creators to work in companies, I believe more people will want to take on challenges.

If that happens, Japan and Japanese companies will become more interesting.

Through this business contest, the value of creators' skills for business should have been proven once again.

At the very least, I get excited just imagining a comedian joining my company.

Inspired by comedian employees, I find myself wanting to be a bit more interesting these days... (sweat)