HUMOR, SERIOUSLY

Working professionals have fallen off a humor cliff. In fact, around the time we enter the workforce, the number of times we laugh and smile on an average day statistically starts to plummet. 

 And yet, research shows that humor is one of the most powerful tools we have for accomplishing serious work. Studies reveal that humor makes us appear more competent and confident, strengthens relationships, unlocks creativity, and boosts our resilience during difficult times. Plus, it fends off a permanent and unsightly frown known as “resting boss face”. 

Top executives are in on the secret: 98 percent prefer employees with a sense of humor, and 84 percent believe that these employees do better work. But even for those who intuitively understand humor’s power, few know how to wield it with intention. As a result, humor is vastly underleveraged in most workplaces today, impacting our performance, relationships, and health. 

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 build levity into their organizations 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 it more often and effectively 

Aaker and Bagdonas unpack the theory and application of humor: what makes something funny and how to mine your life for material. They show how to use humor to make a strong first impression, deliver difficult feedback, persuade and motivate others, and foster cultures where levity and creativity can thrive—not to mention, how to keep it appropriate and recover if you cross a line. 

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 Eisenhower, the second least naturally funny president ever (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.  Seriously.

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 human well-being. She is widely published in leading scientific journals, and her work has been featured in The Economist, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and Science. A recipient of the Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award, she counts winning a dance-off in the early 1980s among her greatest feats. 

Naomi Bagdonas runs a strategy and media consultancy facilitating innovation workshops for executives and coaching CEOs and celebrities for media appearances ranging from Saturday Night Live to The Tonight Show, talks delivered at United Nations forums, and more. She trained at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and teaches courses about humor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the San Francisco County Jail. She also fosters a revolving door of rescue dogs whom she loves and who systematically destroy everything she owns.