Terry Braverman
Are your company meetings a source of inspiration, or
perspiration? A shared laugh can kick off a meeting on a positive note by
breaking tension, promoting teamwork, sparking creativity, and opening up
greater possibility for agreements. It could be in the form of a joke,
story, cartoon, or an exercise. According to Dr. Kenneth Pelletier, there
are only two human activities that create total brain symmetry, i.e.
completely connect the brain’s left side (logical side) with the right
side (creative side). Those two activities are – laughter, and sex. Since
you’re probably not going to start your meeting with sex, why not commence
with laughter?
An injection of humor at staff meetings can also be used
to effectively make a point. In the mid-1970s, the Ford Motor Company went
through a period where the accountants took over and influenced the closure
of manufacturing plants left and right in order to cut costs. They had
already succeeded in shutting down facilities in Massachusetts and Texas,
and were clearly relishing their emerging power. Robert McNamara, who was
president at the time, called a meeting of his top executives to discuss the
possible closure of yet another plant. The forecast from the accountants was
so grim that nobody would dare speak up, except for a cheeky old veteran
named Charlie Beacham, who quipped, “why don’t we close down all the
plants, then we’ll really start saving money.” They all roared with
laughter, and the decision was made to postpone any more closings.
Charlie’s satirical comment put the company’s state of affairs into
perspective, and the bean counters went back to working for the company
instead of running it.
David Lewis, a Los Angeles attorney, shared an experience
with me of defusing a tense moment with humor. He was in negotiations for
the purchase of a large office building, and it was going on night and day,
very hard. “One night it came to one of those tense moments when two of
the men on opposite sides of the table were arguing about the height
requirement for the urinals in the men’s room. One of them was insisting
it was 30 inches, while the other was screaming, ‘No, it’s 36 inches!’
They were heaving verbal grenades back and forth, when I interrupted and
said, ‘Gentlemen, I think we’re in danger of getting into a pissing
contest.’ They began laughing uncontrollably. It broke the tension and
really did resolve the whole situation. They realized that it didn’t make
any difference anyway.”
There are times when it’s inappropriate to inject humor
at a meeting. You can still access it without saying a word, via
visualization. One time I was about to lock horns with a rabid meeting
planner over contract issues. I decided to visualize the person wearing
purple polka dot boxer shorts as the negotiations ensued. This allowed me to
relax and detach from the tempestuous personality of the other person. In
fact, my calmer demeanor made him calmer, and I ended up getting almost
everything I had asked; with it came the epiphany that humor allows me to be
patient (before I become a patient).
Terry Braverman is a Los Angeles-based author,
professional speaker and trainer. This article is excerpted from his
amazon.com best selling book, When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Lighten
Up! Go to Terry’s web site for more about his presentations and
background: www .terrybraverman.com
© 2004 All rights reserved
A
250 c.c. 4-stroke engine All Terrain Vehicle (ATV), type L-250, on display
at the signing ceremony.
