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Seeking innovation
without humor is like fishing without bait.
Good humor surprises us by challenging our expectations.
When Peter Seller’s irrepressible Inspector Clouseau responds to the
innocent question “Does your dog bite?” with “That is not my dog!” we are surprised by his answer.
If that answer was our expectation, it wouldn't be funny. The same is true for good innovation. Good innovation surprises us. This essay argues that innovation is a serious business but
if treated too seriously, you won’t be very innovative.
Much like the
humorist, good Innovators
view the world through their own twisted lens. In fact, most innovations are pretty silly when you first think of
them. Take the infamous Post-it
note. What use is a note that
won’t stick? Or what about
the fax machine? You can buy
one but unless someone else has one, what good is it? My point is that humor and innovation spring from the place inside
us… a place that plays with what already exists, adds the spice of
imagination and twists them together.
Not only does
humor enable us to see opportunity, it helps us deal with the frustrations
of innovation. Let’s face it,
innovation usually starts with many more foes than friends, including
ourselves. We are all quick to
point out why something won’t work or at best, work in a limited capacity.
Humor helps innovators deal with self-doubts and criticism.
More importantly, it’s infectious and can turn critics into
co-conspirators.
The challenge is
how do you use humor to drive innovation and not be considered flaky or
worse. Frankly, most of the
suggestions I’ve seen are so obvious that I’d be embarrassed to repeat
them here. What I would say is
that humor is essential for innovation and leaders set the tone. Ask
yourself are you having fun and helping others do so as well?
Look at it this way, if you can’t enjoy twisting reality and laugh
while doing so, how can others? There's no question that innovation is
difficult with many unknowns and perils. What better time for a
little humor.
rev. 1.1
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