Really, what's the point of being in business if it's not fun?  Maybe all you do is turn out widgets day after day after day, but could you do something to make the process fun, both for you and your employees?  Perhaps you could introduce color-coded widgets for different jobs.  Maybe you ought to walk through the factory occasionally wearing a funny hat to give everyone a break from the serious work of widget-making.  If you're not having fun, it's time to get out of the business.

Remember in earlier posts, we talked about following your passion , and how important it is to do something you like doing.  This concept closely ties to that one.  If you're in business for yourself, you're not likely to have many days off.  That means that out of every 16 hours (the amount of the day left after you sleep) you are spending at least half of your life at work.  Shouldn't it at least be enjoyable most of the time?

That's not to say you won't have some tasks that you won't especially enjoy.  No one likes cleaning the bathrooms or taking out the trash, but if you are a sole proprietor, you probably have to do those tasks.  If you have employees to do the menial labor, you probably have other tasks that are equally unpleasant, like firing non-performers or telling one project manager that his project isn't being funded in favor of another one.

Obviously, life has its ups and downs, and running a business is no different.  The key to success in this area lies in minimizing the valleys and maximizing the mountaintops.

When is humor a bad thing?

Obviously, there are situations where humor is uniquely uncalled for.  You would not want to respond to an angry customer by telling him that his face turned the most interesting shade of red when he yelled.  And when an employee tells you he needs time off because his wife is dying, compassion would definitely be the preferred response.  For the most part, these things are common sense.  However, under many other circumstances, humor can be just the thing that will defuse a tense situation or break an impasse to allow resolution of a problem.

There is also the consideration of the type of humor that is acceptable.  Jokes that are degrading, offensive, or harassing should never be tolerated.  Clear company policies on harassment and pornography should be sufficient to curb this type of behavior, particularly if they are uniformly enforced without discrimination. Practical jokes and horseplay may lead to safety concerns, and must be carefully monitored to make sure they don't go too far.  In fact, having fun in the workplace doesn't revolve around telling jokes or playing pranks, but rather in finding the inherent humor in every day situations.

Building engagement through the use of humor

Think about the last time you went to a conference or trade show where there were several speakers.  Consider each of the speeches independently.  Which ones kept you interested and which ones made you want to run from the room because your brain was dying a slow, torturous death?  Chances are the people who you found interesting have learned that the best public speakers use humor to keep the audience engaged.

You can use this same premise within your company to keep your employees, stakeholders, and customers engaged.  Most people, although admittedly not all, enjoy having fun.  And if you can make their time with you fun, it can pay huge dividends in terms of productivity, investor relations, employee retention, customer retention, and sales. 

Staff meetings don't have to be dry and boring.  If you are giving a report on the company's sales, for example, you can use humor to point out the different techniques used by your top salesman vs. some others.  You might say something like, "Bill's got to stop buying our product - I think his personal warehouse is full - so one of the rest of you might have a chance at the top slot next month."

When the news is bad, such as when sales are declining, you might ask if the presenter is sure the slide isn't upside down, because you were sure you had asked them to make sales go up.  Sarcasm can be taken the wrong way, however, so be sure your presenter can take the swipe without getting upset.  And make sure to evenly distribute your barbs so no one is unfairly singled out or picked on.

You never know who might be listening when you speak in public.  Perhaps you will attract an investor, a key future employee, an important partner, or a big customer based on the level of interest you can create by your speech.  Using humor can create engagement so that your audience remains glued to your every word, meaning that they will hear your important points rather than thinking about what they need to do when they get back to their own offices.  Humor makes you seem approachable so that people will come up to you after the speech, giving you an opportunity to forge new alliances that might bring great benefit to your company.