Shtick to Solutions: Learn to manage uncertainty from the masters of comedy
Tuesday, 18 August, 2020 12:00 pmOnline (Zoom)
Dr. Peter McGraw joins guest moderator, Dr. Sean Guillory, for a one-two punch of levity and creative problem solving for a chaotic world.
In times of stress, uncertainty, and economic loss due to the pandemic, comedy can provide a crucial relief valve, but the world needs more than delightful distraction. Organizations—and their employees—have serious problems that require innovation, improvisation, and grit.
The masters of comedy, however, can do more than provide levity. Comedians thrive during turmoil. They have personalities and practices that turn tragedy into humor. In this talk, you will learn:
- How Whitney Cummings and Richard Pryor’s authenticity is a necessary skill that leaders need when communicating during crisis.
- Why an opposing perspective is useful for comedy and for finding novel solutions to perplexing problems.
- How the improvisational rules of The Second City and Groundlings can be used to improve creative execution in a time when improvisation is suddenly mandatory.
- Why comedians who have never had an office exemplify how to be productive while working from home.
Peter McGraw
Dr. Peter McGraw is a professor of marketing and psychology at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business. As a behavioral scientist, McGraw is a world leader in the study of humor. He directs The Humor Research Lab (HuRL), is the co-author of The Humor Code: A Global Search for What Makes Things Funny, and hosts the podcast I’M NOT JOKING. McGraw’s work has been covered by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, TIME NPR, BBC, and CNN. He teaches graduate courses in behavioral economics marketing management.
Sean Guillory
Sean Guillory has had the absolute privilege of doing his Ph.D. Dissertation on the neuroscience of humor and laughter and has been enjoying the professional ride ever since then (currently he builds automation robots; sadly he has not gotten any of them to laugh).
Please also enjoy the picture that perfectly describes the past 3 months of his life (not pictured: his 5-year-old asking where the charger is).