Book ~ "The Humor Advantage: Why Some Businesses Are Laughing All the Way to the Bank" (2017) Michael Kerr

From Goodreads ~ Your culture is your #1 competitive advantage. But here's the rub: Inspiring cultures don't happen by accident. You can't buy, borrow or fake a great culture. You need to be deliberate about building a truly inspiring culture. That’s where "The Humor Advantage" comes in.

"The Humor Advantage" is packed with ideas on how you, your team and your entire organization can put humor to work effectively in any business to get the results you need. But it's not just about fun. "The Humor Advantage" is a serious business book that describes how dozens of inspiring companies from around the world have built healthier, more innovative and more service-driven cultures.

The books offers ideas on how to attract top talent, motivate employees, build a thriving, inspiring culture, reward and recognize employees, communicate more effectively, manage stress, spark creativity and innovation, and deliver customer service that truly rocks! Plus you'll receive access to bonus resources including 52 fun meeting ice breakers, links to videos that leverage the humor advantage, and 20 ways to grow your sense of humor.

Michael Kerr was the opening keynote speaker at a pension and benefits conference I attended in the fall.  He was entertaining and lively and spoke about Inspiring Workplaces - The Way Work Ought To Be!  I won this book by getting up on stage and doing a brief fun dance (!!).  I read a lot but mostly on my iPad.  As such, I kept meaning to read this book but then it would slip my mind.  It's been a while since I've read a real book

The Humor Advantage is about the intersection between play and purpose, seriousness and silliness, business and fun.  It's about how a healthy sense of humor, passion and fun can help your organization drive outrageous results.  It's about building a culture where people look forward to going to work.

The chapters include:

• Humor as a brand advantage - if you build it right, they will come
• Trumpeting success at work
• To be contagious, make your messages outrageous
• Putting humor to work for less stress and more success
• Turning customers into raving fans

At the end of every chapter, Kerr summarizes the key messages and ideas.

Throughout the book there are examples of how companies (large and small) have put humor to work.  There are lots of suggestions and ideas such as building a culture of recognition and appreciation,  making meetings fun, efficient and effective, brainstorming, the four different styles of humor (and which are appropriate in the office), creating a more relaxed atmosphere, providing more than just good customer service and a lot more.  There are lots of stats from surveys and recommendations of books to read.

I liked the writing style and while it's not the same as having Kerr with you in person, his personality, knowledge and enthusiasm come through.