Adrian Gostick

I was on Fox News today discussing how to get a raise in the current economic environment.

Take a look:

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Being fun is a serious part of business. The best bosses we’ve studied over the years have great senses of humor and use them to great advantage in sales situations, employee meetings, negotiations, and so on. But I often hear people say, “I can’t be funny because I’m … too dry/too busy/a woman/the boss/from Connecticut/a radish.

For most of us grown ups, the least funny demographic is probably 11 year-old boys—most of whom believe the height of hysterics is a loud bodily emission or Americas Funniest Videos.

And yet I submit the following. When my son, Tony, was 11 we were at an amusement park restaurant. He had ordered the nachos, attracted by the mouth-watering picture displayed by the register. The photograph showed a mound of crunchy nachos pilled high with three cheeses, peppers, olives, salsa and other fixings. When the nachos arrived, however, they were not as advertised. Instead he received ten chips stacked sideways in a plastic container with a tub of melted yellow goop. He stoically ate the dry, tasteless lunch, regretting his decision quietly. As the family picked up to leave, Tony smiled up at the grumpy teenage cashier and said, “My compliments to the photographer.”

We all burst out laughing. Even the cashier managed a knowing chuckle.

Now, that was obviously a funny line he’d heard been exposed to from a comedian at some time in his past, but he’d inventoried it and had applied it at the right time and place.
The moral: If an 11-year-old can do it, we all can.

I meet a lot of people on airplanes. I hear a lot of stories. On a recent trip back from London, where I was working with our partners FranklinCovey, I sat beside a salesperson from a software company. He learned what I do for a living and smiled. He had apparently just landed a new big rental car company as a client for his organization—but had been strategically planning the presentation he would give to his boss.

Why’s that interesting?

The out of the ordinary part of the conversation was that he was elated with the commission he’d earn, but less than excited to tell his supervisor. My fellow passenger said, “I actually wish I didn’t have to tell him. Now I’ll have to listen to him explain how he sold a lot more when he was a rep; and he’ll remind me not to get too excited since I’m still ten percent shy of my quota—even though I still have three months left to hit it and I’m one of the few people still making sales in this economy.”

Many of us have had a demoralizing manager like this. But with today’s economic downturn, it’s a scary thought to think that by leading negatively or competitively, you might be demoralizing the very people you need to succeed.

The research shows this top performer will most likely be looking for other employment soon. Top sales people always have options. It doesn’t take many successes to be marginalized or criticized before employees seek a manager who appreciates their efforts.