Seriously Sarcastic

Comedy is creative. Comedy is difficult to do well.

I don't think I've ever been to a comedy club because I am terrified. I am terrified that I'll be in the audience when one of THOSE comics is onstage.

I'm talking about the kind that use sarcasm and cutting remarks about OTHERS to make funny. It is SUCH an easy way to amuse. It is also a GREAT way to show how clever and smart you are.

Not my style. 

I think cutting remarks and sarcasm creates up a barrier between audience and performer.

I think it even puts up MORE of a barrier between co-workers, friends and loved ones.

If you are frustrated, and feeling like you cannot get close to people, it might be time to take a look at how you INTERACT with them. Are you hiding behind cutting remarks and sarcasm to show others how smart and witty you are?

Here's a great article on SARCASM and the forms it takes, none of them positive!

When you're "doing a scene" in life that doesn't go well at all, take a step back and replay the dialogue in your head. Were your remarks cutting or sarcastic?

Sometimes, in improv class, I ask participants to re-do a scene with the same OPENING line with a completely new response. It is a great way to show participants how improv scenes can go a zillion different ways.

Life scenes are exactly the same.

If you suspect that people are avoiding you, just like I avoid comedy clubs, because of the danger of cutting/sarcastic remarks, the best way to know for sure is to ask some people you know and trust.

If you want an example of sarcasm, Dr. Cox from the TV show, "Scrubs" is a good example. Would you want to work with this guy?

Is there a Creativity Gap?

Ahhh, just this HEADLINE breaks my creative little heart: Study Reveals Global Creativity Gap. I think it is time for corporations to wake up. I think it is time for employees to wake up and just do it! Be creative. Take back your power! If you cannot be creative at work, then express it outside of work and see if that can allow you to find NEW work that is creative. (There is a reason I don't work for a large corporation anymore!)

It has been my experience working in a couple of large corporations that there is a disconnect between what the C-level and VP-level SAY they want and what they encourage, endorse and green-light. They SAY they want their company to be innovative and on the cutting edge but anything that hasn't been proven, tested or tried is usually ignored -or worse, scorned. If something truly innovative gets pushed through, then the temptation is to re-hash the same thing over and over until the creativity is wrung out of it . . . The trick, then is to keep working to innovate new ideas.

Here is a tidbit from this article:

"The research shows 8 in 10 people feel that unlocking creativity is critical to economic growth and nearly two-thirds of respondents feel creativity is valuable to society, yet a striking minority – only 1 in 4 people – believe they are living up to their own creative potential."

From what I experienced (and this is only me, mind you, it might be different where you work) upper management usually puts people in neat little "boxes". They have their "creatives", their "crazy creatives" and their "non-creatives".  Usually those upper-level types see, and treat, themselves, Directors and maybe a manager or two as "creative" and full of brilliant ideas.

They see their artists, designers and writers as "crazy creatives" and treat them like you would an impulsive child, not to be trusted with sharp objects.

Hourly employees, those in the trenches, often dealing directly with customers and clients are typically seen as "non-creative" and are treated as such.

I once saw 2 VPs allow another bully VP bash an idea that came from a group of people it was obvious these veeps considered to be non-creative worker bees. These hourly employees came up with a genius idea -a cost-saving idea that was very customer focused. It was brilliant. The VP bashing was brutal, the 2 other VPs in the room, by their very silence, condoned what their bully peer was doing. The idea died on the vine and the employees who'd put their necks out got them neatly chopped off. (Literally, one of those employees was laid of shortly thereafter -two more found new jobs within the year.)

(The end of this tale is:  a few years later, a Diretor-level type proposed the very same idea and it was green-lit and was very successful.) I'd say if you'd asked those employees with the original idea, they would say they didn't feel like they were living up to their creative potential at work -at that point in time. I certainly hope they have positioned themselves where they are able to live up to their potential.

I'd say that if you agree with this statement from the article (below) that you might want to think of creative ways to find a new workplace:

"The study reveals a workplace creativity gap, where 75% of respondents said they are under growing pressure to be productive rather than creative, despite the fact that they are increasingly expected to think creatively on the job. "

How does your workplace do?  Is creativity from EVERYONE encouraged? Or discouraged?

Improvising on Yahoo

I like to think of life as long-form improv.  In good improv, offers are given and accepted and acted on. ("Yes, and . . .) There are infinite possibilities and endless choices in how to respond to offers. The employees at Yahoo have recently been given an "offer" which was an internal memo stating that in June, Yahoo expects all employees who've previously been working from home to come back to the office. 

It is causing quite a stir in the business community and I've read all sorts of articles online about how this is the stupidest thing Yahoo could've done. But, I've also read articles that this is the smartest thing Yahoo has done. 

Someone has already reacted to Yahoo's "offer" by leaking it to the news media, despite being told explicitly not to forward this proprietary and confidential information. Good improv. The person who forwarded the memo made a choice, they agreed and added to the scene. (Click here to read the memo, if you're curious.) Of course, they might've created a more dramatic scene than they intended. Depending upon how Yahoo responds when someone violates their confidentiality agreement. It will be interesting how that particular scene plays out. But, at least they made a CHOICE.

The people that are ACCEPTING Yahoo's offer; understanding that Yahoo expects employees in the office beginning in June are going to be much happier than the employees who are NEGATING that offer. People who are negating the offer are the ones who are saying (and thinking) things like:
I can't believe it.
This sucks.
How could they DO this to us?

Ugh. Those people have eliminated choice and have are allowing the scene to swirl around them and it is (probably) making them angry and difficult to be around. Like a bad improv, those folks are in scenes that are unbearable and uncomfortable to watch.

The people who accepted that offer and are currently acting out the improv that Yahoo started have infinite choices There are zillions of way to accept that offer:
Yes, and  . . . I'm going to start looking for another job. . .
Yes, and . . . I'm going to start working in the office more as I prepare for this shift. . .
Yes, and . . . I'm going to try it out and if it doesn't work for me, I'll look for another job . . . .
Yes, and . . . I'm secretly happy to be getting out of my house and back into an office . . .

Play with this improv yourself. How many ways can you come up with to "yes, and" this situation.

How do you go through your life? Do you accept or negate offers?

Being Creative

I think this graphic is a great way reminder that we are all creative beings. Sometimes, though, we need to remind ourselves!! (Don't fool yourself into believing that you aren't creative. You have to be creative to navigate the world!)

How do you stay creative?? Here are some ideas. What would add to this list? What would you delete?