Like so many others, I’ve lost sleep over everything that’s been happening.  I can’t even wrap my head around all this suffering.  None of this is acceptable to me.

In the midst of all this, I’m clinging on to my faith and looking for signs of hope.  Positive action must be taken in a negative world.  There’s one thing we can all do:
 
GOOD things we are GOOD at for the greater GOOD.
 
We are wonderfully different from one another, gifted in so many ways.  And yet, we are all connected in this shared world.  We, collectively, individually, continually, and simultaneously, have to do so much good in our lives that the bad will never prevail. Whether we come from a place of privilege, being blessed, or having disadvantages, we can all affect this world for the better with our unique gifts and calling. This isn’t aspirational.  It’s fact.     
 
I know why I do what I do.  These recent times have given us many more reasons on top of that. As much as we want to forget that which makes us uncomfortable, we need to honor our brothers and sisters and preserve our own humanity through our good deeds.  Never losing attention to this will make sure we do that.
 
Won’t you join me?

I recently attended a talk about humor at work.  My interest in the topic was two-fold. First, I just kicked off a new project working with a new team.  There are lots of benefits that come with making hard work fun and at times even humorous. I was interested in picking up some new tidbits to either experiment with or share.  Second, I wanted this to serve as stimulus for me to think about the relationship between humor and organizational culture.  The audiences' questions were not mine to answer.  Most were around trying to figure out how to use it: where there are cultural differences between countries, when what's humorous is so subjective, and without offending people.  I'll put my two cents in here.

IMHO, humor is another form of communication that comes in play when we interact with people.  When companies identify humor as a cultural value, they are communicating an expectation--or in some cases, permission--that humor is not only acceptable, but encouraged. 

When we see it this way, use of humor becomes more purposeful.  As with all other communication, think about how to deliver with intended impact. That includes making your intentions evident to the receiver, and getting the desired response--a smile, chuckle, laugh, or even a stronger rapport or connection.  If the chances of that happening are outweighed by the chances it won't work based on what you know, then don't do it.  When it misfires, address it--right away. Ok?  Ok. "So a management consultant walks into a bar..."

This is an example of what I suspect is an unintended benefit identified by users: http://nyti.ms/11Xs2lb  How might we look for these in our own backyard?  We are all too often paralyzed with fear at the prospect of "unintended consequences"--so much so that we forget all about its lesser-known counterpart.  There's no need to learn how to do this, you just have to expand your thinking and look for them.  It's about paying attention.