Laughing Matters

Can a leader who embraces self-deprecating humor also help grow a company from four employees to 120? Mikayla Hopkins is laughing while she leads marketing at Tracksuit (the word also happens to be what New Zealanders call sweaters). She joins Laughing Matters to share her journey of building a brand from the ground up and finding humor in the process. Among her insights:

• The unique contrasts between self-deprecating Kiwi (New Zealand) humor and the direct, punchy style of American comedy
• Growing Tracksuit from 4 to 120 employees and maintaining a light-hearted company culture throughout this massive expansion
• A hilarious story of a melatonin mishap, subway confusion, and a wardrobe malfunction during an important meeting in New York

You’re a leader at a global pharmaceutical company and a once-in-a-lifetime worldwide pandemic hits. How do you manage that with bold leadership and resilience - all while maintaining a sense of humor? Sally Susman, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Pfizer, shares how she navigated the unprecedented, along with some hilarious stories from her career:

• The power of admitting you’re wrong and sharing your biggest mistakes
• Her future boss’ witty answer when someone offered to trade her for a couple of cows 
• An embarrassing interview about her footwear with one of the nation’s largest newspapers

We also encourage you to pick up a copy of Sally’s fantastic best-selling book, Breaking through: Communicating to Open Minds, Move Hearts and Change the World,” published by Harvard Business Review Press.

When we think of autonomous vehicles, many of us may envision the Terminator, Transformers or some other sci-fi flick. But they’re a reality on our roads today, and having a job in this field can require a unique perspective on humor. Andrew Culhane, Chief Commercial Officer at autonomous trucking company Torc Robotics, joins Laughing Matters to share some of his experiences in nearly two decades espousing self-driving tech:

• Navigating vastly different approaches to humor – from truckers to miners 
• Watching someone play live frogger, filling potholes with a bag of asphalt in the middle of a busy highway while dodging speeding vehicles 
• Staying at the cringiest pink hotel room in Berlin in the early days of their startup

Thinking of cracking a joke next time you’re in a job interview? Jamie McLaughlin, CEO of recruitment firm Monday Talent, tells Laughing Matters that while this could be a good approach, you should take a step back and make sure you read the room! He also goes into details on: 

• The importance of the right humor in interviews, especially as most today are virtual
• Why sarcasm can be a quick way to humor but isn’t always the best way to help people relax
• An embarrassing story of an interviewer who tried to weaponize humor

Join us on this episode of Laughing Matters as we chat with Pat Fitzgibbons, Senior Public Relations Manager at M&T Bank/Wilmington Trust, whose career journey is filled with humor, from newsroom antics to his family’s political legacy in New Jersey. Pat shares:

·       Tips on how to prepare for a career in communications and how to infuse a daily dose of LOL in college 

·       How his father and grandfather used laughter to forge connections and navigate local politics – and why he feels his own election win was “rigged”

·       His memorable elevator encounter with the CEO of Bear Stearns that turned a potentially awkward situation into a laughing matter.

Life is a highway for most of us, but especially for Jenni Ruiz, the Bronx native who works as a senior marketing manager for trucking software company Transfix. Jenni is our latest Laughing Matters podcast guest, where she talks about why humor is essentially a job prerequisite in trucking & freight, as well as: 

·       Why her first career was tough and the importance of working somewhere you can be yourself

·       How she learned to watch where she’s walking the hard way

·       Her passion for comedy and acting (check out her film “Playing Sam” coming to streaming services this fall!)

On today’s episode of Laughing Matters, Brandi Boatner, Manager of digital and advocacy communications at IBM, joins us to talk about how she uses humor as a dynamic public speaker and advocate for her profession. Her insights include:

• How she linked an IT infrastructure campaign with yoga poses. 
• How humor can play a role in attracting students from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds into communications. 
• A hilarious cringeworthy moment in Grand Central Station that taught her valuable lessons about resilience and self-acceptance.

In this episode of Laughing Matters, Paul Merchan and Steve Cody interview Gloria Rodriguez, the founder and president of Comunicad, a Ruder Finn company, and a pioneer in multicultural communications and advocacy for the Latino community. She shares some of her amazing stories and insights from her career, such as:

●      The time she took clients to Puerto Rico to help support Hurricane Maria relief efforts and helped expand the aid to our furry friends

●      How she uses humor to bridge the gap between Latino and mainstream cultures and to overcome challenges and stereotypes in the media industry

●      How she convinced a former U.S. president to restore funding for job training programs for Puerto Ricans in New York

Tune in to the latest episode of Laughing Matters, featuring David Dye, President of Let’s Grow Leaders and co-author of “Powerful Phrases for Dealing with Workplace Conflict.” David shares tips on what to do when faced with a workplace conflict, including results from the study he conducted for his book. Among his insights:

• The difference between productive and destructive conflict and the role of humor
• How to navigate hot-button issues when others see the world differently than you do
• Which countries in the study experienced the most workplace conflict (spoiler: US is high on the list but did not finish #1, believe it or not)

Dr. Phillip Gable, Director of the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Graduate Program and Professor at the University of Delaware, recently joined the Laughing Matters podcast to dissect the intricate world of human emotions and humor with the precision of a brain surgeon but the vulnerability of a stand-up comedian. 

Dr. Gable discusses everything from how our emotions impact behavior to the neural underpinnings that drive our humor responses. 

He also addresses the following:

• With all due respect to Socrates and Plato, Dr. Gable says using an Aristotelian approach to set up punchlines and make sense of the unexpected are linked to humor in the business world
• A laugh out loud tale involving an unexpected restroom encounter with the police at a restaurant
• How he uses emotions to set the rhythm for effective teaching and storytelling and, critically, deepening connections with students.