LAUGH. THINK. ACT. · LAUGH. THINK. ACT. WHITE PAPER LAUGH. THINK. ACT. is simple, robust and powerful. This approach disarms and helps to overcome resistance. It results in goodwill

Exploring the power of laughter as a catalyst for growth and change in organisations.

By Colin Beattie with my wonderful colleagues from Spark and Lander & Rogers.

LAUGH. THINK. ACT. WHITE PAPER

LAUGH. THINK. ACT. is simple, robust and powerful. This approach disarms and helps to overcome resistance. It results in goodwill and collaboration.

Organisations are adopting this strategy to create high performance teams and cultures conducive to growth.

2 Laugh. Think. Act. White Paper. © 2015 Somersault Consulting. All rights reserved.

LAUGH. THINK. ACT.

Derek Humphery-SmithLander & Rogers

“It is very rare to experience a feeling of exhilaration in the workplace. This feeling is usually reserved for sporting encounters charged with adrenalin or for artistic performances, which lift you out of your seat. But in my experience workplaces are different. They often have strong senses of drudgery, repetitiveness and boredom.

From our first meeting, Colin and I spoke the same language. He was a leadership consultant with a passion for high performing teams. He just got it and he had that important knack of explaining complex principles simply.

Our starting point was to understand what made high performing teams tick and then to test ourselves against those kind of behaviours.

At that point, Colin introduced me to Spark. I must admit to some initial trepidation. I was struggling to visualise how this motley crew of improvisation actors and part-time comedians was going to change my world. However, I trusted Colin’s judgment and the five of us leapt off the end of the pier to change what was expected of this practice group forever.

As an employment lawyer, I am very familiar with the behaviours which lead to conflict and disharmony in a workplace. The SPARK principles capture the rules of engagement for a high functioning workplace impeccably. In fact, I have never seen a workplace behaviour that cannot be called against the Spark principles of no blocking, no hogging, no wimping and make each other look good.

Over the years, Colin and Spark have taught me that learning through laughter and role modelling the right behaviours at every moment of your working day will win over blockers, hoggers and wimps every single time.

These principles now complement the values and workplace culture for which our firm is so well known in the legal market.

I believe in the power of laughter to shift attitudes and to sustain change. I have now introduced Spark to many of our clients.

The reaction from our clients has been overwhelmingly positive. I will be forever grateful to Colin for that initial introduction and how it has shaped how I now view transformation in the workplace.”

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Laughter - the best medicineLaughter is a powerful catalyst for change. Laughter has a disarming quality that enables the deepest resistance to be released.

The strongest cynics and those most concerned about change can be captured by its spell. Instead of questioning why, people begin to question how. And because laughter is a highly social activity, organisations are able to leverage the collective goodwill required to break old habits and to embrace something bold and different.

For several years I have worked closely with organisations experiencing change. I have shared this time with an improvisation troupe and a law firm. This combination has enabled change and growth to be both productive and enjoyable. As a colleague said to me recently “life’s too precious to not do something fun that makes a difference.”

This White Paper explores:

• Seven success factors for Laugh. Think. Act.

• Change on a page.

• Spark Masterclass.

• Making change stick - habits.

Let us share what we have discovered.

As performers we all crave the energy rush experienced after an awesome show. We want to be part of a great team. We want the same thrill that sporting teams saviour after a win.

We want to share the glory. We want to discuss every key moment, the turning points, inspiring offers and the seamless transitions.

Most of all – we want to be inspired by each other. To us this is more important than the audiences’ laughter or adulation.

Improvisation is the most normal, present, fun, inspired, selfless and generous thing we do.


LAUGH. THINK. ACT.

“The public is composed of numerous groups whose cry to us

writers is: ‘Comfort me.’ ‘Amuse me.’ ‘Touch my sympathies.’

‘Make me sad.’ ‘Make me dream.’ ‘Make me laugh.’ ‘Make

me shiver.’ ‘Make me weep.’ ‘Make me think.’

- Henri Rene Albert Guy de Maupassant

Colin and the team from Spark: Karl McConnell, Rik Brown and Jason Geary.

SPARK MASTERCLASS• A key-note event for 10 - 1,000 people.

• Showcases the power of impro and laughter as a catalyst for change.

• Featuring the improvised talent of SPARK.

• Featuring a leadership change expert.

See page 15 for more details.

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1. Catalysts for change– choosing the most effective leverLaughter is not the only trigger for change. It is possible to substitute the word LAUGH with CRISIS, with AMBITION, with DISRUPTION. All of these emotive triggers have the potential to rock us out of our current thinking. Strong emotions are catalysts for the new, bold and different.

It is also true that great art has similar aims. It compels us to look at our world through a different lens. We begin to shake ourselves out of our comfortable existence. We begin to emote and express feeling. And a momentum begins.

Having worked intimately with executives as they strategise and navigate growth plans, choosing the right catalyst for change is vital. (See page 14 for a more detailed example of levers in a change process). Ignoring the catalyst or leaving it to chance means risking change efforts being impotent.

Of the range of powerful triggers for change, laughter is an inspired place for leaders to begin. Organisational life is typically built with earnest intent. Why so serious?

Maybe the shake up we value and deserve most is the one that causes us to laugh. And when we begin to laugh at ourselves, our defences begin to weaken. Organisational life is such an easy target for satire. Many of us can and want to laugh about the crazy and weird rituals that life in organisations has us endure.

The things that make us laugh are also the things that seem most truthful. We expect authenticity from our leaders and our organisations and there seems nothing more enlightened than those who can laugh at themselves.

The things that make us laugh often stick with clarity and immediate recall. We elect to hide the things that make us angry, fearful or indifferent. Why remember the painful times? Yet, the things we laugh at or with are destined to be revisited time and again.

CATALYSTS FOR CHANGECRISIS: A burning platform.

AMBITION: A desire to realise potential.

DISRUPTION: Opportunity to change the market.

LAUGHTER: Honest assessment of present and optimism for future.

Laughter is an inspired place for leaders to begin.


LAUGH. THINK. ACT.

2. Leading with meaningWe are witnessing a time where more organisations are embracing and adopting change from a posture of optimism.

Like the positive psychology movement these organisations look for what is right, not wrong. Leaders do no harm by creating and selling hope and possibility. Motivation levels are sparked when people see purpose in change.

When leading change, we expect organisations to create meaning. When leading for growth, people expect more than a case for increased shareholder wealth. People get this commercial reality, but it doesn’t always rock their world.

From our leaders we expect transparency, honesty and something to believe in. Our sophisticated radar for spin means we no longer tolerate change from a place of the covert or from a place of fear. It is time to be real. What we know about laughter is that we laugh at truth, not necessarily at jokes. Therefore when we laugh we expose real meaning and purpose.

3. ImprovisationDerek and my Somersault colleagues have spent many years experiencing improvisation and the power of laughter with leaders, teams and organisations. Theatre based improvisation (impro) is the craft of creating stories without the safety net of a script.

It usually involves a number of players operating in a pure team format. Improvisation is not pre-planned or pre-rehearsed. In terms of creativity, inspiration and honesty, it’s about as real as it gets. In my case, I have had the privilege of working with one of Australia’s finest impro teams – Spark.

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To succeed in organisations, people need many of the same skills as improvisers: offering, accepting, listening, asserting, and innovating.

This is especially so given organisations, like improvisers, have tough audiences and tough critics. Clients, customers and people are savvier than ever before and organisations must be at their best.

Improvisers adopt core rules around making each other look good. In doing this, they are especially conscious of avoiding blocking, wimping and hogging. These are behaviours that hinder great performance.

Making each other look good is the foundation principle for everything an improviser does. It means a complete focus on supporting others on stage with you. Every action, every offer, every movement and every silence is undertaken in the spirit of making the other performers look good.

An inexperienced improviser can focus on looking after his or her own position in the group. This usually comes from a place of fear, a need to be accepted and a desire to not look stupid. It is completely understandable. It is just not effective.

Team success is only possible when members of the team are selfless. The energy created in the team becomes infectious and others want to get involved and add to the energy they are experiencing.

Blocking is not accepting another person’s ideas or offers. If ideas are not being accepted or built upon then nothing can happen. This kills stories, ideas and possibilities.

Wimping is when people passively agree to offers. Wimping behaviour on stage is best represented when someone says yes without extending the idea.

Hogging is when one performer dominates and takes over. The performer cannot make his or her stage partners look good, and ultimately the scene will lose energy. Other improvisers may become reluctant to get back on stage with an actor who consistently hogs (and blocks and wimps for that matter).

The source of this unhelpful behaviour often comes from a very similar place. Fear. In organisations people fear being judged, losing control, losing prestige and power. There is often a fear of being made to look incompetent or stupid. All of these fears are completely normal, and yet they inevitably make change difficult and problematic. Without doubt, these behaviours hinder innovation and the desire to be bold.

Improvisers are taught how to overcome fear and the best ones are able to equip others with these techniques. The best improvisers, comedians, artists and performers learn how to laugh at themselves.

Blocking is not accepting another person’s ideas or offers.

Wimping is when people passively agree to offers.

Hogging is when one performer dominates and takes over.


LAUGH. THINK. ACT.

As a change strategist within business, I see blocking, wimping and hogging all the time.

Success in some leadership teams is determined by how much individuals dominate (hog) and defend (wimp or block). Making each other look good is not always rewarded.

When teams do adopt these principles they become more highly energised and engaged. These teams talk about the things that really matter. Conversations become more robust.

There is little doubt about everyone’s opinion and how that opinion can or will shape the final decision. I am confident these teams make decisions from a more informed place. They are not required to guess or interpret meaning from members. Instead members are clear with their offers and very open to listening to others. They listen with an expectation of being inspired.

The operating model is one where the best ideas are expected to be within the team. For that reason there is assumed trust in these teams, an inherent selflessness, and the need to prove oneself is absent.

Andrew Pepar - Somersault Colleague “Mindset change is fundamental to performance, leadership and

successful change. The Masterclass experience has the power to

cut through and to shake people out of their current mindset.

The success of growth areas such as the digital economy is highly

dependent on having a nimble and opportunistic mindset.

Laugh. Think. Act reinforces this mindset in such a clever way. As

a leadership and change expert it is wonderful to be involved in

something that works and ultimately organisations have fun with.”

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4. A simple and robust approachLAUGH. THINK. ACT as a model for change resonates with a lot of teams and organisations because of both its simplicity and the inherent energy of the words. The approach is robust and does what it says it will do.

I am hesitant to use the term change methodology. There is so much literature and research about what it takes to sustain change. There is a saturation of ideas and models.

Instead LAUGH. THINK. ACT. is an approach that organisations adopt not because it is researched and validated, but because it makes inherent sense.

Clients typically love the terms LAUGH. THINK. ACT. They remember the phrase easily. In my own case it rolls off my tongue and sticks in my head. It also sums up many years of incredible energy and passion created by my time collaborating with Spark.

Clients share with us that people experience goodwill, feel inspired and motivated, want to open up, want to innovate. Through this approach, clients are able to find language for behaviour that resonates.

And I am struck that only a few use the terms to label others, e.g.: “You are a blocker.” Instead they use the terms to describe their own behaviour. “I suspect I have been blocking new ideas.”

Because of this success we want to continue to understand the full potential of laughter and performance to make change.

How does laughter enable people to enact their good intent, form new habits and sustain change with positive outcomes?

How can it be used to harness potential and to enable organisations to grow?


LAUGH. THINK. ACT.

5. Origins and impact of laughterThe use of laughter to provoke thought and to change attitudes is not unique to improvisation. Satire and satirists have existed through generations.

It is a satirist’s role to hold up a mirror to reality and help those in power see the folly of their ways. Like satire, great art is often more than beauty or something to interpret: it is an agent for change.

Laughter is such a powerful force for social change. It has a disarming effect, the potential to weaken defences and to expose vulnerability.

The great Italian playwright Dario Fo said: “First you make them laugh, then you make them think.”

Most fundamentally, my experience of laughter within groups reveals its ability to disarm.

All of our defences are weakened when we experience the rush of laughter through our bodies. Research reveals that there is little formally known into why we laugh and what roles it plays in our societies.

What is known is that laughter does release so-called endorphins into our bodies. We then begin to experience the same rush of chemicals that are invoked by exercise. It is almost certain that these chemicals have an important role in reducing pain.

Research conducted at the University of Oxford revealed that peoples’ ability to tolerate pain increased by 10% when exposed to 15 minutes of comedy.

Interestingly this result was only possible in social situations. What seems very clear is that laughter is an incredibly social activity. When exposed to comedy as individuals the ability to tolerate pain was lessened. Other experiments reveal that laughter is thirty more times likely to occur in a social context than when alone.

There is something intoxicating and biological about laughter. All of a sudden those tried defences that protect us regularly are not working. Our posture is open, not closed. Our gaze is focused, not distant. Our mind is curious, and not stuck.

So laughter increases our vulnerability and receptiveness to the new and different. I have considered how others have used laughter to change attitudes and actions.

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Jon Stewart and The Daily Show is a game-changer. It has changed the way many Americans prefer to take in their news.

For many Americans they place greater trust and respect in Jon Stewart and this format over traditional journalists. Humour and satire implies honesty.

As an Australian I was somewhat addicted to The Daily Show. Although I didn’t always recognise the players, I did recognise the plays. I found myself agitating for change and fighting for the underdog – in a way I could not have predicted.

The show had me thinking about the incredibly problematic role of ego and power in social change. And I do this from my screen, half a world away from the issue’s origin.

The Infinite Monkey Cage is a BBC radio show and podcast. It couples physicist Brian Cox with comedian Robin Ince as it takes an irreverent look at science and the scientific issues the world faces today.

Each panel is filled with respected scientists and well known comedians. Despite the focus on evidence and fact, science based discussions can be polarizing.

The comedian’s role is often to play the role of layperson and to ultimately keep the audience on side. Partnering science with laughter has proven to be a powerful combination. At a time where government funding for science is especially low, The Infinite Monkey Cage gets science and scientific issues on or closer to the front page.

This approach is also shared by eminent astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson with the format StarTalk.

When it comes to relating laughter and attitudes, there are so many examples of where humour is used to invoke change.

It has me curious as to why organisations have not undertaken a more targeted focus to adopt a similar approach. It appears contemporary, generationally relevant and ultimately human.

Laughter typically allows us to:

1. Critique Enabling people to share what is wrong with the world in a palatable way.

2. Cope Enabling people to face tough situations, to find positive emotion, and to rally social support.

3. Change Enabling people to see things differently.

Source: Dr Peter McGraw,

Univerisity of Colorado.


LAUGH. THINK. ACT.

6. Behaviour change is almost alwaysthe end gameIn organisations, defences are prevalent and especially strong in change situations. When change occurs or is on the horizon, people experience many forms of resistance.

This resistance can come from many different places e.g.: cynicism, fear, protection or concern. Behaviourly it can be expressed differently too. These behaviours can be aggressive in nature – attacking logic, rallying others, or sabotage. Yet in change the greatest risk is when behaviours are passive or become covert.

The clue to covert, and therefore problematic, change is when people say yes without any intention to change (wimping).

The most obvious sign is when change communications are concluded with little or no questions. The amount of conversation and questions posed in the hallways and the cafes is palpable - revealing a different reality.

Laughter almost always allows the covert to become overt. Truth about concerns and fears are shared rather than hidden. When resistance is direct, leaders can strategise and plan to overcome them. When resistance is indirect, we are all left to guess and assume.

I remain the strongest advocate for mindset and attitude change being a key lever in achieving sustained behaviour change.

In organisations it is common for mindsets to become established or entrenched. When this is the case, no matter how compelling or logical the strategy is, the likelihood is that the behaviour will remain the same. If a partner in an accounting firm says to herself, “I am an accountant first and a leader when I get time”, no amount of training, reward or coaching will result in sustained leadership behaviour.

That individual will always choose the work over influencing others. “I am an accountant or an expert,” becomes her truth. Importantly, this is a valid choice, as most attitudes tend to be. Yet this established attitude or perception will limit the potential for dramatic change. Unless there is a shift in her attitude, any change is likely to be token at best.

The LAUGH. THINK. ACT approach can only break-through for sustained change when people begin thinking differently. This is a key reason for its dramatic impact and cut-through in very short periods of time.

The Masterclass, which is a high impact experience showcasing of the power of laughter, inevitably results in a number of people seeing teamwork, growth and creativity differently. If organisations capitalise on this shift – then it is more likely the change will be significant and will stick. We advocate for key decisions or difficult discussions to be held as quickly as possible after a masterclass. 24 to 72 hours after the masterclass the likelihood for bold and innovative change is highest.

And as leaders and teams taste something new, executives need to provide environments that are conducive to rewarding new behaviour, accepting (and celebrating) failure and ultimately the formation of new habits.

We have come to learn that the power of the approach is all in the timing. The approach can always changes attitudes. When you get the timing right, it changes behaviour.

When you LAUGH, you disarm and become open to possibility.

When you THINK, you have the potential to shift well-established, yet problematic, attitudes.

When you ACT (or take action), you are able to establish new habits and behaviours that can change the organisation.

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7. Why Not?Our experience of using laughter for change has revealed no down side.

Lander and Rogers has been incredibly generous in not only adopting the approach, but in sharing opportunities for learning with their clients.

Jason, Karl, Rik and Amanda from Spark have been courageous and honest. They have recognised where their strengths lie and they don’t pretend to know things about business that they do not. They have made me laugh. They have made me think.

Together we are not advocating for comedians, joke-telling and entertainment. Instead we aspire to a place of honesty and truthfulness.

When we find this place, we also find the inherent goodwill in all of us. Most of us want what is good for our organisations. Most of us can ultimately reconcile when this pathway no longer fits with our own. When I reflect most deeply on our work together, I realise I have been a witness to the power of truth in change.

No matter how difficult and how disruptive, when we anchor a change in truth, we cannot go wrong.

Kirsten Makin: A client experienceLAUGH: “I once saw Karl fly through the air with a stupendous smile (thanks Jason). He was elated as he had successfully returned his “tablet” to the store – an example of an outstanding customer experience. The audience of store managers was in fits of laughter and tears as Spark creatively brought this common store experience to life. If I recall correctly, the return was posted down Karl’s pants.”

THINK: “Spark has changed the way I think about how you lift team performance. Spark challenges the more traditional approaches to team building and continually lifts their performance with the simple mantra “Let’s make each other look good.” – the commitment of each Spark team member to this strategy is unwavering and gives them the support and confidence to perform and shine.”

ACT: “It’s the simple things that resonate, stay with us and endure over time. As a people leader and team member I have adopted the mantra to ask myself and my team, “How can I make the people around me look good today?” Not only does this question take the pressure off our own performance, every conversation becomes an opportunity to empower others - to make others feel valued and confident that they can personally contribute and make a difference. I also pass this message on to other leaders to inspire team building and performance in their teams.”


LAUGH. THINK. ACT.

GATEWAY 1: Don’t proceed until Step 1 is achieved.

An example approach to change

Phase 3: Top Team/Leaders engage whole organisationIdeally the best time to leverage LAUGH. THINK. ACT.

Step 9: Communication/Launch/Top Team set the tone.

Step 10: On-going communication and engagement plan.

Step 11: On-going process alignment.

Step 12: Recognition and other key engagement activities.

Step 13: Address hot spots.

Step 14: Celebrate and highlight success wherever possible.

Phase 1: “Change ready”Step 1: Determine the Top Team’s readiness to lead. United?

Step 2: Destination – defined and compelling.Step 3: Identify leaders and influencers. Assess tipping point.

Step 4: Re-shape change approach based on assessment of tipping point.

Step 5: Need right leaders in right roles – structural change if required.

Step 6: Change governance.

GATEWAY 2: Make a strategic decision at this point based on assessment.

Phase 2: Engages leaders and InfluencersStep 7: Top Team engage next level/s of leaders – united and

on message.

Step 8: Equip all leaders with mindset, tools and skills.

GATEWAY 3: Brief checkpoint to determine leadership is on message. The big risk at this point is that

individual leaders are “off message”.

GATEWAY 4: Next checkpoint to determine how “sticky” is change.

CHANGE PHASE COMPLETE WHEN BUSINESS AS USUAL

Phase 4: Sustaining the New Normal “New Normal”Step 15: Measure message, engagement and culture.

Step 16: Move from Change to New Normal.

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Spark Masterclass• Catalyst for change

• Opens up conversations and allows for decisions

• Changes mindsets

Pre Masterclass1. Connect worlds.

2. Client focus:

• Values • Creativity• Team • Conversations• Agility • Story-telling• Culture • Leadership

3. Engage leaders

• Key conversations need to have.• Key decisions need to make.• Different story to tell.

4. Mirroring

Tailored masterclass performance, e.g. biggest client/customer challenges.

5. Production values

• Lighting • Staging • Stools• Audience seating

Masterclass Post MasterclassWithin 48 hours:

1. Thank you note.2. Record of how people are

thinking differently.3. First link to Spark Chats.

Next 5 weeks:

Week 5-6:

De-brief and measure impact.

CHATS 1: TEAM

CHATS 2: FEAR

CHATS 3: AGILE

CHATS 4: PRESENCE

CHATS 5: STORY-TELLING

CHATS 6: CREATIVITY

1. Consultant: Client focus

2. Performer: Mirror situations

3. Co-host: Captures how people are thinking differently

As soon as possible after the Masterclass (with a consultant):

• A key conversation.• A key decision.• A new story to tell.

Team book 4 volunteers

Customised collateral postcard/examples


LAUGH. THINK. ACT.

Making change stick – habitsWatching masterful improvisers perform I notice how they react to situations and each other seemingly through instinct.

At the expert level improvisation runs to a narrative pattern with each scene remaining absolutely original. The first offer establishes place and sometimes character. The second offer establishes the relationship between characters. Moving into subsequent offers, the conflict that always shapes Act 2 becomes evident. Evolving through place, through character, through struggle, the characters find resolution in Act 3. Something has changed. As an audience we know the story has ended and we expect and realise satisfaction from this resolution.

The players are doing what they have trained and rehearsed to do for many hours. Each player listens intently for the next offer. Each player accepts this offer absolutely as the character that they have been endowed with. When a moment fails they know instinctively to smile or laugh and not to berate. They are not surprised by a ‘Yes, and’ or by a ‘Yes, but.’ They are equally pleased when the character they portray is centre stage as when their character is a bit player. Great improvisers are so well drilled that what appears to be instincts are habits.

Improvisers are being asked to do things on stage that are not instinctual. It requires effort to break the norm.

Most research into habit emphasises the need for repetition. Yet there are more to habits than hours of practice.

It is smart to build a system conducive to producing the desired habit. This involves designing structure that ensures it takes little effort to succeed. Improvisation is a system. Its games and stories have structure.

Almost all structures in impro are designed to keep the players present, challenged and ultimately able to inspire each other.

In organisations, a powerful system is the measurement and reward structure. When we align the system to both espouse team behaviour and measure team performance, we make it easier to achieve collaborative habits. Unfortunately it is more common that we espouse team and reward individual. This mixed message makes habit change problematic.

There is nothing an improviser or an effective leader can do to avoid the hours of rehearsing required to sustain habits. Listening skills don’t improve just because we read a ‘how-to’ manual. Improvisers and leaders still need to do the work.

Fortunately with impro the work can be seriously fun. Impro games are highly energising. And because they energise, it is possible to log up hours of repetition with little tedium.

Twenty one days is often cited as the time that a new behaviour takes to move from new, to habit and then to automaticity.

Truthfully, only the simplest of habits form in such a short time. Many more take a matter of months to reinforce. Importantly, we know both through research and anecdotally that when the work is consistent, the change will sustain.

Fortunately with impro the work can be seriously fun. Impro games are highly energising.

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Repetition often requires an impetus, encouragement and accountability. Teams need to build systems that force the adoption of new habits with little risk of failure. For example improvisation structure keeps people in the moment and present. The structure makes it impossible to get too far ahead of the simple task of accepting the next offer.

If a work team wants to build a culture of innovation adopting offer and accept, it needs two key things. Firstly, it needs to provide opportunities for practice and rehearsal. Secondly, it needs to build a system to ensure offer and accept is the expected norm.

1. MeasuringWhat gets measured gets done. Improvisers are known for measurement through narrative. Conversations, anecdotes, and stories provide such rich data. This data provides great insight into cultural norms, current habits, blockages to success and ultimately potential.

There are myths, heroes, villains and other archetypes in organisations that make for compelling stories. The team from Spark is skilled at eliciting these stories and mirroring them back to the organisation. Leaders can then experience the narrative beginning to change. A new chapter is written.

2. Messaging Messaging remains a powerful lever for cultural change. When messaging is reinforced through behaviour, processes and other symbolic moments, a new normal is possible. The recall on messaging from Spark and from laughter is outstanding.

I was present when a senior lawyer told her team about the power of making each look good. Interestingly she didn’t realise I collaborated with Spark and secondly, she had seen Spark eight years ago. The recall is based on simple, grounded messages told in engaging ways.

3. Viral Laughter creates messaging that becomes self-generating. Communication is never effective when it is one way. Two way is also not enough. We need to build channels that enable people to engage with each other. The best cultures spread ideas from business unit to business unit or region to region. When we laugh, we can’t wait to share the news.

4. Leadership Enabling and supporting leaders to be better at messaging and story telling is vital. Leaders and influencers modeling the change and engaging people with compelling stories of a future state are highly desirable. It is often one of our roles to equip leaders to tell these stories with confidence and impact. Most actors will tell you that the only two tools they have are their voice and their body. Our experience of working in organisations suggests most leaders under- utilise both.


LAUGH. THINK. ACT.

5. Skill Development Organisations need to consider how they can provide a safe space for people to practice, train, and rehearse. The space doesn’t need to be expansive and the time does not need to be intensive. Impro rehearsal spaces are pretty grungy and it is not uncommon for rehearsal to be an hour or two maximum.

You do need a director. People are instinctively not great trainers. A number of us pay for personal trainers at the gym knowing that we will work a lot harder in these situations. The same is true for communication skills training.

6. Structure or systems Designed to provide incentives and boundaries to support desired behaviours and outcomes. The following components could be built into a team system conducive to innovation – especially when the new habit is forming.

• A scoreboard recording how may genuine offers are made each time the team meet.

• A “red-card” for each time an offer is met with a block.

• Audio record a random 5 minutes of a team meeting and then conduct an audit.

• Each offer is recorded for everyone in the team to see and only crossed off when explored to its conclusion.

• Check-ins to ensure members are present.

• A physical space conducive to expressiveness.

• Rewards for building on the obvious.

7. Reward, Recognition and CelebrationThe Spark experience is often used as reward and recognition for teams. Celebration is inherent within the improvisation culture. Improvisers are quick to acknowledge their peers and especially those performers who grow in confidence and take more courageous choices.

It makes sense that to embed new behaviours and new ways of working, recognition and celebration is employed. Spark clients tend to make more bold and innovative choices in how they recognise people. Those choices don’t have to be elaborate. The choices must be authentic and come from a genuine intent to recognise effort and change.

Learning through laughter must be simple and accessible. The more complex it becomes the more likely it won’t stick. We fundamentally believe that it has to be fun. Fun and optimistic has so much more chance of sticking. Change is hard enough, don’t make it any more earnest and difficult than it already is.

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Clare Carmody: A Somersault colleague“The first time I saw Spark it was at the end of a long and difficult day in one of those long and difficult weeks. Things at work weren’t great and I was feeling pretty cynical about the arts. That night I was reticent to attend for the usual reasons - I often skipped out on the theatre ... I was time poor and dead tired. I hadn’t laughed in weeks. So distracted, I wasn’t aware of how sad it was that I was so disconnected.

After all, I’d trained in impro through my theatre studies degree and it was my most loved form. Improvised theatre is talent and creativity and teamwork at its most immediate - a true connection between artists and audiences. It was deeply special and personal to me.

After uni I had watched many of my less visionary peers go off in to the corporate world to try to make a buck out of impro. I followed the management path and focused more on the managing metrics - bums on seats, dollars and KPIs. Ten years later I was working in theatre but feeling disconnected from the artists and process of creation. I imagined myself as ‘too busy’ for the frivolous luxury of fun and ‘too smart’ to believe that impro would be anything more meaningful than entertainment. Really, I thought I was indulging Colin, doing him a favour as a friend.”

LAUGH: “That night was in my top three nights of my life. I laughed so hard my stomach was aching. Beaming smile on my face I couldn’t believe how my day had been transformed by these dudes up there playing. As tears of laughter rolled down my face I remembered who I really was.”

THINK: “When Colin spoke and Derek told stories of how the world of impro connected to his world I understood that this was something that could be truly special and personal, not just to me, but to everyone in the room. I regained that passion and inspiration I had as a 19 year old to use the power of the arts to create human connections as a force for good.

I decided in that moment to appreciate and value the contribution of the artists on my team as a force for leadership in the organisation. I decided to yield to the way of the artist, even if I didn’t know where it was leading. To be more present with my team, to listen to them, without judgment and an open heart.”

ACT: “This decision increased the empathy and support I was able to give, not just the artists, but the whole team. The next month I took on the responsibilities of acting CEO in a time of great change and some trauma for my organisation. I was able to proritise the human connection with artists first. This saved us time and money and helped my team to trust me through an uncertain future. It also saved my soul. For me, Spark was a timely reminder of something I had always known but forgotten to appreciate. In any organisation people are the what, the why and the how. People are everything.”


LAUGH. THINK. ACT.

More information?Contact Colin Beattie at Somersault Consulting on:

M: 61 407 688 510

E: [email protected]

W: somersaultconsulting.com.au

W: sparkteamwork.com

W: landers.com.au

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LAUGH. THINK. ACT. · LAUGH. THINK. ACT. WHITE PAPER LAUGH. THINK. ACT. is simple, robust and powerful. This approach disarms and helps to overcome resistance. It results in goodwill