The Levity Effect: Why It Pays to Lighten Up

Don't take me wrong, I totally agree with this book: laughter rocks. But it's good to have a guide for when it's hard to laugh. There are so many places that are not fun to work at, and will never be. And sometimes you work with people who make your life anything but fun, like a bad boss, or a co-worker who is a piece of work. There is a book that helps find strength and presence of mind to laugh at your situation and teaches you skills to make it better - Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant by Lynn Taylor. It's a good companion to this one.

Dang, this book is a good one. There are literally tons of work/management books that should be ground up and turned into high-grade mulch. Not this one. Brilliant, funny in discussing fun, and seriously important. Right now, I'm trying to decide if I should risk getting in trouble for blowing out the budget on 25 copies for my teams. Yeah, it's that good. I've served 'em FISH! and Given Them the Pickle, and shared the Luv. . . a lot of good times working on making work fun. The Levity Effect is right there with the best of them. Buy it, read it, share it, live it.

This is a good business book that shows that you can work hard to reach goals and have fun doing it. The author sets forth to prove that humor does in fact result in the positive results. It was good, easy reading. It reaches out and grabs you and holds your attention. If you are in business, this book is a must read.

The Levity Effect does a good job of proving a very valid point that I already knew ... a work place that encourages light-hearted moments produces a more engaged and productive work force. Without the authors' guidance, I proved through many years of corporate management at all levels (including the board room) that humor does in fact result in the positive results set forth in the book. I am pleased that now there is a good reference to which I can refer my more uptight managers. I hope they will follow the guidance so their workers can relax and be more productive for them. Theory X managers will probably scoff at the concept ... as their workers leave for a more engaging manager.

This books has reminded me how positive and enjoyable work could be...if I remember to enjoy it. I have struggled ENDLESSLY to find the most effective way to manage/relate to/motivate this new generation of colleagues/ employees/ clients. The workforce and workplace are changing. Stuffy, regimented management styles just don't work anymore--I think we all already know this, but are prohbited to break protocol by corporate policies or conservative corporate environments. For anyone who sees the bigger, more innovative business picture, the truth is this: Maintaining the status quo will give you just that--status quo results. By just modifying my demeanor to be more accessible, more jovial, and more self-effacing, my team has responded by being more available, more eager, more honest. The change is amazing! Want a department that is creative, encouraged, and on the leading edge of your industry? Want to increase your team's performance? Want to actually look forward to your work day? You don't need to implement new procedures. You don't need to do a reorg in your department. You don't need to fire your staff, or resign. You can increase creativity, productivity, profitablity, and just about anything you want, while enjoying what you do by changing you! You can look forward to your work day, and have people look forward to working with you. Buy this book!