Book Review: The Levity Effect
by Miki Saxon
As I said Saturday, this is levity week at MAPping Company Success, starting with a review of The Levity Effect by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton.
Last spring I reviewed The Carrot Principle, also written by Gostick and Elton.
In their new book they spell out with great examples why lightening up boosts all the metrics you want to go up—productivity, creativity, innovation, retention and happiness.
Understand that ‘levity’ is not about telling jokes any more than ‘happy’ and ‘fun’ are about goofing off. That’s especially true about jokes that start with ‘Now, don’t be offended…’ or end with ‘just kidding’. As one manager, who is deep into levity as a management tool, said to me, “If they want jokes they should watch Leno or Letterman.”
Levity is about lightening up and recognizing that trust, communication, and creativity are all increased when people spend their time with people whose company they enjoy.
It is about having fun because you are challenged, encouraged to grow and given multiple opportunities to make a difference.
The information in the book is the product of ten years of extensive research proving that traditional ‘wipe that smile off your face’ attitudes are counterproductive. The research is backed up with case studies of recognized leading companies whose numbers can’t be argued with and whose top brass are vocal in their belief that a happy workforce produces happy customers—and that levity is a major component of happy.
Of course, the problem with a book such as The Levity Effect is that the people who will be quick to ‘get it’ are the ones who already believe in the basic concept, whereas the ones who really need it will be resistant—it’s always questionable how well any book can sell a foreign concept to what may be a hostile buyer.
We’ll talk more about how to do that this week, as well as things you can do no matter your level in an organization and how to incorporate levity into your MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™) to make life better for you and those around you.
See you tomorrow.
Image credit: The Levity Effect
