This
website is based on a book that uses the movie, Monty Python
and the Holy Grail, as an analogy for the life in a modern corporation
- an illusive objective, bloated egos, a dysfunctional leadership
team, and idiocy all around. APR 14
CAMELOT'S A SILLY PLACE
HAVING THE RIGHT SONG AND DANCE TO COMMUNICATE YOUR VISION
After collecting Sir Bedevere, the Wise, from the village of the witch, Arthur manages to round up more knights for his round table - Sir Launcelot, Sir Galahad, and Sir Robin. At last they head off to sit at the roundtable of Camelot to do wise and noble things, only .......
KNIGHTS: [singing]
We're knights of the round table.
We dance when e'er we're able.
We do routines and chorus scenes
With footwork impeccable.
We dine well here in Camelot.
We eat ham and jam and spam a lot.
[dancing]
We're knights of the Round Table.
Our shows are formidable,
But many times we're given rhymes
That are quite unsingable.
We're opera mad in Camelot.
We sing from the diaphragm a lot.
KNIGHTS: [tap-dancing]
In war we're tough and able,
Quite indefatigable.
Between our quests we sequin vests and impersonate Clark Gable.
It's a busy life in Camelot.
MAN: I have to push the pram a lot.
ARTHUR: Well, on second thought, let's not go to Camelot.
It is a silly place.
Humor is all about mismatching and incongruities. Humorists are very conscious of the content and context aspects of what they create, but in most other occupations, we are so focused on the content of our message that we forget about its context. How we present our information is as important as or more important than what we are presenting. When I make a presentation to Marketing folks, I create PowerPoint slides with lots of pretty pictures. When I need to present to Finance, I use spreadsheets with charts and graphs. This is why we feel so silly when, in the effort to foster creativity, we are asked to sing or rap our presentation. It is silly! It's like wearing a sign that says, "Please don't take me seriously!"
However, if you have a really crazy message, a crazy way of presenting it might be a good idea. It sets the scene or the context that what you are about to hear is different from the ordinary. If you have a dire or depressing message, dressing it up in pretty colors and sounds ends up seeming disrespectful. I attended a company-wide meeting once that was held during the midst of massive lay-offs, and the meeting coordinators tried to create an energetic and enthusiastic environment with music and multimedia. Although their intentions were good, the presenters, who were all the chief officers, just looked insensitive to the plight of their people.
Another interesting area in communications "context" comes from Neurolinguistic Programming, or NLP, called representational systems. Representational systems are the ways memories and ideas are represented by the brain. There are three based on our senses – Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic (actions and feelings), often abbreviated as VAK. We typically prefer one or two of these sensory systems over the others. This means that we relate better to information presented in that sensory form. For instance, I use visual and kinesthetic representations with an emphasis on visual. I know this because when I conjure a memory and analyze it, my memory is in the form of a picture. Just about all my memories are pictures, and many of them have feelings associated with them, but hardly ever is there sound in my memories.
Listening to the words people tend to use often can give
you a clue to their representation system. Using phrases such
as "I see" or "I hear you" or "I get it" gives you an
inkling as to what mode they prefer. Knowing preferences can
help you tailor your message to the preferred style of your
audience. Remember, we like people who are like ourselves,
and we will naturally like a person who communicates in the
way we like to hear things.
THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
SONG AND DANCE
We preside at the boardroom table
Deciding programs to enable
But oftentimes we commit white crimes
By embezzling what we’re able
We love life in the corporation
It’s like having our own nation
Our lives are like a fable
We own more than what’s comfortable
Like private jets and costly (female) pets
Some of us even have a stable
A top executive in a corporation
Deserves lots of adoration
Yes, we preside at the boardroom table
Determining which jobs to disable
We love the big pay-offs of big lay-offs
As our stock price becomes more stable
(and our options more valuable)
An executive in a corporation
Is quite a desirable occupation