Andrew Tarvin - Humor That Works: The Missing Skill for Success and Happiness at Work

I am a nerd. If youre wondering what type of nerd, the answer is Yes. Computer, math, sci-fi, video game, Star Wars, Star Trek, Star Bucks... All of the above. Specifically, Im an engineer. Like most engineers, I am allergic to the sun (I use SPF building), and Im obsessed with efficiency; I believe the word efficient should be one syllable.

Ever since I can remember, Ive tried to do things as efficiently as possible. Or even since before I can remember, because I was born three weeks early. Even in the womb, I was thinking, Ive got things to do. Lets go, Mom! In kindergarten, my mom told me I had to choose what I wanted people to call me. Did I want to go by Andrew, Andy, or Drew? Five-year-old me chose Drew, and Id like to think it was because its the most efficient form of my name.

In high school, I decided that smart for me was getting a 93 percent in all of my classes, because 93 percent was the lowest grade you could get and still get an A. If I got a 94, a 95, orworst casea 100 percent, I was upset, because it meant I did more work than I had to do.

For college, I went to the Ohio State University, where I received three educations. Not three degreesIm no doctor even if the first two letters of my name are Drbut three educations.

The first education was my actual degree: computer science and engineering, where I learned how to think, how to develop processes for efficiency, and how to program a robot we named Mordecai and the Dancing Yiddish Clowns. I learned the wonders of project plans, critical path schedules, and that scope isnt just a mouthwash. And I learned the technical skills I needed to complete tasks.

The second education was in becoming a resident advisor,where I learned how to better interact with fellow human beings, how to engage with people on multiple levels, and how to use 47 meal swipes in the last three days of the semester. I learned the importance of emotional intelligence, empathy, and empanadas (there was a good Mexican place near campus). And I learned the relationship skills I needed to manage a job.

The third education was in starting an improv comedy group, where I learned how to make people laugh, how to listen more intently, and how to turn any suggestion into a pun. I learned the power of yes and, comedic structure, and confident delivery. And I learned the humor skills I needed to enjoy a lifetime.

After graduating from Ohio State, I started working at Procter & Gamble as an IT project manager, where I managed the portal (a fancy word for website) for modeling and simulation in upstream research and development, led multimillion-dollar projects for a $ 350-million brand, and became a trusted advisor for the Prestige sales team because of my analytics skills and boyish charm (but mostly my analytics skills). I realized along the way that the success I was having at P&Gthe awards, promotion, opportunity, and thorough enjoyment of what I was doingwas a result of my three educations at Ohio State.

Computer science taught me to find the best way to do things. I read top-rated business books and learned how to get things done, how to win friends and influence people, and how to habitually be highly effective seven ways. I consistently sought feedback from my managers so I could iterate improvement, and I deconstructed my work into its most basic components so I could do it as efficiently as possible.

My experience as a resident advisor taught me to manage people up, down, and across the organization. I recognized that my success was not going to be solely from my technical skills; I had to manage the human component of work. I started playing the politics of the corporate world, taking on certain projects for visibility, and saying, Lets circle back on this when I never wanted to talk about a subject ever again.

And improv taught me to use humor. I realized people were far more likely to do something if it was fun, myself included. I found ways to insert funny and/or embarrassing pictures of myself in my presentations, added jokes at the ends of emails (which I aptly named PS for the Pun Script), and started an internal blog that revolved around these three thingsengineering, emotional intelligence, and humor.