In high anticipation of this year’s fast-approaching April Fool’s Day, let’s put the spotlight on the funniest companies in the world.  Each year Stand-Up Strategist compiles the definitive rankings of the best corporate April Fools campaigns from around the world.  You can see the ’23 winners, their highly entertaining campaigns, and the illustrious panel of guest judges here: https://standupstrategist.com/2023-rankings/

To celebrate and showcase the importance of humor, Stand-Up Strategist has been compiling the Top 23 annual rankings since 2018 (suspended in ‘20 and ’21 due to the pandemic) and we have seen noteworthy patterns emerge.  Participation in April foolery is truly global – involving all continents with the notable exception of Antarctica. It spans across diverse industries – with airline, automotive, hi-tech, and consumer goods being the most prominent. And, it often features the CEO/Founder of the company personally – most famously John Legere, former CEO of T-Mobile USA.

To get the fascinating, behind the scenes peek at how the rankings are compiled, see my freshly published article in CEOWorld Magazine:

https://ceoworld.biz/2024/03/20/the-funniest-companies-in-the-world/ 

May you use the remaining few days wisely, to perfect your display of humor on April 1^st. 

#humor #leadership #corporateculture #smartstrategy #transformation #creativity #aprilfools

What would you say to the idea of using a cheese byproduct to magically produce gold? I know, it seems absurd. As absurd as all the wild alchemy attempts throughout history. Except that it isn’t.

“A team of researchers at ETH Zurich in Switzerland has made a discovery that could turn recycling e-waste into a literal goldmine. They found that protein fibril sponges, made from protein-rich cheesemaking byproducts, can be used to extract the gold from discarded e-waste.”

The researchers retrieved a 22-carat gold nugget weighing 450 milligrams from 20 old computer motherboards. Because the method utilizes tech waste and food industry byproducts, it is not only a sustainable but also a financially attractive recycling method.

What’s more, this nugget of genius is a perfect example of the Innovation Shortcut – a core Slingshot Framework principle: Combining traditionally separate, seemingly unrelated components can unlock significant, untapped market value. Are you taking advantage of the shortcut to shape the future of your industry?

See the whole story here: https://futurism.com/the-byte/extract-gold-old-electronics-fortune

#innovation #transformation #futurism #leadership #creativity

Here is another epigram I encourage you to ponder.  So let me bring it to life once more via a fabulous Dr. Seuss story. 

In his tale about Sneetches, Dr. Seuss introduces us to two types of these fantastical creatures. Ones with red stars on their bellies and ones without. What those without stars desire the most in the world is to have stars themselves, which of course is impossible. At least until an enterprising, high-energy character by the name of Sylvester McMonkey McBean rolls into town with a strange contraption that can magically stamp stars. But alas, as soon as all the bare Sneetches get stars on their stomachs, those who originally had them want theirs removed by the machine. And so this cycle continues over and over, until all the Sneetches run out of money and finally have a breakthrough realization: It doesn’t really matter if they have stars or not.

While this story has numerous connotations, its relevance here is this: As long as the Sneetches resisted open-mindedness, their divided society persisted. The moment they embraced change (with a bit of outside impetus from McBean), both their life perspective and society transformed. 

What ideas, actions, changes have you resisted that are creating persistent boundaries around you?  And in what profound way would they transform you if you embraced them? No better time than now to find out.

#inspiration #transformation #leadership #selfimprovement 

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This is an epigram I started using recently, because it’s so relevant to our times. It was inspired by none other than the inimitable Dr. Seuss:

“Without a common vision, you have division”

Inspiration came from Dr. Seuss’ story of the Zax - imaginary creatures who can only go in one specific direction. In the story, two Zax, one southbound, the other headed north, happen to bump into each other in the middle of the desert, perfectly blocking the other’s path. Neither of the two was willing to budge, to change direction, to seek a common vision. And as they remained there perfectly divided in their perspectives and goals, the world passed them by. A new highway was built right around them in the desert.

As Dr. Seuss puts it:

“And they built it right over those two stubborn Zax. And left them there, standing un-budged in their tracks.”

Is your team full of Zax, or do you have a clearly-articulated, well-founded common vision to unite them?

#DrSeuss #leadership #Wisdom #inspiration #transformation