
Microsoft's Guide to Humor - jakarta
http://www.microsoft.com/education/competencies/humor.mspx
======
nagrom
This reminds me of E. B. White's quote:

"Humor can be dissected, as a frog can, but the thing dies in the process and
the innards are discouraging to any but the pure scientific mind."

<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/E._B._White>

It's also reminiscent of Louis Armstrong's

"Man, if you gotta ask you'll never know"

<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Louis_Armstrong>

Is it really possible to develop a sense of humour by reading a list of bullet
points, action plans and self-help advice? I'm not really convinced that this
isn't a really brilliant, very subtle joke on a completely higher level.

I can't decide whether this is funnier if posted by someone in earnest, or if
posted in total seriousness. I think that's the joke.

~~~
thinkbohemian
This may be a little bit convoluted of an idea but when i was much younger I
made a concerted effort to be "funnier". I watched stand up commedians on tv
and analyzed why some jokes worked and some didn't. I paid attention to my
friends jokes and took mental notes. All in all it worked out, i'm no robbin
williams, but I make people around me laugh (in a good way) fairly frequently.

So structured learning of "un-learnable" fields can pay off, though your
intent, desire, and actions all have to be aligned. Microsofts attempts to
introduce humor to the workplace could legitimately be successful if they
really really followed through, sponsoring weekly sitcom watching parties,
making jokes in email signatures the internal norm, etc.

What makes this document so sad, is the perception that feelings and enjoyment
can be delegated to a memo.

~~~
jemfinch
I did the same thing. I found that a frequent key component of humor is
unexpected word choice, which synergized well with my extensive vernacular.

Can you summarize some of the lessons you learned?

~~~
thinkbohemian
It can never hurt to try out your material on the internet. i'm currently
floating at the top of the page with an office one-liner. Sometimes it pays to
stick to the classics ^_^

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thinkbohemian
Doesn't look like they have a policy on "that's what she said"

------
mkramlich
Level 5: Super Expert

Can recognize the humor in Microsoft publishing strict guidelines documenting
requirements for various "proficiency" levels in humor. Microsoft spent money
doing this. Money that came ultimately from Windows license revenue. Can
barely hold back tears at the thought of this.

------
aphyr
_Learning From Bad Situations

All of us will find ourselves in bad situations from time to time. Good
intentions gone bad. Impossible tasks and goals. Hopeless projects. Even
though you probably can’t perform well, the key is to at least take away some
lessons and insights. Was there anything ironic, odd, or downright funny in
all of this?_

Trapped on the thirty-second floor of Microsoft Documentation Complex 27B/6,
Will Burnham shuddered, silently, and wept.

~~~
henning
Reminds me of Microserfs.

------
izaidi
"Since you are reading this because you or others don't think you are good at
using humor, the best technique is to follow the lead of others."

------
leif
> Can see humor in almost everything

I must be an expert because this page is hilarious.

Particularly the fact that they suggest learning to shoot skeet.

------
Luyt
At first I thought this was a joke. But it's dead serious.

~~~
lanstein
This has to be a joke.

~~~
justinweiss
Nope, these are actual guidelines Microsoft uses to make hiring, promotion,
and compensation decisions. city41's comment is 100% accurate about how these
things are used.

The entire list of 'competencies' is here:
[http://www.microsoft.com/education/competencies/allcompetenc...](http://www.microsoft.com/education/competencies/allcompetencies.mspx)

It probably started as your typical big-company CYA in case someone tries to
sue them for HR-related stuff and grew into this monster as some middle
manager began empire-building.

There's even a wheel, in case you felt like making a poster: (pdf)
[http://download.microsoft.com/download/3/4/7/3477e49d-315d-4...](http://download.microsoft.com/download/3/4/7/3477e49d-315d-4ee7-a8ca-
ff653a4455d6/Competency_Wheel.pdf)

~~~
larsberg
These linked ones are the education ones. They are completely different in
content from the ones used in in the product team roles.

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tom_ilsinszki
Rule #28941: When someone cracks a joke say "ha-ha-ha" out loud.

~~~
ElbertF
If online, post the letters L, O and L (in that order) to indicate laughter in
real life. Optionally the letters X and D may be used to form a so called
"emoticon", for added effect.

~~~
eru
If (or perhaps when) making a joke yourself, you can also use a (semi-)colon
and o or dash and a closing parenthesis at the end of your sentence as a hint
to the recipient who may otherwise--in the absence of body language or tone of
spoken words--not notice that your utterance was meant to be humorous.

However, in some circles this may be frowned up on as an insult on the readers
intelligence.

------
projectileboy
Wow, I thought this would be ridiculous, but it's actually a pretty sharp
analysis of how to effectively use humor in the workplace.

~~~
emilis_info
So did you find the information useful? [Yes] [No]

------
madmanslitany
All I can think of right now is the Chinese room thought problem for
artificial intelligence.

Even if you make people laugh following these guidelines to the letter, would
you have a sense of humor?

------
prole
From the article: "Learning From Bad Things That Happen

Bad things happen to everyone, sometimes because of what we do and sometimes
with help from us. We all have bad bosses, bad staffs, impossible and hopeless
situations, impossible tasks, and unintended consequences. Aside from the
trouble these bad things cause for you, the key is how can you learn from each
of them.

Learning From Bad Situations

All of us will find ourselves in bad situations from time to time. Good
intentions gone bad. Impossible tasks and goals. Hopeless projects. Even
though you probably can’t perform well, the key is to at least take away some
lessons and insights. Was there anything ironic, odd, or downright funny in
all of this?"

Hmm, the Internet Explorer team wrote this? At least they've proven their
"Level 1: Basic" proficiency by being able to laugh at themselves and their
hopeless predicament.

------
mooneater
Its smart. They know that the best executives will be able to use humor,
anger, and a spectrum of human emotions, to further their goals.

------
ashishbharthi
Is this their 'Intranet' accidentally published on the Web? I don't understand
what is the purpose of it being up there.

~~~
city41
It's similar. They use the same proficiency level guidelines for many
different aspects when doing employee reviews. There is also a pre-established
ruling on at what level of proficiency an employee of a certain level should
be at for each one. So, for example, a level 62 employee should be at level 2
humor proficiency. Level 64 should be at proficiency 3, etc. Being above the
expected proficiency for your level is a factor in getting a bigger bonus. You
also can't get promoted until your proficiencies are at least at the next
expected level.

~~~
sriramk
Wow. I'm an engineer at Microsoft. I don't know what this particular site is
about (from poking around, it seems to be targeted at education) but I can
assure you that career paths and employee reviews at Microsoft have nothing to
do with humor.

It's a weird day when you have to write such a comment :)

~~~
city41
No, not humor. I mean that proficiency scale is used for various other more
pertinent traits. I worked for Microsoft up until February.

------
nandemo
The funny thing is that some people think it's serious.

------
gabrielroth
Level one, 'Basic,' includes: "Tries to diffuse tense situations with
appropriate humor."

In a different row, level two, 'Intermediate,' includes: "Uses humor to boost
morale or decrease tension."

Similarly, level one includes "Is conscientious about timing and setting for
humor," and level three, 'Advanced,' includes "Realizes when and where humor
will backfire, and withholds."

If this were a real skill being assessed, that kind of redundancy would be a
problem. In fact, it probably wouldn't be there at all, because the person
writing it would sense that something was a level-one trait or a level-three
trait. But when you start down the path of bullshit like this, you find
yourself in the land of arbitrariness, and pretty soon you're just desperate
for some more words to fill up the boxes.

And it is, indeed, bullshit. A good sense of humor is important in the
workplace, as it is everywhere, but it's not something that can be assessed in
some abstract way like this, separate from the person's other qualities.

------
ezy
This is depressing. How can you work for Microsoft, see that, and not be
depressed? Whatever you think of the company's technology over the years, you
have to wonder how old timers feel about starting a career at a software
company and ending it at a company that exists solely as charity for office
workers.

------
klochner
I can't believe I'm the first to post this nugget:

"In a seemingly serious situation, what nuggets of humor or irony can I find?"

------
dolphenstein
The author of that page is obviously a "Level 4: Expert" in humor.

------
aufreak3
This is really funny! The one who wrote this has to have an incredible "expert
level" sense of humour!

------
jjs
This is well and good for those zany jokesters at Microsoft, but what are _we_
to do?

------
hop
Strategic Agility and Innovation Management -
[http://www.microsoft.com/education/competencies/comp_strateg...](http://www.microsoft.com/education/competencies/comp_strategicagilityandinnovationmanagement.mspx)

Really, Microsoft...

------
defen
> Do I ever encourage a near party atmosphere because of my comfort with using
> humor?

How many points do I get for encouraging near party atmospheres because of my
comfort with using alcohol?

------
tchvil
Hey boss, I learned 50 jokes last year. Will I have my pay rise?

------
phugoid
Humor in the workplace is mostly a way to assert dominance.

------
asimjalis
Level 5: You cracked the humor algorithm and developed a small humor library
that now ships with the operating system.

~~~
chbarts
This library thinks Franz Kafka and Charlie Chaplain were the funniest people
ever, particularly as epitomized in _The Trial_ and _Modern Times_ ,
respectively.

------
RiderOfGiraffes
I'm surprised they haven't used a PowerPoint presentation.

------
houseabsolute
Humor: something Microsoft could stand to learn a bit of.

------
mindcreek
Guide itself is more funny than the subject.

------
navyrain
I can't believe this is real. Just wow.

------
Raphael
I don't get it.

------
cptvideo
Is this a joke?

~~~
sz
That's what she said.

------
pw0ncakes
Say "Aidsfart" four times fast. Now say it backwards. Now stick out your
tongue.

~~~
pw0ncakes
^ I wish I could delete this. I realize the comment sounds very tasteless out
of context.

I was ripping on the sterility and general uselessness of corporate so-called
"humor" by describing a behavior that would be offensive and bizarre in normal
interaction, but hilarious and awesome within a corporate context (because of
its offensiveness and, therefore, its departure from what is expected).

