Peter McGraw

Joel Warner

Part road-trip comedy and part social science experiment, a scientist and a journalist travel the globe to discover the secret behind what makes things funny, questioning countless experts, including Louis C.K., along the way.

A Global Search for What Makes Things Funny

The Humor Code

What do comedians know about killing it in business? Just ask a behavioral economist who teaches MBAs by day and decodes comedy by night. Dr. Peter McGraw--a business school professor, professional speaker, and founder of the Humor Research Lab (aka HuRL)--translates the genius and madness of the world's funniest people into powerful prescriptions for professional success. Drawing on cutting-edge research, case studies, and his own comedy successes (and failures), Peter reveals surprising business lessons from the masters of comedy: What Bill Murray and Groucho Marx know about career management. Why Dave Chappelle and Joan Rivers are a blueprint for brand building. What Tina Fey and Amy Poehler can teach you about leadership and teamwork. How Jerry Seinfeld's daily rituals made him the wealthiest comic alive. The insights in Shtick to Business will help you improve innovation and outsmart the competition. You'll build new skills--enhanced creativity, better decision-making, and a marketing mindset--to launch a business, tackle tough management problems, and build a serious career. And you'll never have to tell a joke.

What the Masters of Comedy Can Teach You about Breaking Rules, Being Fearless, and Building a Serious Career

Shtick to Business

Tracy Taylor

Alison Doherty

Managing People in Sport Organizations provides a comprehensive overview of the theory and practice of managing people within a strategic framework. This revised and updated second edition examines a range of strategic human resource management approaches that can be used by sport organizations to respond to contemporary challenges and to develop a sustainable performance culture. Drawing on well-established conceptual frameworks and current empirical research, the book systematically covers every key area of HRM theory and practice, including: recruitment training and development performance management and appraisal motivation and reward organizational culture employee relations diversity managing change This new edition also includes expanded coverage of social media, volunteers, and individuals within organizations, and is supported with a new companion website carrying additional resources for students and instructors, including PowerPoint slides, exam questions and useful web links. No other book offers such an up-to-date introduction to core concepts and key professional skills in HRM in sport, and therefore Managing People in Sport Organizations is essential reading for any sport management student or any HR professional working in sport.

A Strategic Human Resource Management Perspective

Managing People in Sport Organizations

Part road-trip comedy and part social science experiment, a scientist and a journalist “shed fascinating light on what makes us laugh and why” (New York Post). Two guys. Nineteen experiments. Five continents. 91,000 miles. The Humor Code follows the madcap adventures and oddball experiments of Professor Peter McGraw and writer Joel Warner as they discover the secret behind what makes things funny. In their search, they interview countless comics, from Doug Stanhope to Louis CK and travel across the globe from Norway to New York, from Palestine to the Amazon. It’s an epic quest, both brainy and harebrained, that culminates at the world’s largest comedy festival where the pair put their hard-earned knowledge to the test. For the first time, they have established a comprehensive theory that answers the question “what makes things funny?” Based on original research from the Humor Research Lab (HuRL) at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the pair’s experiences across the globe, The Humor Code explains the secret behind winning the New Yorker cartoon caption contest, why some dead baby jokes are funnier than others, and whether laughter really is the best medicine. Hilarious, surprising, and sometimes even touching, The Humor Code “lays out a convincing theory about how humor works, and why it’s an essential survival mechanism” (Mother Jones).

Peter McGraw

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