Zense brings "Humor Capital" to the HSG
Everyone knows that humor is effective in corporate communications. But hardly anyone knows how to use it strategically. An experimental course was held at the University of St. Gallen in November to bridge this gap. The Zurich-based consulting firm Zense developed a curriculum that transforms humor from a mysterious art into a strategic skill that can be learned.
The problem becomes clear when you ask a simple question. "We always start by asking participants when they last talked about humor in a serious setting," explains Andri Hinnen, Co-CEO at Zense and co-leader of the course. "The answer is usually never. That's exactly where the failure lies - not in a lack of awareness, but in a lack of skill."
Humor is generally considered an innate talent, not a strategic capability. If you're funny, you become a comedian - the others just work at the bank. Accordingly, existing offers focus on stand-up comedy and not on business communication. "People used to think that entrepreneurship was innate," says Hinnen. "Today it is taught systematically. It's the same with humor - it's a tool that can be learned."
Zense had already tested the practice in the business world before the HSG course. In a humor workshop with Swiss as a pilot customer (pun intended), the concept was tested for the first time with executives and communication managers. The three-day HSG course now turned it into a structured curriculum. The main moderators were Andri and Gieri Hinnen, authors of the books "Reframe it!" and "Change it!". Guest lecturers were comedienne Vanessa Lépine, who opened the closing gala of the 2021 Montreux Comedy Festival, and director Mats Frey ("Tschugger", whose short film "Eddy" reached over 42 million YouTube views).
As part of the course, the students produced humorous short films on classic business topics, which were then combined into a single film. The aim behind this is to establish humour capital as a strategic asset that organizations can systematically develop.
"Humor Capital is a future skill," Hinnen is convinced. "In a world where AI is taking over more and more, the specifically human element is becoming more important - including humor. Organizations that don't dare to do this will lose connectivity."
Soon also for companies
Following the successful implementation at the HSG, Zense plans to make the offer available to companies. Zense - Reframing Complexity is a consultancy and agency based in Zurich and Berlin. Since 2013, it has been helping companies, start-ups, public institutions and cultural and academic institutions to rethink complex content and communicate it effectively.
