Humour and Candour Build Strong Cultures

A note to young leaders.

Cultivate a culture that values honest irreverence over studied politeness.

Nike is a case in point.

At one of the earliest retreats, Jeff Johnson – Nike’s first ever employee – muttered a line that stuck forever:

“How many multimillion-dollar companies can you yell out, ‘Hey, Buttface,’ and the entire management team turns around?”

Everyone laughed. And so the retreats became known as “the Buttfaces”. And the attendees became “Buttfaces” too.

Everyone had a nickname. Rob Strasser was “Rolling Thunder”. Bob Woodell was “Weight” – as in “dead weight”. Hayes was “Doomsday”. Johnson was “Four Factor” – because he exaggerated so much that everything he said needed to be divided by four.

Nicknames like these are a great way to puncture self-importance and hold egos in check.

When people feel free to openly rib each other, they will also feel free to openly challenge each other.

Sacred cows graze peacefully in polite pastures. Humour and candour are the wolves.