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Fresh Ideas, Real Stories, and a Lot of Laughs
Insights on laughter, leadership, and team culture direct from our founder
March 6, 2025
Employee Engagement - Do I Have To?
Talking to people at work, on ZOOM or in-person can feel like tiptoeing through a minefield now. Even Mike White can’t resist holding up a mirror to how hard it is to avoid confrontation - among "best friends" in season 3 of White Lotus. If engagement between people with decades of history together is being presented this way, imagine how loaded it can be with people you’ve just been put on a work team with!
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February 26, 2025
5 Facts About Laughter that Make a Difference
People often say to me, sure laughter is nice, but why are you such a zealot? I decided to organize some of my reasons here! Feel free to reach out to me with any comments or questions @danikleinmodisett.
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February 19, 2025
Leader Humor
Last week I discovered the catchy phrase “leader humor,” an accepted shorthand for leader who use their sense of humor to lead. I first saw it referenced in a LinkedIn post by my friend and colleague Dr. Belinda Chiu. It’s a thing! I felt so validated reading this distinction about it:
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February 10, 2025
Laughter + Sleep = Brain Health!
This just in, sleep matters. Not just for our beauty, as the saying goes. In fact instead of the popular “beauty sleep,” given the sleep statistics on Alzheimer’s prevention, maybe we could rebrand “beauty sleep,” to “br
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January 31, 2025
Is It Award Season for Improv Comedy?
In the category of “Best Way to Improve Productivity," the nominees are...Mental Health Benefits, Paid Maternity AND Fraternity Leave, Kombucha On Tap, and…INTERACTIVE IMPROV WORKSHOPS!”
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January 22, 2025
Laughter is a Survival Skill
“I’m not sure any of these are really my style,” I say, digging through an old Home Goods bag of someone’s used clothing.
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January 9, 2025
FIRES: No Laughing, Take Action
Laughter On Call is based in Los Angeles where, to put it mildly, 2025 has kicked off in a true crisis. A well known equation for comedy, tragedy plus time, means you won’t be getting any jokes here today. Instead, I am
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December 31, 2024
Year End Highlights, 2024
I’ve been getting hit with a lot of reflections for 2024. I definitely enjoy a greatest hits newsletter whether it's from a family I don’t see often or a small business that’s forging new ground. I love hearing about per
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December 23, 2024
Laugh Lines that Work
It’s HOLIDAY SEASON - all caps! This means it’s likely that the next few weeks may yield some unanticipated “challenges.” A polite way of saying that close proximity to family, spending, alcohol and cookies (maybe just m
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December 19, 2024
A Comedian and A Pope Walk Into a Bar…
One of the first Broadway shows I worked on was John Guare’s “House of Blue Leaves.” Directed by Jerry Zaks, it was equal parts manic comedy, heartfelt family drama and social commentary. The play had a crazy cast with Ben Stiller, Stockard Channing, Swoosie Kurtz, Christopher Walken and more.
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December 12, 2024
Fa la la la ME TIME!
Maybe because I just drove up and back to Santa Barbara from Los Angeles in eighteen hours, after sleeping on a lumpy bed, but the concept of self-care is really calling out to me tonight. Plus, as we know it’s the holid
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December 5, 2024
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year?
I spent my adolescence in Connecticut where Christmas was born. Or so it felt. At my high school the “Candlelight Concert,” held in December was the highlight of the year for the whole town. We wore white gowns and as pr
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