WATER COOLER COMEDY
Every workplace should be one where people look forward to going.
(Whether remote, in-person, or everything in between.)
ABOUT US
Work can really suck, but it doesn't have to be that way.
I mean really think about the last time you woke up Monday morning with the same enthusiasm as getting that first drink with your friends Friday night?
What if you could look forward to weekdays more than weekends?
What if you looked forward to coming to work more than leaving work?
What if the tool you could use to do this is right under your nose?
Hint: it's not your mustache
For too long, management styles have been focused on meeting quotas and checking off to-do lists.
While this strategy generates short-term success, only focusing on these things actually hampers the long-term potential of your team and organization.
OUR MISSION:
We believe your company can (and should) be a place people WANT to work.
So we teach managers how to create standout cultures that attract, engage, and retain top talent by using humor as a tool to innovate problem-solving, improve communication and collaboration, and boost productivity while having FUN doing it.
Check out everything we do HERE
Not only does laughing as a team break down social barriers at work, it has the potential to:
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Counteract stress-inducing cortisol with doses of dopamine, leading to fewer sick days
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Increase productivity
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Improve communication
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Create a psychological connection to the company's cause
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Enhance trust
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Make leaders more effective at motivating employees
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Positively impact shareholder returns
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Provide healthier perspectives of problems
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Generate creative solutions
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Inspire a more collaborative spirit
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Redefine your culture so people look forward to coming to work
You know what they say: "A team that laughs together kicks ass together."
And by "they" we mean the CEOs who have made humor a part of their cultures, psychologists, neurologists, humor researchers, authors, and leadership experts, among others.
*They didn't actually say that word-for-word, but the experience they've had and the studies they've done have proven this time and time again.
THE STORY:
Founder David Horning has always been passionate about making people laugh, which is why he has a degree in political science. Naturally, he began his comedy career in New York City, taking writing and improv classes at The Upright Citizen's Brigade Theatre. After performing comedy around the city for two years, and producing "Laundry Day," a comedy show featured in the 2014 New York Comedy Festival, he became passionate about human behavior and inspiring others to be happy.
This prompted a move to Ohio to become a motivational speaker.
Unlike other leadership speakers and corporate trainers, David's 10+ years of comedy, speaking, and corporate training experience brings an outside-of-the-box, hands-on approach unafraid of helping leaders disrupt the status quo to face uncertainty, adversity, and change with a resilient, open mind.
David's approach to his keynotes and training sessions has been called "surprisingly relevant," "an invaluable tool," and "an amazing, accurate breath of fresh air," fusing together real-life stories of failures, bombs, and lessons learned swimming upstream with his sense of humor and conversational style to connect on a deeply human level with audiences across industries. His successes include KPMG, ShurTape, Dolce Hotels, over 100 SHRM chapters, DisruptHR, and more. His work has been featured on HR.com and LinkedIn’s Daily Wrap.
Together with strategic communications firm and perennially top-rated workplace Peppercomm, David has helped develop training programs that combine a mix of stand-up and improvisation exercises to help teams build resilience, break down silos to collaborate freely, and boost employee engagement. He was chosen to be part of the firm's Laughing Matters Council, a group of leaders from across the humor spectrum providing insights, expertise, and guidance on how to leverage humor in business.
During the height of Covid-19, David launched a podcast called “You Can’t Laugh At That,” profiling top comedians’ perspectives on why anything can be funny, and later expanded the humor umbrella to leaders at top-rated workplaces, proving that not only can humor be embraced in a professional setting, but it’s integral to building innovative cultures.
Outside of leadership, David has performed at comedy clubs and in comedy festivals across the country, including the New York Comedy Festival. He also produces stand-up comedy shows for companies and private events, and his newest project is Secret Society Comedy, a Northeast Ohio-based nomad comedy club showcasing the country’s funniest up-and-coming comedians who have been featured on Netflix, HBO, Comedy Central, Saturday Night Live, and more.
David is currently procrastinating on his first book, tentatively titled "100 Things You Can't Laugh At (And Why They're Funny)," a hands-on reframing tool for both aspiring leaders and comedians alike.
