We can Laugh at Ourselves

I have always thought that a great quality is the ability to laugh at oneself. That goes for organisations as much as people. By being able to see the funny side of life one displays a great confidence in your own or the organisations strength. I have often thought that the humourless are some of the most insecure people.

We criticise the BBC and I fully accept that it is an organisation with many weaknesses, indeed when I worked with it for a short time I found it very beauracratic, slow to move, and not a risk taking organisation. However it is a great broadcaster, makes many fine programmes and transmits world-class news that is thought of as authoritive the world around. So it is great to see it poking fun at itself. We watched W1A tonight, W1A being the postal code of the BBC’s headquarters. This programme takes a satirical look at the BBC’s inner workings. It is just close enough to the truth to be believable, and has a savage humour. The whole thing is helped by a great ensemble cast led Hugh Bonneville of Downton Abbey fame. Today’s programme looked at the preparations for a royal visit to the BBC, so it was able to take aim at two targets at the same time. Another stream was honest enough to target Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear fame; his name was always first on the agenda of the weekly damage limitation meeting.

So not only do we see an entertaining programme, but it also gives us valuable insights into way the BBC works, and displays an organisation at ease with itself.

To show that this is a measure of successful organisations the previous series was a satirical take on the preparations for the London 2012 Olympics. Again the comedy was savage, but guess what the actual Olympics were one of the most successful events that the country had staged.

So one of the hallmarks of success is the ability not to be too serious about it. Without trying to be too heavy I think that is a valuable life lesson.