Dr. Harry Brunjes knows what it takes to deliver a powerful speech to an after-dinner crowd. When giving your speech, Dr. Brunjes says to do what comes naturally to you. If you are not a naturally funny person, don’t force it. There are other ways where you can show your sense of humour and lightness without trying too hard to get people laughing.
Dr. Harry Brunjes is Chair of the English National Opera but he didn’t start his career in the boardroom, he started it on the boards of the stage as a stand-up comedian. Brunjes will tell you first-hand just how important his sense of humour has become whether he be working on the floor of the hospital or on one of the many executive boards that he sits on.
As a practicing medical doctor, Brunjes learned how to make connections with people during their hardest moments. He later founded Premier Medical Group, where he learned what it took to lead with lightness and laughter. Now, the good Doctor spends his time as an executive and board member of a variety of business, schools, and organizations including Lansing College, the Woodard Corporation, Suffolk Cathedral Development Trust, and the English National Opera just to name a few. When it comes to conducting business in the boardroom, Brunjes knows that humour is a necessity.
“You have got to laugh at yourself and if you can laugh at yourself, people like it. Everybody there in the boardroom, is all quite alpha. But if you say something about yourself being small or bald, whatever it is you do that, that actually takes ’em off guard.”
Brunjes knows that good business is done when humour is involved. In every tense situation in business, medicine, or life, Brunjes shares just how important it can be to have a laugh as a leader in a difficult situation. “I’ll do something that makes someone laugh because negotiation gets tense, and you’ve got to bring people back from the brink. And sometimes they get so tense, they’re on the verge of either really losing their temper or making a fool of themselves.”
Come hear how this chuckling chairman uses lightness and laughter to lead in all of his walks of life. From the humour of his stand-up days to the multi-million-pound business deals he does regularly, Dr. Harry Brunjes always knows how to hit the funny bone. Hear more about how Harry handles humour on this week’s episode of The Humourology Podcast.
We are taking a brief podcast break for the holiday season but will still send you some cheer for the next couple of Tuesdays.
Find out more about what Harry is up to
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and also here on Facebook
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and also the English National Opera on Instagram
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