What CEO’s Can Learn From Trevor Noah

I am a big fan of South African comedian Trevor Noah, who is best known as the former host of The Daily Show. If you are not familiar with him, check out “How The British Took Over India”. But be warned, you will spend hours watching more of his videos.

Noah has a a rare talent for using humor to draw attention to issues he cares about. That could also be a useful technique for CEOs. In a survey on LinkedIn of more than 500 people, 89% said that CEOs should indeed make jokes. But things can easily go pear-shaped with jokes. So here are three things CEOs can learn from Trevor Noah.

Lesson #1: Make fun of yourself

"When I'm in America, people say I sound British. When I'm in Britain, people say I sound American. When I'm in South Africa, people say I sound rich." Noah makes fun of his multicultural identity and the perceptions of others.

Self-deprecating humor is usually a winner for CEOs too. Richard Branson the founder of Virgin has always been good at that. After losing a bet, he shaved his legs and served drinks on a rival airline. Stunts like this resonate with the British public and helped him to maintain his image as a ’man of the people‘ rather than a detached billionaire.

A reason why this type of humor works is that it creates a connection. Vitally important, considering that most people tend to tell CEOs what they think they want to hear. If they feel the leader can take it, they might be more forthcoming.

Important though to get the timing right. A light-hearted comment does not work during a time of crisis and you don’t want to come across as phony. So don’t do a Ted Cruz, who sparked a backlash when he tried to make light of an  ill-timed trip to Cancun during a blackout in Texas, telling a Republican conference: "God bless CPAC. I gotta say, Orlando is awesome. It’s not as nice as Cancun, but it’s nice." 

Lesson #2: Tease your equals

Noah has light-hearted banter with another comedian: "Jim Gaffigan is like the human version of comfort food. You know it's not good for you, but you can't help but love it."

Friendly teasing can have a similar effect as poking fun at yourself. It humanizes leaders. But be careful who you target. A good rule of thumb is not to ‘punch downwards’. Pick someone who is your equal or higher on the ladder of privilege and prestige.

Good one to pick: your husband. “Just as you’re rising to middle management, your kids need you because they’re teenagers, they need you for the teenage years, and that’s the time your husband becomes a teenager, too,” joked Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi as she discussed the challenges of career and motherhood. Bad one to pick: your wife. It’s hard to imagine that Nooyi’s joke would have been received the same way if it had been a man making fun of his wife. Regardless of the intention, such jokes frequently come across as sexist, playing to old stereotypes, and are best avoided.

Teasing between rivals can be an effective way to stay in the limelight. Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have done this successfully in their space race. For example, when SpaceX landed its Falcon 9 rocket on a drone ship at sea, Musk tweeted: “If this works, I’m treating myself to a volcano lair. It’s time.” As well as playing into popular depictions of supervillains, it was also a subtle dig at Bezos and his decision to spend $42 million building a 10,000-year clock inside a mountain in Texas.

Lesson #3: Mocking only works in exceptional cases

It may work for comedians, but Noah is actually pretty selective whom he mocks. One of his targets is Donald Trump. “Donald Trump is basically what would happen if the internet became a person," he joked on The Daily Show.

Trump himself is actually the undisputed master of mockery. His insulting nicknames have proved particularly sticky. Remember “Crooked Hillary” for Hillary Clinton, “Lyin’ Ted” for Ted Cruz, “Low Energy Jeb” for Jeb Bush, and “Mini Mike” for Michael Bloomberg. In a polarized political landscape Trump’s approach might work, but in a corporate setting it rarely yields similar benefits.

For example, James Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, regretted his 2021 joke that: “The Communist Party is celebrating its 100th year. So is JPMorgan. And I’ll make a bet we last longer.” Unsurprisingly, the taunt was not well received in China and Dimon had to embark on an apology tour.

So follow Noah’s example and think very carefully whether you really want to go down the mocking route.

Humor yes, but in a smart way

CEOs can and should make jokes. It helps to overcoming division, which is good for innovation and for strategy implementation. The complication is that they need to take great care not to be misunderstood or they may well find that the joke is on them. Self-deprecating humor that does not come across as fake is usually a safe choice.

An earlier version of this article was published in Forbes.