In August 2008 Marc Hogan was bet £1 that he couldn’t become a stand up comic in less than 12 months and perform a one man comedy show at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival in August 2009 for 21 nights. He won the bet!

Watching the Ryder Cup today, I was amazed when they played the national anthems for America and Europe. The European national anthem is Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”.

Has anybody in Brussels actually seen the movie Die Hard? The movie where every time Alan Rickman’s character, Hans Gruber and the rest of his European terrorists/ bank robbers appear, Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” is always playing in the background!

I think the American Ryder Cup team should play all their rounds in vests and no shoes…

A few years ago Tiger Woods was asked the question how he got so good. His reply; “It’s funny, the more I practice, the better I get!”… I’m not sure he was talking about golf…

Click here to watch Marc’s showreel. If you would like to find out more about Marc, visit www.marchoganlive.com or to book him for a speaking event please contact your favourite speaker bureau.

In August 2008 Marc Hogan was bet £1 that he couldn’t become a stand up comic in less than 12 months and perform a one man comedy show at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival in August 2009 for 21 nights. He won the bet!

Nearly all businesses are built on the principles of carrot and stick, or incentives and disincentives.

I hate the term “carrot and stick” because it makes out that I’m an ass and I don’t know any person that wants to be a donkey (please don’t Google “I want to be a donkey,” your computer will melt).

The problem of incentives e.g. bonuses is that they can:

i)    Foster short-term thinking;

ii)   Become addictive and encourage excessive risk taking;

iii)  Encourage cheating, shortcuts and unethical thinking.

It doesn’t take a genius to work out what that could do to a company, industry or even an economy but the reason companies use bonus incentives is that they’re:

a) clear and understandable; and

b) easy to measure.

But in my experience, and according to Daniel Pink author of the New York Times Bestseller “Drive”, bonuses work best when the task is routine (and dare I say it boring) e.g. report filling.  So, what happens if the tasks are a bit more complex?

It’s up to us to be a bit more creative.

From the moment we learn to talk we quickly realise that the most annoying word we can say to a parent is, “why?”

It’s the same when we’re adults – no boss wants to be asked, “why are you asking me to do this?”

So if you’re the boss or a team leader how would you respond?  Your job is to create a compelling purpose that goes beyond the task.

I was speaking to a company that makes windows last week; how do you make that more compelling?

Well their product keeps people safe and warm, saves money, saves electricity, helps the environment, and adds value to people’s homes.

The reason people will buy their product is not because of the price or the fact that they are fit for purpose – every window company can compete on price and the specification of a window.

The reason that people buy from them is that they trust them because the customer knows that they will do anything and everything to deliver on their promise.   This level of customer service is highly prized.  If we can do that for our customers, are we also doing it for our people?

So why do your people work for you?  The reason a person will work for you and will be intrinsically motivated to work hard is because they know that their company cares for them, will pay them fairly, will listen to them, look after them, encourage them, will not berate them when they make a mistake but help them to achieve their potential.  They work for you because you will allow them flexibility in how they do their job by giving them autonomy to do their job in a way that is good for them and good for your company and your customers.   In short, they work hard because they trust you that you will deliver on your promises that you are there for the long term and you will look after them and develop them for the long term.

So when the task is routine, sure, give them a bonus.  But if you start to use bonuses simply because they are easy and measurable, rather than creating a compelling purpose for your people to do their job, you may end up with people who are only looking out for themselves, and we all know what that can lead to…

My Editor for years told me that all employees needed was incentives and that bonuses work, that our economy was built on carrot and stick. But my experience becoming a stand-up and getting to know other comics (many of who don’t get paid for their trials) taught me that there is more to motivation than incentives.

A comic gets up on stage for a different reason, they are intrinsically motivated to perform. Nearly all comics realise that it could take many, many years before they earn a penny from comedy, yes they love the feedback from a crowd, but many are just as proud when after many hours of thinking they manage to craft a good gag.  The truth is they have a purpose and that’s what drives them.  What sense of purpose can you give your people?

Click here to watch Marc’s showreel. If you would like to find out more about Marc, visit www.marchoganlive.com or to book him for a speaking event please contact your favourite speaker bureau.

In August 2008 Marc Hogan was bet £1 that he couldn’t become a stand up comic in less than 12 months and perform a one man comedy show at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival in August 2009 for 21 nights. He won the bet!

After months of meticulous research, here are my findings:

Click here to watch Marc’s showreel. If you would like to find out more about Marc, visit www.marchoganlive.com or to book him for a speaking event please contact your favourite speaker bureau.

In August 2008 Marc Hogan was bet £1 that he couldn’t become a stand up comic in less than 12 months and perform a one man comedy show at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival in August 2009 for 21 nights. He won the bet!

Right, I’ve booked my ticket to Delhi. With everyone pulling out of the Commonwealth Games, I reckon I have a pretty good chance of winning a gold medal (ok, possibly bronze).

Click here to watch Marc’s showreel. If you would like to find out more about Marc, visit www.marchoganlive.com or to book him for a speaking event please contact your favourite speaker bureau.

In August 2008 Marc Hogan was bet £1 that he couldn’t become a stand up comic in less than 12 months and perform a one man comedy show at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival in August 2009 for 21 nights. He won the bet!

Famous psychologist Martin Seligman (Wiki him) has spent his life studying depression and his theory of learned helplessness is highly regarded.

In animals learned helplessness occurs when it is repeatedly subjected to an aversive stimulus that it cannot escape. Eventually, the animal will stop trying to avoid the stimulus and behave as if it is utterly helpless to change the situation. Even when opportunities to escape are presented, this learned helplessness will prevent any action.

When people feel that they have no control over their situation, they may also begin to behave in a helpless manner. This inaction can lead people to overlook opportunities for relief or change.

Sound familiar? How many people do you know who complain a lot about their job but don’t do anything to change it?

You see I believe being optimistic in the face of adversity is the first step in overcoming learned helplessness.

So for the next week before you go to sleep could you jot down three things that went well today, no matter how small for example “traffic was ok today”.

“THREE things?!” I hear you cry “Three good things! You’re mad!”

Ok what about two?

Still too much?

OK, one little thing you miserable so and so!

When you do stand up comedy remembering one big laugh is worth 20 uncomfortable silences.

Of course your Editor could be saying “I don’t believe in any of this new age rubbish” (feel free to substitute rubbish  with your own favourite word!).

That’s fine don’t bother, of course if it’s even possible you recognise the theory of learned helplessness in yourself, you might want to try something, anything different!

Click here to watch Marc’s showreel. If you would like to find out more about Marc, visit www.marchoganlive.com or to book him for a speaking event please contact your favourite speaker bureau.

In August 2008 Marc Hogan was bet £1 that he couldn’t become a stand up comic in less than 12 months and perform a one man comedy show at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival in August 2009 for 21 nights. He won the bet!

Today I was giving my “Funny Business” talk and at the end I was chatting to the various delegates. One of them said to me (let’s call him Dave).

“It’ s ok for the like of you to talk about your 7 Keys to Success, but I don’t want to be successful in my job, in fact I hate my job!”

“Ok, can you be a bit more specific about what you hate?”

“Everything” he said.

“Dave, you can’t hate everything! So you’re telling me you hate your boss, your colleagues, your wages, your company car, the office cappuccino bar, your pension plan, your private healthcare, your company iphone that you can make private calls on, the office décor, the pretty people who work downstairs….”

“Alright, I don’t hate everything,” Dave reluctantly agreed.

“Because lets face it, you’re not working in a sweatshop in India or that electronics factory in China with the massive suicide rate, or as a traffic warden, or even worse you could be the Chancellor.”

“Ok, ok, perhaps my job isn’t too bad, but it’s not how I want to spend the rest of my life.”

“Who says you have to. Can I ask you a question? What do you really want to do?”

“Your job seems pretty cool.”

“So why don’t you go and do it then?”

“I couldn’t give up my job.”

“Neither could I when I started, I presented to university students for free, started a yahoo group, then presented to people at weekends.”

“I don’t have anything to talk about”

“That’s your Editor talking.  What are you passionate about? What are your hobbies? What are you interested in? What courses could you go on and the teach others what you have learned?”

“I don’t have the time.”

“Ok, so you sort of hate your job, but you won’t invest the time so you can have the job you really want. Remember Key 1 opportunities are all around us, and Key 3 ask and you’ll receive. If you really want to do something different, and you ask for help you can find the time to achieve your goal…”  

“I suppose.”

“There is no suppose about it. The only way you’ll end up with a different career is if you do something about it! Let’s make it easy for you, what one thing is the biggest pain in your job?”

“The company won’t let us log onto Facebook. They say it negatively affects productivity, which is rubbish I would only log on at lunchtime or near the end of the day for a few minutes at most.”

“Ok, I’ve got some research that shows one of the things that motivates people most is autonomy, logging onto Facebook for a few minutes could be part of that, I’m also sure there is a lot of research on the web that would show that productivity would increase if you gave people some relaxation time on the web. What if we were to write a proposal to trial Facebook access to a group of people and monitor it to see average use, and whether it affects productivity?”

“They won’t listen.”

“That’s your Editor talking again, if it’s an important issue they will see if other people in the office feel the same. It’s not about complaining or moaning; it’s about coming up with a proposal that highlights the benefits to make it win-win. Trust me, if your proposal is good enough and you go to the right people someone will eventually listen.”

“OK, I’ll give it a go!”

He walked off smiling. Now I don’t know what will happen next, but I do know that if you want things to change in your work, you have to change them, and nothing in work is as bad as it seems.

Click here to watch Marc’s showreel. If you would like to find out more about Marc, visit www.marchoganlive.com or to book him for a speaking event please contact your favourite speaker bureau.

In August 2008 Marc Hogan was bet £1 that he couldn’t become a stand up comic in less than 12 months and perform a one man comedy show at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival in August 2009 for 21 nights. He won the bet!

Edinburgh. There has never been a place where the word summer means so many different things…

Well this is my third time at the Edinburgh Festival, the first was to discover what the world’s biggest arts festival was like and what had I let myself in for when I accepted Jim Lawless’s bet in 2008.

The second time, in August 2009 I performed for 21 nights and spent over 144 hours flyering to complete strangers.

And now in August 2010 I’m back. I’ve been on the Royal Mile 10 minutes and I have 9 flyers in my hand, for Apocolyptic sketch comedy to “Piramania” a musical about pirates (obviously).

Unbelievably in the 3 years one thing has remained constant – the Mexican  / Indian nose flute group are still here, still doing hits from Braveheart!

One thing that has changed is that 1 of my comedy friends, Imran Yusuf has been nominated as best newcomer by the Foster Comedy Awards (formerly the Perrier).

I met him in November 2008 at the Amused Moose Comedy course information evening. He did a brilliant act. Afterward he had told me he had done the course a few years before, but life had got in the way and he hadn’t done much for a couple of years, but now he was back.

Over the last two years I’ve seen Imran at lots of comedy nights and competitions as well as seeing him in Edinburgh last year where he was sharing the stage with 2 other comics at the Free Fringe.  In my mind Imran completely encompasses key 7 – “be a compass not a weathervane”.  Since he started out 7 years ago he was blown off course a bit but look at him now, a Newcomer of the Year nomination.  No one deserves it more and I look forward to seeing him on TV soon! 

So next time life gets in the way of your goal remember Imran…

Click here to watch Marc’s showreel. If you would like to find out more about Marc, visit www.marchoganlive.com or to book him for a speaking event please contact your favourite speaker bureau.

In August 2008 Marc Hogan was bet £1 that he couldn’t become a stand up comic in less than 12 months and perform a one man comedy show at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival in August 2009 for 21 nights. He won the bet!

Last week I was introduced as a motivational speaker. It’s a term I’ve never really been happy with; I’ve always seen myself as an inspirational speaker. I know this sounds pedantic, but to motivate, and to inspire are very different things.

Because I’m Irish (and therefore English is my second language!) I thought I’d check.

According to the Collins Popular English Dictionary;

Motivate: Give incentive to

Inspire: To fill with enthusiasm, stimulate; arouse (an emotion)

The Oxford English Dictionary goes a step further;

Inspire: To fill someone with the urge or ability to do something. To create a feeling in a person.

To motivate someone will always be difficult.  Some people will be motivated by glory, others by money, and others by getting home early to see their kids.  However many managers still fall into the trap of trying to motivate staff with bonuses, red-letter days, vouchers etc. Now for some staff this will work but for others it (frustratingly) won’t.

To inspire people you need to build a vision of a better place, a world where your product or service is the very best it can be.  You need to emotionally engage with them and then empower them. They must understand why they are vital and you must encourage the belief that they can deal with any challenge.

Trust me targets and spreadsheets will not inspire anyone. No one has ever been emotionally engaged to an Excel graph. But more importantly it’s not just your words it’s your actions. Do you listen, do you help, or do you admonish? Do you encourage? Do you stand up for your team?

If you do all of this then you will have people that are willing to go that extra mile to help their company be the best it can be. Inspiring will always be harder than motivating but the results far outweigh the effort.

My Edinburgh journey and the 7 Keys that helped me achieve my goal do not motivate, they inspire an audience to face new challenges, and empower them to take action. The question is what are you going to do differently today and are you going to motivate or inspire?

Click here to watch Marc’s showreel. If you would like to find out more about Marc, visit www.marchoganlive.com or to book him for a speaking event please contact your favourite speaker bureau.

In August 2008 Marc Hogan was bet £1 that he couldn’t become a stand up comic in less than 12 months and perform a one man comedy show at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival in August 2009 for 21 nights. He won the bet!

A little while ago I gave a keynote speech to one of the world’s biggest banks (and one of the very few who didn’t need to be bailed out). Before my session I spent a very enjoyable and interesting couple of hours listening to the proceeding presentations. (No, honestly I really did, these guys are good presenters!)

What I found fascinating and exciting was the passion in the room and the commitment of the speakers to improving company performance and helping their people achieve their goals and exceed their potential.

All the delegates were effectively coaches and they all understood and bought into the idea that their most precious resource was their people.

It was quite obvious they understood a very old but very true maxim, “If you look after your people, [and I mean really listen and encourage them] they in turn, will look after you.”

In fact I was so impressed by this bank that I will be looking to open an account with them very soon!

Click here to watch Marc’s showreel. If you would like to find out more about Marc, visit www.marchoganlive.com or to book him for a speaking event please contact your favourite speaker bureau.

In August 2008 Marc Hogan was bet £1 that he couldn’t become a stand up comic in less than 12 months and perform a one man comedy show at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival in August 2009 for 21 nights. He won the bet!

“Trust yourself.  You know more than you think you do.” Dr Benjamin Spock.

Now, forgetting the unfortunate sci-fi connotations, I believe this is a very powerful truth. I presume we all have a boss, but what if you stopped looking at yourself as an “employee” and started to look at yourself as  a “mini-business” where you are completely in charge of sales, marketing, production, accounting and personnel.

Does that change the way you feel about your job? (Maybe, maybe not?)

Now I want you to ask yourself:

What 3 things have been bothering me about where I work for the last year or two, and which  would be the quickest and easiest to solve?

If I were in charge how would I fix them in the most cost effective and efficient way?  How would that benefit me, my colleagues, the rest of the company and our customers?

Who else do I know in the organisation that has the same problem?  Could I see if they have an idea that solves the problem?

Once you’ve thought about the answers to the above what’s stopping you (on your own or perhaps as a group) going to your boss or managers with your cost effective and efficient solution to these problems?

Is it your “Editor” (to find out more about the Editor click here)? The little voice that says, “that will never work” or “no one listens to me” and all the other negative rubbish it spouts.

Nothing will change in your organisation unless you do it. You can’t wait for someone else to fix it, you could be waiting forever. This isn’t about complaining, it’s about coming up with a cost effective and efficient solution.  Quite simply it’s about making your company a better place to work.

Trust me, your boss wants passionate people who care about their company, so trust yourself and see what you can do to make your company a better place to work…

Click here to watch Marc’s showreel. If you would like to find out more about Marc, visit www.marchoganlive.com or to book him for a speaking event please contact your favourite speaker bureau.