Being an effective leader and being a great comedian, believe it or not, take many of the same skills. One of those skills is the willingness to use mistakes as a learning opportunity. Rich Sheridan is the co-founder and Chief Storyteller of the software developer and IT consulting firm Menlo Innovations. Menlo is widely regarded for their outside-of-the-box, people-first culture where team members work in pairs in a giant open space where ideas are shared freely. This is the sort of workplace where communicable disease spreads easily, so when COVID-19 struck, Rich was out of his comfort zone. Before long, his team leaned into the "make mistakes fastr" mantra, and the virtual Menlo was up and running at full steam.

In this bonus episode, we chat about:

-The definition of joy and how it's different from fun and happiness /

-Serving and delighting others being in our basic human nature /

-The choice that comes with every negative life experience /

-Experimentation and moments of discovery /

-How Menlo responded to the pandemic and the two principles that have helped them thrive /

-The willingness to share Menlo's culture with outsiders /

-Building an intentionally joyful culture /

-Improv and how it plays into Menlo's culture /

-Adjusting to remote work /

-Menlo's rat problem /

-A message for leaders struggling to lead their teams through uncertainty /

-And more!

Follow Rich on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menloprez/

Follow Rich on Twitter: @menloprez

Book Rich to speak: https://richardsheridan.com/book-rich

Check out Rich's books:

Joy Inc.: https://richardsheridan.com/books/joy-inc

Chief Joy Officer: https://richardsheridan.com/books/chief-joy-officer


Find out more about Menlo Innovations: menloinnovations.com


Follow David on IG and Twitter: @THEdavidhorning

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-horning-7b636176/


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Produced by Water Cooler Comedy - https://watercoolercomedy.org

Music by Producedbyzip - https://producedbyzip.bandcamp.com

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