Hi! We’re Jennifer and Naomi.
Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas are the international bestselling authors of Humor, Seriously, named #1 Recommended Business Book by the Financial Times as well as one of Top Business Books that are Surprisingly Fun to Read by Adam Grant, Susan Cain, Malcolm Gladwell, and Dan Pink. Jennifer and Naomi unpack the theory and application of humor: what makes something funny, how to mine your life for material, and how to use more of it in your life and work. They show how to use humor to make a strong first impression, deliver difficult feedback, persuade and motivate others, and foster cultures where levity and creativity can thrive.
Dr. Jennifer Aaker is the General Atlantic Professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a leading expert on how purpose and meaning shape individual choices and how technology can positively impact both human well-being and company growth. Her work has been widely published in leading scientific journals and featured in The Economist, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and Science. A recipient of the Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award and the MBA Professor of the Year, Aaker counts winning a dance-off in the early 1980s among her greatest feats.
Naomi Bagdonas is an innovation strategist and Lecturer at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business who helps leaders build more effective and joyful work cultures (and lives). An expert in the intersection of humor and leadership, Bagdonas advises executives and celebrities on topics ranging from appearances on Saturday Night Live, to keynote speeches, to political campaign strategies. With a Stanford MBA and formally trained at the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy theater in Los Angeles, she’s taught leadership at Fortune 50 offsites, improv in San Francisco jails, and “drop it” to her dog, who listens worse than anyone.