My “Old Man” worked in a steel mill for 42 years as a millwright and hated every day of it. With 7 children, he had no choice. At times, he worked three jobs to make ends meet. Never complaining, he raised us all with a strong work ethic, sense of family and most importantly a sense of humor. If it hadn’t been for his sense of humor, I am quite certain that the stresses of the jobs and the seven kids would’ve killed him. The legacy he passed of seeing the humorous side of things has helped me throughout my entire life and truly been the recipe for success in my professional life. For my 22 years in the Navy, I have built on that foundation and learned some important truths. Among them being is that laughter breaks down barriers, that you should stay true to who you are, and learn to fully understand the power of the “humorator” (my own term….explained later).

Break Down those Walls

“Laughter is the is the shortest distance between two people” – Victor Borge

Every young recruit is shipped off to boot camp to become formally “indoctrinated” into the organization. To get a clear picture of what the first week is like, imagine yourself spending every waking hour and sleeping hour with 80 sweaty, young, stinky, and homesick men. This, while 2 “seasoned sailors” called Company Commanders. your “acclamators”, spend their time finding new ways to torture you (okay, it’s not really torture in the Geneva Convention sense of the term). To complete the picture, add a dash of learning your left from your right, a sprinkle of (what was fondly termed) the recruit crud (a nasty cold), and a dollop of speaking in acronyms and you have a great recipe for stress. Some crack and go home, some get serious, and some, like me, cope with humor.

One example of this happened during “mail call”. I had just received a letter from my mother. Among her other updates was a mention that a classmate from high school had been crowned Miss Illinois and that, if I had a chance, I should watch her compete in the Miss America pageant. That, in and of itself, was funny. Regardless, I decided to ask the question. I went to my Company Commander and said “Sir, my Mom said that, if I got the chance, I should watch the Miss America pageant on TV. You see, a classmate of mine…” and that’s where he stopped me. “Lutz”, he said, “I can’t believe you!” “Well” I replied, “it says in the Bible to ‘ask and ye shall receive’….I was just being holy”. “It didn’t say what you would receive…..give me 50 pushups” he bellowed and then started laughing. We all started laughing. In the end, it was this, among other incongruous statements I would make, that, I am sure, caused him to remember me and recommend me for meritorious promotion to the next grade when I left. This was my first real experience with humor being a tool to unite and break down barriers between people. It was a powerful and enduring lesson.

Staying True

” Be what you is and not what you is not. Folks that is what they is, is the happiest lot.” – Mr. Wizard (of Tooter the Turtle Fame)

Ten years and two children later, I had laughed my way to the senior Petty Officer Ranks. That, in civilian terms, would be an office manger or shop supervisor. After a three year tour in a Patrol Squadron, I got assigned to a command where I was able to flaunt my expertise as an inspector and I was very excited about the opportunity. Thanks to a positive attitude and not taking myself too seriously, I had always done well in my jobs but this job was a little different. I decided that I was going to hit this job with all I had and really make a difference. I was going to buckle down and get serious because many would be counting on me for accurate information and they didn’t want it from a jokester. They wanted it from one of those serious guys with the glasses who knew everything.

I was going to be that serious guy. When I reported aboard, I found it was a serious command. The Commodore was a very quiet man who would, when spoken to, sit and reflect on your statements before commenting. He took everything said to him and always responded very literally. I found that, even though I tried really hard, I couldn’t be that serious guy with the glasses who knew everything. I studied and knew a lot but I had to be me. Me…with everyone but the Commodore. The Commodore frightened me in a way. My off the cuff remarks would sometimes be taken at face value – which was neither funny nor was it understood. So I found myself feeling very uncomfortable and trying to be something that I wasn’t when the Commodore was around. In short, I was miserable. I was at a loss as to how to handle myself or the situation so I called my previous boss and asked for his advice. His advice was simple. He said, “Just be yourself. You are your best asset….hell, I didn’t like you at first until I got to know you.” I sat and thought about it. He was right.

I decided to change it right then. Luckily, that afternoon, the opportunity arose and I went for it. I was standing in the office eating a bag of “Utz” potato chips. You see, my last name is Lutz, so it’s pretty close. While there, the Commodore walked through, pointed at the bag and me and said ” Lutz….Utz”. I said, “Sir, did you know that my great grandmother started the Utz potato chip line in her basement at the turn of the century?” This caught his attention, he stopped and said “No” and waited for me to finish. I continued, “Yes, she started it and they were a huge success. Something about the oil she used. Anyway, as time moved she became concerned about how this new wealth would affect the family. She was, after all, starting to amass a small fortune and it was right around the time of the Lindbergh kidnappings. So, she decided to change the name to protect the family, you know, and said… ‘ Get the “L” out of there.” He stood there for a minute (reflecting as usual), looked at me, shook his head and chuckled and then went to his office. It was the only time I ever saw him laugh – even a little bit! That was the turning point in our work relationship. More importantly, it taught me that true effectiveness comes through staying true and again that, if you want to make it, you gotta break it down with a laugh.

The “Humor-ator”

“Man, when you lose your laugh you lose your footing” – Ken Kesey

Further down the road, I received a Commission as an Officer (and two more children) and got assigned as the Director of Security for Naval District, Washington, DC. I took the job right before the USS Cole was struck by terrorists and had it through 9/11 and about a year afterwards. My workforce was short, funding was shorter, and tasks were numerous. I left my house at 330am and didn’t get home until late. Even then, I was still consumed by what I had to get done and what wasn’t getting done. These were very serious times and, yes, I lost my fun factor. Even acquaintances would mention to my wife that I had lost my sense of humor. She mentioned it to me but I was too busy to worry about it. I had a job to do, people to lead and people that counted on me to ensure their safety. Yes, I had become that other guy – the one who is really serious and works all the time.

This lasted for nearly a year until, one day, my wife called me and said: “I overheard the kids upstairs planning a mutiny. They were talking amongst themselves and said that they were tired of you being gone and working all of the time and they were going to give you one more week to get it together or they were leaving.” I stopped, thought a moment, and then started laughing. The thought of those little boogers planning a mutiny (in my head they were wearing little pirate hats and carrying wooden swords (one had a peg leg)) is what brought me back from the depths of seriousness to who I really am. I had plunged deep but all it took was a really good laugh to get me back on track. Granted, it took a lot to get back into their good graces (not really, children are pretty forgiving….wives are different) but we got back on track. It just took a look at things through their eyes so I could see the funny. Today, I try and see the funny in all things. I call this using the power of the “humor-ator” – my own term. If others need help doing the same, I will use that power by trying to get them to laugh. Actually, I will always tell my people or my children the same joke and laugh like hell at it each time. I think the shear idiocy of my actions is what makes them laugh and breaks down the walls. What? Sure, I’ll tell it, here it is: “Why did Tigger look in the Toilet?…. He was looking for Pooh!”. HOLY CRAP that’s funny!

In the End

“With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die” – Abraham Lincoln

In twenty two years, I have learned three things; I have learned to laugh (again and again) – no matter what the circumstances, there is a nugget of laughter buried in it. I have learned the power of the humorator – that, as a leader, you have to help yourself and your people to laugh and see the humor in what they do (and what you do). And I have learned to stay true to who I am as a leader and follower. There will always be times when you are like “Tooter the Turtle” and will be screaming for Mr. Wizard to “get you out of here”. All you have to do is say the magic words “drizzle drazzle druzzle drome” and laugh your way back to reality.