webmonkey interview: work shouldn't have to suck

There’s an interview with me in Wired’s webmonkey about Open Source Management or business without bs: whatever you prefer to say.

In the spirit of open-ness, the person who coined OSM is Stephen Tomlinson, a very cool solo performer who also teaches economics in Austin. We both use teaching in comedic solo performance (I teach law in my next show). I invited him to be part of the panel I was doing at SXSW, then called Vulnerability, and we talked about the way I perform interactively with the audience.  Once I explained how I was going to apply it to business too (thanks to Jerry Michalski’s encouragement) and how I thought it was ironic that businesses were into open source technology, but not being open as people, Stephen came up with the great phrase and suggested I use it and make it my own. I haven’t told him yet that I’m going to blog and give him credit but that’s the point of open-ness isn’t it?

Everything is so influenced by everything else. I think it would hilarious and cool if comics could / would hyperlink their jokes live.

Someone’s already emailed me about contributing to OSM. By all means, it’s an open idea and then more honesty we have in our lives and business, the more we can be our whole selves together, the better it is for everyone. He’s going to see if we can get a wiki or something set up for open contribution.

I have to watch it though. Too many earnest sentences cuts down on the comedy quotient. Any hypocritical environment is a living set-up for a punchline.