We hold these truths to be self-evident…
1. Humour Belongs in the Workplace
“If I can’t laugh here, can I really be myself here?”
This principle sets the tone for psychological safety and authenticity — two non-negotiables for high-performing teams. Bring your true self to work, in line with Code of Conduct of course.
2. Memes Before Memos
Attention is your most precious commodity. Humorous media provide efficient communication that earns focus without burning time.
3. Emotion Before Logic
Great leaders don’t just inform — they move people. Multimedia tap into emotional resonance and make messages memorable and meaningful. Always start with emotion first, logic second.
4. Make Culture Visible
Rather than words on a page, locked up in a document, humorous media can printed out and stuck on walls or pinned to digital whiteboards and dashboards. This send tangible signals that it’s ok to be human here.
5. ‘One of Us. One of Us!’
Use humour as a tool to bridge power gaps and build trust. When teams share a laugh, they share their humanity, and signal belonging — bringing them closer together.
6. Are you Memeclusive?
A diverse workforce thrives with inclusive humour. This principle reminds leaders to tune their tone and references so everyone can feel part of the joke, and the team. When in doubt aim for chuckles, not ROFLs. Use the Meme Thinking Cringeometer and your intuition to dial it in.
7. Know Your Cringeometer
Dad jokes will only get you so far. With time you can get better at dialling up the laughs, while remaining appropriate and in line with your Code of Conduct. Refer to the Meme Thinking Cringeometer and ‘How to make unfunny jokes funnier’ section.
8. Make the Hard Stuff Easier
Difficult change? Sensitive topic? A meme can disarm defensiveness and create room for honest conversation. Humour isn’t a distraction — it’s a door opener.
9. What’s Measured can be Memed
How humour shows up in the workplace is a shorthand for the real, lived experience of your organisation. The Meme Thinking Cultural Barometer gives leaders a powerful early-warning system.
Licensing
Acknowledgements and references
Click through to read about the co-memespirators behind Meme Thinking and the scientific literature that helped inform and shape the ideas within.