Funny vs. Sexy vs. Smart
On Sunday night as our company retreat was winding down, I asked a question to a few team members over dinner: “Imagine you could be in the top .1% for one of these but mediocre for the other two... which would you pick: Funny, Sexy, or Smart?”
Somewhat predictably (and very annoyingly), they all rejected the premise that they could only be .1% at ONE thing because they’re “already .1% at multiple things.” A tough crowd...
Anyway I love this question, because it reveals something deep about who a person is and who they want to be.
My answer has always been “smart” but more recently -- last few years or so -- I’ve changed to “funny”, and I was reminded of why this weekend. Towards the end of the retreat a girl from my hackathon team said she had a fun time getting to know me because she thought I was so funny. Not intelligent. Not good looking. Funny. And it felt much better than if she’d complimented me in those other ways. I’ve been called smart and good looking dozens of times. Funny feels much better.
Three reasons: (1) I see humor as one of the surest signs of high intelligence, so if you’re funny you’re killing two birds with one stone. (2) You have to work for it in ways that smart, and especially sexy people, do not. Some jokes fall flat. Some cause offense. Trying to make a room laugh is always a big risk. When it works out, incredibly rewarding. (3) Most importantly - Funny is the only one of these three that directly involves another person. When you make someone laugh, you cause a momentary explosion of joy. It’s hard to beat that.