Pirate humor

Remeber, laughter is important. We learn better when we laugh. Our lives seem better when we laugh. We are healthier when we laugh. Keep the humor alive on your ship!

Start with this joke:

A pirate walked into a bar and the bartender said, "Hey, I haven`t seen you in a while. What happened? You look terrible!"
"What do you mean? I`m fine."
"What about that wooden leg? You didn`t have that before."
"Well," said the pirate, "we were in a battle at sea and a cannon ball hit my leg, but the Doc fixed me up, and I`m fine, really."
"Oh yeah? Well, what about that hook? The last time I saw you, youhad both hands."
"We were in another battle and we boarded the enemy ship. I was in a sword fight and my hand was cut off, but the Doc fixed me up with the hook, and I feel great, really."
"Oh," said the bartender, "and what about that eye patch? The last time you were in here, you had both eyes."
"One day when we were at sea some birds were flying over the ship. I looked up and one of them shit in my eye."
"You`re kidding," said the bartender, "you couldn`t have lost an eye just from some bird shit."
"It was my first day with the hook."

Pirate language of innovation

As I have said, pirates were the innovators of the sea. They used five distinct elements of innovation in their language and actions.

• Curiosity
• Courage
• Cross-roads
• Commitment
• Chronicle

I will talk about each of these in an individual entry, but will start with pointing out the power of how we talk. Our words create the world we live in. Our words create and determine the flavor and power of our relationships. Or words tell the world who we are, what we want, and what we are willing and able to do.

So it is no surprise that organizations and groups and individuals who are innovative use a similar language; a language that displays the five elements presented above. Innovators have to be curious about the world around them. They have to be "risk-harder" and courageous. They need to see the connections between and across disciplines, they need to have clear intention and integrity. And finally, they have to be great story tellers.

More to come. Meanwhile, drink a bit a grog and watch that sunset on the horizon.