Far from a sign of taking things lightly, laughter is often the surest indication that things are being taken appropriately seriously—so much so that one has to laugh.

Business is a serious game, with careers, reputations, and money at stake, and is therefore not without its opportunities for (and the necessity of) cracking up wherever possible.  And so I present a list of humorous books that you may have missed while seeking out real advice and wisdom–though via these “jokes,” one may well, in fact, find oneself on the path to some of the most important business lessons…

A parody on WHO MOVED MY CHEESE?, a business book bestselling classic, WHO CUT THE CHEESE?: An A-Mazing Parody About Change and How We Can Get Our Hands On Yours makes cheese a symbol for whatever it is in life that you seek.  You are the rat in the maze, facing obstacles and challenges at every turn.  “Though it’s almost impossible to believe,” the introduction states, “this simple Cheese story is responsible for getting people better jobs, helping them to lose weight, and growing thick, lustrous hair on bald heads.”  Well, who doesn’t need that book?  But in the end, real advice emerges, cautioning the reader to make sure he is chasing the right cheese, i.e. the one that is going to bring real fulfillment and joy.

Then there is THERE’S NO “I” IN OFFICE:  4293 Meaningless Phrases to Keep Your Coworkers Smiling While Avoiding Actual Conversation.  The work of an unabashed curmudgeon and cynic, it includes on lists such as Meaningless Things to Say In the Elevator, such things as, “I’m glad we finally got some ‘us time’” and  “This device is where the term ‘elevator music’ comes from.”

Thank goodness for the New Yorker’s cartoons, which we always manage to get through even when the rest of the issue joins the Guilt Pile.  In THE NEW YORKER BOOK OF BUSINESS CARTOONS, great snippets from office life abound.  In one frame, one drone says to another, “It’s up to you now, Miller.  The only thing that can save us now is an accounting breakthrough.”   Another shows a maze of workstations, one with no exit, in which rots a skeleton nobody has seemed to notice, as the workers keep toiling…

Other books I’d like to browse the next time I’m in need of a laugh:

THE WAY OF THE COCKROACH: How Not to Be There When the Lights Come On and Nine Other Lessons on How to Survive in Business

Z.E.O.: How to Get A (Head) in Business (Zen of Zombie Series)

THE LITTLE BOOK OF BAD BUSINESS ADVICE: 365 Ways to Sink Your Career and Bring Others Down with You