Is formal a four letter word?
The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen all at once.
- Buckaroo Banzai
The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Think only on those things that are in line with your principles and can bear the light of day. The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you do is who you become. Your integrity is your destiny - it is the light that guides your way. - Heraclitus
A good question is never answered. It is not a bolt to be tightened into place but a seed to be planted and to bear more seed toward the hope of greening the landscape of the idea. John Ciardi
Originally from Execution: The discipline of getting things done
Informality is critical to candor. It was one of Jack Welch's bywords. Formality suppresses dialogue; informality encourages it. Formal conversations and presentations leave little room for debate. They suggest that everything is scripted and predetermined. Informality dialogue is open. It invites questions, encourages spontaneity and critical thinking At a meeting in a formal, hierarchical setting, a powerful player can get away with killing a good idea. But informality encourages people to test their thinking, to experiment, and to cross-check. It enables them to take risks among colleagues, bosses, and subordinates. Informality gets the truth out. It surfaces out-of-the-box ideas - the ideas that may seem absurd at first hearing but that create breakthroughs.
Normal is in the eye of the beholder
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=formal:
2. Following or being in accord with accepted forms, conventions, or regulations
3. Characterized by strict or meticulous observation of forms; methodical