Bob Kulhan: Improv 101 (The "Yes, and..." Principle)

The challenge that many leaders face is that we're analytical. We think too quickly about why something can't happen or how to correct a problem, as opposed to twisting it and framing the brain that this is an unexpected opportunity; what can I do with it? Improvisation creates a set of learnings, a set of experiences that allows you to fine-tune and hone all of the necessary skills needed to think on your feet and simply react and adapt.

The cornerstone of improvisation around the world is a great two-word phrase called "yes, and.” “Yes” means that you accept everything that's brought to you, regardless of who brought it to you, regardless of what it is, regardless of what you think it means based on who gave it to you. You accept it at face value. The "and" means you take this idea and build directly upon it. Now, build directly upon it might seem like it's always complementary, and that's not always true. You can build upon something by taking it apart. You can build upon something by looking at it from a different angle or the true devil's advocacy, which is an overused business word . . . term.

So the "yes" creates openness. Just the definition of it: it's affirmation; it's positive; it's acceptance. That creates a style of thinking inside people. And then the "and" is your reaction to it. The "and" is the bridge to your thoughts, the bridge to your movement, the bridge to how you respond to others, who are reacting to this event in real time as well. Using "yes, and" as a tool, you can actually create environments that foster creativity and foster talent, leading, of course, to innovation. If there is a difference between the two of those, creativity is more of the process, innovation is more of the product.

"Yes, and" endows people with fearlessness. There is not a mistake. There is not a wrong way to do something. That's the editing process, and something that leaders have a challenge with is editing too quickly. Again, we're analytical thinkers. We're critical thinkers. We have to learn to take that critical hat off and create an environment in which it's okay for ideas to fail, it's okay for people to take chances.

Once that area is created, and individuals are flourishing inside of it, you create a second area for editing. It's the difference between divergent thinking and convergent thinking. You have to separate the two so that you can diverge your thoughts and come up with this great collection of ideas, and then once you have this great collection of ideas, you focus on the convergent thinking. You start separating the sand from the gold and the good ideas from the bad ideas, and you start editing those out.

In order to create this environment in which people can come up with these ideas and diverge their thinking, you have to cling to "yes, and" so that you're not editing too quickly.