Yes, And

1. Embrace "Yes, And" to Fuel Innovation and Collaboration.

With Yes, And, you don’t have to act on every idea, but you do have to give every idea a chance to be acted on.

Foundation of improv. "Yes, And" is the bedrock of improvisation, demanding that participants affirm an idea and then build upon it, rather than negating it. This simple principle fosters an environment where ideas are not just explored but heightened and stretched, leading to creative breakthroughs. It's about opening possibilities, not shutting them down.

Business application. In the corporate world, "Yes, And" counters the common "Yes, but" mentality that stifles innovation and collaboration. It requires trust and support, encouraging individuals to contribute without fear of immediate judgment. Examples include:

• Networking: Helping introverted HR managers like Katie connect by focusing on building on others' ideas.
• Brainstorming: Generating unlikely ideas, like Leggett & Platt's sexy rap video for mattress springs, by suspending judgment.
• Problem-solving: Navigating crises, such as The Second City's "Rod Blagojevich Superstar" rock opera during a financial freeze, by affirming solutions and building on them.

Beyond the obvious. The spirit of "Yes, And" extends beyond explicit verbal agreement. It's the "secret sauce" behind successful co-creation platforms like Wikipedia, where users continuously build on existing content, and Linux, an open-source operating system where developers collaboratively enhance code. This mindset fosters a culture where every contribution, no matter how small, is valued as a "brick" towards a larger "cathedral," promoting collective progress over individual control.

2. Build High-Functioning Ensembles, Not Just Teams.

To put it simply, stars are born out of ensembles—without ever sacrificing the greater needs of the whole group.

Ensemble vs. Team. While "teams" imply competition and hierarchy, "ensembles" emphasize shared accountability and synchronicity, where each part is considered only in relation to the whole. At The Second City, this means no "bench players"; everyone is on stage, contributing to the collective performance. This approach has consistently produced top-tier comedic talent, demonstrating that individual brilliance flourishes within a supportive group dynamic.

Talent preservation and diversity. The Second City's genius lies in its ability to continually refresh its creative force by embracing a revolving door of talent. This includes actively pursuing diversity—gender, race, and background—not as a quota, but as a means to enrich the ensemble's collective perspective. For instance, the inclusion of actors of color allowed for nuanced satire on post-9/11 xenophobia, as seen in Keegan-Michael Key's "Pakistani cab driver" character. This diversity ensures a broader range of stories and insights, making the art more relevant and powerful.

Practical ensemble building. To transform teams into ensembles, focus on:

• Being in the Moment: Fully present in discussions, avoiding distractions or dwelling on past mistakes.
• Give and Take: Balancing individual contributions with supporting others, as seen in Adam Grant's research on "givers" achieving greater professional success.
• Surrender the Need to Be Right: Overcoming the destructive impulse to dominate conversations, as demonstrated by the "Jim" anecdote, where a senior executive's arrogance stifled collaboration. Exercises like "Talk Without I" and "Mirror" help cultivate these essential ensemble behaviors.

3. Co-Create with Your Audience to Drive Relevance.

Whether you’re developing comedy, marketing slogans, better paths to production, or efficiency on the factory floor, co-creation provides remarkable insight and helps ensure that while breaking new ground or creating new products, you’re always giving your customers what they want, even if they are unable to tell you it’s what they want.

Dialogue over monologue. Co-creation is about engaging in a continuous dialogue with your audience or customers, rather than delivering fully formed ideas. This means finding "the idea" collectively, not just "your idea," and requires leaders to cede control. The early struggles of SCTV with network executives who preferred a hierarchical creative model illustrate how external control can quash creative energy.

Eradicating fear. Effective co-creation is impossible in a culture driven by fear—fear of failure, looking foolish, or the unknown. This fear manifests as:

• Asking Questions: Shifting responsibility to others rather than contributing.
• Aggression/Yelling: Dominating conversations to hide insecurity.
• Waffling: Avoiding declarative statements or decisions.
  The Second City's audition process highlights how fear paralyzes performers, while the best improvisers put fear aside to create freely.

External co-creation. Businesses can apply improv's co-creation model by engaging customers in real-time feedback. The Clorox Ick Awards, a live Twitter show where Rachel Dratch and Second City actors improvised scenes based on parents' messy stories, generated over 160 million social media impressions. Similarly, rapid prototyping, like the credit card company's improv sessions with small business owners, reveals insights and allows for real-time message tinkering. The Chicago Tribune's "Trib Nation" and "Chicago Live" also exemplify creating "Improv Sets" for public engagement, demonstrating that by establishing context and managing expectations, companies can safely co-create and deepen customer relationships.

4. Leverage Comedy and Improv to Navigate Change.

Comedy makes it possible to talk gently but forcefully about what’s broken, while clearly making the case for change.

Three elements of comedy. Comedy, as defined by Anne Libera, relies on:

• Recognition: Audiences laugh when they see shared truths or familiar situations (e.g., the Monica Lewinsky scandal sketch).
• Pain: Humor often stems from discomfort, tension, or taboo subjects.
• Distance: Placing truth and pain in a safe context (time, space, or trust) allows for laughter.
  This framework enables The Second City to address sensitive topics, like education reform (satirizing Finland for the U.S. Department of Education), by finding common ground through shared humor.

The one-two punch. Comedy and improvisation form a powerful duo for organizational change. Comedy helps identify and honestly discuss problems, defusing tension and changing attitudes. For example, Norwegian Cruise Line encourages Second City ensembles to satirize common cruise annoyances (tiny cabins, buffets, bad weather), allowing passengers to laugh at their frustrations and release negative energy. This "calling out the elephant" approach makes people more receptive to change.

Respect vs. Reverence. Companies often fail to innovate due to excessive reverence for existing products, history, or leaders. Respect, unlike reverence, allows for dialogue and questioning of the status quo. The success of RealBiz Shorts, which uses comedy to make dull ethics and compliance training engaging, proves that even high-stakes topics benefit from thoughtful humor. Leaders like Andrew Mason (Groupon) and Reed Hastings (Netflix) demonstrated authenticity by embracing irreverence and admitting flaws, fostering trust and enabling significant change.

5. Transform Failure into a Catalyst for Success.

Organizations that accept failure as a natural part of the creative process, however, can see tremendous increases in productivity, morale, and innovation, so it’s worthwhile for managers to figure out how to create a safe environment where their ensembles won’t be afraid to let loose.

Failure is inevitable. The Second City embraces failure as a core part of its creative process, from disastrous menu items (Royster Oyster) to ill-fated theatre openings (Cleveland) and failed product lines (sales training videos). This acceptance stems from the understanding that constant challenge and reinvention are key to staying relevant. The fear of failure, however, is paralyzing, draining companies of their innovative lifeblood.

Model fearlessness. To encourage risk-taking, employers must create low-risk opportunities for employees to experiment. Examples include:

• Product Roasts: Basecamp's internal "product roasts" create a safe space for employees to identify flaws without fear of retribution.
• Experimentation Platforms: Terrestrial radio's decline is partly due to losing platforms for young talent to experiment, unlike podcasts which foster new voices like Marc Maron.
  Companies must provide spaces where "failures" are seen as temporary shortcomings, not career-ending mistakes.

Six ways to fail effectively: The Second City's approach to failure offers a blueprint for businesses:

• Fail in Public: Embrace public scrutiny, knowing it can lead to public acclaim and redemption.
• Fail Together: Share risk within ensembles, fostering a "I got your back" culture that encourages bold action.
• Fail Fast: Move quickly from one idea to the next, using humor to dissipate the power of mistakes.
• Fail Free of Judgment: Allow creative processes to unfold without premature managerial interference.
• Fail with Confidence: Approach challenges with the belief that talent and experience will lead to eventual success.
• Fail Incrementally: "Bring a brick, not a cathedral," viewing ideas as bridges to better ones, not finished products.

6. Master Dynamic Leadership by Learning to "Follow the Follower."

The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say I. And that’s not because they have trained themselves not to say I. They don’t think I. They think we; they think team.

Drucker's influence. Peter Drucker's theories on "flatter" organizational structures and "knowledge workers" align perfectly with improv's "Follow the Follower" principle. This leadership model emphasizes trusting the ensemble, giving performers control over their creative process, and linking their work directly to the consumer. It challenges traditional hierarchies, recognizing that true leadership is about elevating collective performance and building trust, not just maintaining individual authority.

"Get out of the way." Effective leaders "build the right sandbox, hire the right people, and get the hell out of the way." This means setting clear parameters but allowing teams autonomy to develop ideas without constant interference. The Second City's producers trust directors to manage rehearsals, even when material is "awful" (like the fake power outage in "Southside of Heaven"), knowing that creative breakthroughs often emerge from unencumbered experimentation and the director's ability to filter feedback for the team.

Reading the room and context. "Follow the Follower" enhances a leader's ability to "read the room"—to be acutely aware of group dynamics, body language, and unspoken cues. Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, an improv alumnus, applies this by listening to employees' "initiations" and addressing issues rather than reflexively defending the status quo. The "Southside of Heaven" scene, where a TSA agent reveals audience members' personal information gleaned from Google, highlights how understanding context and audience perception is crucial in a world of constant information flow. Leadership today is less about command-and-control and more about collaboration, empathy, and adapting to an ever-shifting dynamic.

7. Cultivate Deep Listening as Your Most Powerful Skill.

Listening is reaching out into that unknown other self, surmounting your walls and theirs.

The listening problem. Despite 85% of what we know coming from listening and 45% of our workdays being spent on it, humans only comprehend at a 25% rate, with only 2% receiving formal training. This oversight is detrimental, as great listening is the core of great improvisation. Without it, scenes "flail" and ideas never build, much like businesses that fail to understand their market.

Beyond active listening. Improv demands more than just active listening (paraphrasing to confirm understanding); it requires "improvisational listening," where every word from a scene partner is a "gift" to build upon. This means listening fully, not just waiting to respond. The "Make mistakes work for you" adage, like an actor turning a misspoken name into a plot twist, exemplifies this deep engagement. Poor listening leads to "off-brand" products (Ben-Gay aspirin, New Coke) because companies fail to hear what their audience truly wants.

The practice of listening. Listening is a muscle that needs to be worked. Exercises like:

• Last Word Response: Forces participants to listen to the very end of a partner's thought before responding, revealing how often we interrupt or misinterpret.
• Touch to Talk and Eye Contact to Speak: Builds foundational attention and connection.
• Gibberish Games: Trains participants to listen for intent beyond words, focusing on tone and body language (cognitive empathy).
  These practices help individuals become more empathetic, self-assured, and effective communicators, leading to fewer misunderstandings and greater collaboration in any setting.

Last updated: August 7, 2025