“Yoga for your social skills”
Improving your business with improv
Improv comedy and the business world seem diametrically opposed. But according to Tom Yorton, the CEO of Second City Works, “What we do has more to do with your world than you might know.”
Yorton sat down with Kelly Leonard, executive vice president of The Second City, and Frank Sennett of Crain’s Chicago Business for a Lake FX keynote panel. The topic? The tenets of improv and how they can be used for success in professional settings.
From the stage to the boardroom — and beyond
The Second City is the global leader in improv, with shows every night of the week and roughly 15,000 students passing through its Training Center every year. Second City Works is the creative and corporate B2B arm of Second City, focusing on executive presence and presentation. Major League Baseball is its longest-standing client.
“The similarities between business and improv are more important than the differences,” Yorton said, noting that business itself is an act of improvisation. “It really comes down to your ability to collaborate, communicate, create something out of nothing, and be nimble and adaptive.”
“Yes, and”
Yorton and Leonard explore this concept together in their new book, Yes, And: How Improvisation Reverses “No, But” Thinking and Improves Creativity and Collaboration. “ ‘Yes, and’ is the most ‘sticky’ idea, but it’s not the only one,” Leonard said. “You don’t even have to buy the book to get the seven principles. They’re printed on the jacket.” That got a hearty laugh from the Lake FX audience.
The seven principles
- Yes, and
- Ensemble
- Co-creation
- Authenticity
- Failure
- Follow the follower
- Listening
“These principles aren’t given or taught in elementary school or anywhere in education,” Leonard said, describing how these skills help in all areas of life. “There is a reason that famous people get hired from Second City.”
The perfect partner
And that reason isn’t just individual talent. It’s also the ability to perform within the context of an ensemble. It’s the ability to be the “perfect partner” — whether that’s a partner in a scene or a partner in a business meeting.
“There is always the guy in the room who always says no,” Leonard said, and heads nodded in agreement. “When you say no, you’re not just saying no to an idea. You’re saying no to a person. After you shoot them down, do you think they’re going to come back with more ideas?”
At the same time, saying yes isn’t the be-all and end-all. The “and” is there because there is work to be done. “Don’t just stop at the affirmative after someone says yes. You have to contribute,” Leonard said.
“If you can change one thing in your organization that is a principle of improv, it is to follow the follower. Do this. It’s not your job to refute or renege. Your job is to build,” Leonard said. “The idea is to support the ideas of others as often as you initiate your own.”
And that often means furthering someone else’s agenda, rather than your own — which, for many people in business, can be a rather foreign concept.
Create a safe space to fail
Failure is not encouraged in the business setting and, according to Leonard and Yorton, this is a huge missed opportunity. Their best-known safe place to fail is the free improv set offered after every Second City show. The audience who paid to see the main sketch comedy show has the option to leave or stay for the improv set, and the empty seats are replaced with new people who show up just for the free set. The key, according to Yorton and Leonard, is that it’s free. That, and alcohol.
“Half of it sucks, and no one cares,” Leonard said. “Because the context has changed. It’s a creative module that has served us. Every night of the week. It is a safe space to fail fast, and fail together.”
How can this translate to a business setting? Leonard said it looks different for every business. But he did have one hint: “Don’t do it on Twitter.”
Improv for a happier life
The Second City has been continually studying the effects of improv on its students by surveying them after they complete the program. Preliminary findings show that 92% are happier after they have taken the classes.
“Improv changed my life,” Leonard said. “It’s yoga for your social skills.”
With so many documented positive benefits, why is it such a hard sell? Yorton and Leonard wondered that, too. “Everyone says, ‘I’ve got a boss that would never do this.’ We hear it all the time.”
What’s the answer? Leonard was unapologetic. “Quit. Leave. You’re never going to get to be transformative.”
And that is more important than any job.
Story and photos by Emily Shearon, senior copywriter at Simple Truth
