How YES AND will improve your business and your life

[Music]

according

to the 2020 edition of the oxford

english dictionary there are precisely

171 476

words in the english language and of all

these words

i’m sure that you have a favorite one i

know that i do

that word is in fact the best answer to

some questions

i’ve been asked in my life questions

like

would you like some chocolate or

nam are you ready for your epidural

the answer to that question those

questions is in fact

my favorite word and that’s yes yes

signals agreement

acknowledgement it states a preference

and it’s applicable

across languages and culture and what’s

better

is that yes in combination with one

other word

yes and you can create anything

your mind can imagine yes

and alternatively yes in combination

with one other word yes but can

destroy anything your mind can imagine

you may recognize yes and as the first

rule of improv comedy

and as an improviser myself my ensemble

uses yes and on stage to create

and heighten performances and how it

works

is elegantly simple when someone offers

you an idea you say yes

and you build on it and what continues

from there is a volley of yes

anding all throughout the performance in

fact

without yes and there would be no improv

comedy

and the power and magic of yes and is so

far extended beyond the stage it’s just

as relevant

in everyday conversation and in

professional

business life and the great discover of

this

is the great improv comedy school second

city over its 61-year history second

city has created some of the comedy

legends that we all know and love

like tina fey amy poehler john belushi

amongst hundreds of others but the

future comedic star

is not the only type of person who

enrolls in these classes

with increasing frequency we’re finding

professionals from

academia journalism healthcare

and the corporate environment who come

to second city to learn the art

and mindset of yes and and apply it

back in our own environments because

just like an improv comedy professional

success

requires creating something out of

nothing and over its years of teaching

yes and

in the business environment second city

has observed

that work cultures which embrace this

yes and philosophy

are more likely to haven’t engaged

employees

they’re more likely to manage

communication

and conflict more effectively and these

organizations are

ground zero for innovation

and what do all these things have in

common they’re positively correlated

to leadership to business performance

and to share price performance so

i decided to test this and over the last

few months

i’ve been secretly running an experiment

to see what would happen

in my work life if i flip a mental

switch

and stop saying yes but and say yes

and in my work life and here’s

what i learned number one

yes anne improved my team’s cohesion

by running simple yes and exercises at

the beginning of

zoom meetings it not only encouraged

inclusion of the whole team

it demanded it and this has set us up to

be better communicators

during this extended work from home time

and not for nothing it’s given us a

chance to have

a shared experience and an experience an

opportunity to just laugh together

and in a time when we’re physically

separated like we are now

finding ways to creatively make a team

more cohesive has never been

more urgent learning number two

and surprisingly for me the most

impactful

is using yes and in conflict

yes and can disarm a rising

yes but conflict and here’s how

often conflict arises when two parties

feel like they haven’t been heard and

just like you

i’ve witnessed this in meetings by

saying

yes to someone who disagrees with you it

acknowledges their point of view

and it signals that you have listened to

them

by sharing that yes it gives you

permission to add your aunt

building this bridge of trust where you

can hold

multiple points of view while preserving

the relationship

learning number three and of course it’s

the granddaddy of them all

it’s it’s yes and in brainstorming

this is the easiest way to experiment

with yes

and simply add a yesen to every ideation

offer

and yes it will make your ideas stronger

and it will also

unleash the diverse thinking of your

team

and before you know it it’s going to

take you in uncommon directions

with happy accidents that can help you

discover things that you hadn’t planned

maybe even you invent a new business

model

so what i have discovered from all of

these learnings

is that yes and is contagious

and by deliberately using yes and others

around me

did it too and what it what i realized

is that we have started to build a yes

and mindset and a

culture of collaboration so after all

this

i can honestly say that i’m on a mission

to spread yes and now imagine

what is possible if you join me in this

mission

and you share this yes and philosophy

in your conversations in your work life

and in your community will you join me

on this mission

i so hope your answer is yes and

thank you so much

you