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