Yes, And

How Improvisation Reverses ""No, But"" Thinking and Improves Creativity and Collaboration--Lessons from The Second City

By: Kelly Leonard, Tom Yorton

Narrated by: Alan Winter

The Second City has launched the careers of celebrated comic performers such as Tina Fey and Stephen Colbert and produced award-winning content. But it's the actual improvisational process developed and honed over the years by The Second City that has become its legacy. Players master an ability to cocreate in ensembles using philosophies that celebrate a "yes, and" approach. They embrace authenticity and failure and espouse the idea of "following the follower", which allows any member of the team to assume a leadership role.

For more than two decades, The Second City has taken these same principles to thousands of corporate clients, showing leaders how to apply the tools of improv to common business challenges. Here, for the first time, Second City executives Kelly Leonard and Tom Yorton describe how you can use the same skills that thrill audiences around the world to improve your emotional intelligence, increase creativity, and learn to pivot out of tight and uncomfortable situations. In this engaging, often humorous, and highly practical audiobook, you will learn how to become a more compelling leader and a more collaborative follower by employing the seven elements of improv:

• Yes, And, by which you give every idea a chance on which to be acted
• Ensemble, reconciling the needs of individuals with those of the broader team
• Cocreation, which highlights the importance of dialogue in creating new products, processes, and relationships
• Authenticity, or being unafraid to speak truth to power, challenge convention, and break the rules
• Failure, teaching us that not only is it okay to fail, but we should always include it as part of our process
• Follow the Follower, which gives any member of the group the chance to assume a leadership role
• Listening, in which you learn to stay in the moment and know the difference between listening to understand and listening merely to respond

©2015 Kelly Leonard and Tom Yorton (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Narrating a most engaging lesson on being productive and influencing others at work, Alan Winter communicates a natural enthusiasm that makes you like him right away and trust his understanding of the authors' message. His vocal personality, pacing, and articulation draw listeners in and make them want to stay connected." (AudioFile)

Good read for fellow improvisers...

Opened my mind to how corporate America can gain from this. Worth the read or in this case THE LISTEN!

All over the place.

This book is too all over the place, especially in the middle. Good stuff at the beginning, but refers to comedy too often to relate it to business.

Devoured the learnings from this book!

What a great read about the journey of Second City and how to them, Improv is not just fun and games but a serious tool for bringing about deep transformations among individuals, businesses and corporations.
The narrator's voice I felt, was ideal for this genre of books and really added to the value of listening to this audio book.
Can't wait to listen to the book again!

Required reading for creation in teams.

This is a simple concept, driven home in an intelligent and entertaining way. I work in a creative business and the "Yes, And" philosophy is critical to doing good work. I have injected it into our process.

some good ideas

I wish I found this 5 years ago. great business I sights for sandler trainers

Lots of good tips and tricks

I’d have liked to seen the authors do a better job of taking a list of good ideas and really combining them into a smaller number of key takeaways. It seems to me there’s one editorial step that’s missing in this book and that’s the through thread for the overallbook and a smaller number of supporting elements that would be easier to remember and put to work.

High value read

When the information is logical, and makes total sense (and you wonder why you didn’t think of it) you know the tools presented in this book will benefit any process or project.

Concepts that are life changing

Written for a business audience, yet teaches new ways of thinking that may change you forever. Truly listening as a means of comedic survival on the stage, listening to all ideas, all ideas of equal value, supporting all in the group, uplifting the talents and skills while supporting the whole person are enormous life changing skills & business skills

Food for thought

Great insights into how elements of improv can help in work and life. important for employees and managers alike to read.

definitely worth a read for everyonr

I picked this book because both Tina Fey and Amy Poehler noted the second city for their success l. I think they're onto something and I am going to try to apply their advice to my every day life and work life.