Changing one word…

What if you could change one word and shift what happens next?  One word that creates new possibilities as you expand vs. contract your thinking?

Dick Costolo, CEO of Twitter, had been a professional stand up comedian who did improvisation. Improvisation requires you find ways to use whatever the audience throws at you. You need to be able build on what has been introduced.

Mr. Costolo carried what he learned doing improvisation into his job at Twitter, “running a company of 1,300 employees.” He uses a basic improv principle, one essential for keeping the improv going.

While seemingly simple, it is actually quite profound.

“He rarely uses the word ‘but.’ Instead, he says ‘Yes and…’ –an improv principle that allows people to discuss something without disagreeing.”

It allows the actors to think about and use what was just said; building on it or not, but not discarding it.

In improv, this can lead to some pretty funny scenarios. In life it just might get us to expand our thinking instead of contracting around our point of view.

Yes and…?