“Natalie Nixon’s new book provides a fresh primer on how to cultivate creativity in the workplace.” —Nir Eyal, autor de bestsellers de Hooked and Indistractable Too many people associate creativity solely with the arts, even though to be an incredible scientist, engineer, or entrepreneur requires immense creativity. And it’s the key to developing breakthrough products and services. Natalie Nixon, a creativity strategist with a background in cultural anthropology, fashion, and service design, says that in the fourth industrial revolution a creativity leap is needed to bridge the gap that exists between the churn of work and the highly sought-after prize called innovation. Nixon says that since humans are hardwired to be creative, it is a competency anyone can develop. She shows that it balances wonder (awe, audacity, and curiosity) with rigor (discipline, skill-building, and attention to detail), and that inquiry, improvisation, and intuition are the key practices that increase those capacities. Drawing on interviews with fifty-six people from diverse backgrounds—farming, law, plumbing, architecture, perfumery, medicine, education, technology, and more—she offers illuminating examples of how creativity manifests in every kind of work. Combining creativity tools and techniques with real-world stories of innovative people and businesses, this book is a provocation, an…

An improviser’s guide to embracing whatever life throws at you! PIPPA EVANS is an expert in saying Yes – and No. She’s a master of thinking on her feet, but has also had to learn how to go with the flow. In this book she’s passing on everything she’s learnt from her award winning improv career, as both a performer and teacher, so YOU can take centre stage in your own life. In telling her story, delving into the craft of improvisation, and sharing fun exercises and practice you can do at home, Pippa will help you become fully yourself – realising your potential and ability to adapt to the ever changing world around you. It’s dangerous, being yourself, but let’s just take it one step at a time. Open the book, take a breath and get ready to say YES. (If it’s a NO from you then perhaps consider buying for a friend, family member or enemy who you think needs some improv-ment)

Alan Alda has been on a decades-long journey to discover new ways to help people communicate and relate to one another more effectively. If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face? is the warm, witty, and informative chronicle of how Alda found inspiration in everything from cutting-edge science to classic acting methods. His search began when he was host of PBS’s Scientific American Frontiers, where he interviewed thousands of scientists and developed a knack for helping them communicate complex ideas in ways a wide audience could understand—and Alda wondered if those techniques held a clue to better communication for the rest of us. In his wry and wise voice, Alda reflects on moments of miscommunication in his own life, when an absence of understanding resulted in problems both big and small. He guides us through his discoveries, showing how communication can be improved through learning to relate to the other person: listening with our eyes, looking for clues in another’s face, using the power of a compelling story, avoiding jargon, and reading another person so well that you become “in sync” with them, and know what they are thinking and feeling—especially when you’re talking about the…

Executives from The Second City-the world’s premier comedy theater and school of improvisation-reveal improvisational techniques that can help any organization develop innovators, encourage adaptable leaders, and build transformational businesses. For more than fifty years, The Second City comedy theater in Chicago has been a training ground for some of the best comic minds in the industry-including John Belushi, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Mike Myers, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, and Tina Fey. But it also provides one-of-a-kind leadership training to cutting-edge companies, nonprofits, and public sector organizations-all aimed at increasing creativity, collaboration, and teamwork. The rules for leadership and teamwork have changed, and the skills that got professionals ahead a generation ago don’t work anymore. Now The Second City provides a new toolkit individuals and organizations can use to thrive in a world increasingly shaped by speed, social communication, and decentralization. Based on eight principles of improvisation, Yes, And helps to develop these skills and foster them in high-potential leaders and their teams, including: * Mastering the ability to co-create in an ensemble * Fostering a “yes, and” approach to work * Embracing failure to accelerate high performance * Leading by listening and by learning to follow * Innovating by making…

Organizations depend on all employees to come up with fresh ideas. They depend on teams that can effectively collaborate. And our facility to stay productive in the face of change is vital. We can do all of this…by using the art and science of improvisation. Improvisation is an engaging learning tool that can help individuals and work groups be more adaptive and open to change, and create cohesive, trusting teams. An Improv State of Mind offers practical exercises -complete with debrief questions – for the improv novice and for coaches, trainers, facilitators, talent managers and OD professionals who are ready to embrace new ways to learn…and succeed.

Workplace “drama” that’s productive! The secret to business growth is right before your eyes―it’s the creativity and innovation percolating in each one of your employees every minute of every day. How do you harness it to make it work for your organization? Business Improv! Based on the science of experiential learning, Business Improv uses improvisation activities from the theater to transform each employee into a great leader. The 75 hands-on activities in this proactive guide help you create an organization filled with people who: * Engage with and “own” their work * Generate creative ideas that drive profit * Build innovative teams * Solve problems effectively * Make decisions with conviction * Respond and adapt to change With Business Improv, you have the one and only tool you need to facilitate real, lasting leadership skills in every employee.

Radical Innovation in Business through Improv Looking for new ideas? Need your teams to come up with that “next big thing?” Want to infuse or perpetuate a culture of innovation? Follow along with these two dynamic authors as they take you through Brain Disruption, one of the most engaging and powerful methods to getting individuals, teams and organizations to step up and solve problems. Steeped in the world of improv comedy, this no-nonsense guide provides a window into the neuroscience behind creativity and idea generation. Filled with exercises and activities, you’ll be able to apply the lessons in this book almost immediately.

Using Improvisation to Create Positive Results in Leadership and Life Improve yourlife, where everything is not made up and the points don’t matter. Drew Carey’s show Whose Line Is It Anyway? has turned improvisational comedy into a pop culture phenomenon. But improv is more than just laughs, it’s a valuable training tool that will make you a more effective business professional. Inside, you will discover how to: Replace negative phrases like Yes, but… with successful terms like ‘Yes, and…’ Park your agenda and really hear your client out. By listening to understand, you can adapt to their ideas and produce a more positive outcome. Grow your client relationships beyond the numbers to build rapport, comfort, and trust. Improv is no Joke is must-read for accountants, bankers, and other financial professionals to sharpen the invaluable leadership and communication skills you need to successfully relate to clients and communicate complex information in a user-friendly way. “Peter is the first CPA speaker who actually made me laugh. Who knew accountants could be funny AND inspiring? Now, if I could just get my taxes to not be a joke!” Judy Carter, author of The Comedy Bible and The Message of You

Playful Mindfulness brings together wisdom from the worlds of mindfulness (paying attention to the present moment with curiosity and kindness) and improvisation (making life up courageously as you go along) so readers can find greater confidence, calm, and connection. CONFIDENCE. CALM. CONNECTION. Do you long to express that creative project or idea but tell yourself you’re not good or clever or funny enough, so why even try? Do you dream of a wide-open life filled with moments of wonder, delight and surprise but find yourself trapped in routine and smothered by stress? Do you yearn for deep, meaningful connection with those around you but feel yourself ever more isolated by social media and modern technology? HOPE IS ON THE WAY. In these pages, Ted DesMaisons takes your hand and leads you on a beautiful, surprising and unruly adventure into the lands where mindfulness and improvisation overlap. There, you’ll discover the same freedom, ease, and joy that thousands of his students at Stanford and elsewhere have found for themselves.

IMPROV IS NOT ABOUT BEING FUNNY, ORIGINAL, OR CHAOTIC. IT’S ABOUT EMBRACING CHANGE. Improvisation. The mere mention of the word makes many people quake with fear at the prospect of chaos and uncertainty. The fact is, though, human beings are improvising almost every minute of their lives it is more natural, and more filled with possibility, than you might imagine. On stage, improvisational actors use simple rules, collaborative principles, and game constraints to build unscripted yet intriguing storylines. This book explores how those same simple rules and principles can help agile teams collaborate more effectively and how purposefully working within constraints can unlock creativity. Inside, you ll find over 50 techniques and improv games tailored for agile teams, complete with step-by-step instructions. These games are based on five different principles of improvisational theatre: SAFETY: how accepting failure is essential to discovery SPONTANEITY: how to increase the flow of ideas STORYTELLING: how narratives help teams relate to their customers and end users STATUS: how adjusting personal behaviour can encourage collaboration SENSITIVITY: how to become more fully engaged with fellow team members