“The kind of humor I like is the kind that makes me laugh for five seconds and think for ten minutes.” -William Davis
The reason that I had to end my internship at Brilliont a little earlier than the others was because I’m going to be an RA (Resident Advisor) for my College House at Penn this year. To be an RA we are required to attend a three week training retreat/session right before classes begin. Yesterday was the first day, and while I’m not an introvert by any means I can be a little shy when I first meet people. Thus, when I found out our first activity was an Improv Comedy Workshop you can imagine that I got a little apprehensive. Me? Improv comedy in front of people I don’t really know? Sounded a little disastrous.
The session was conducted by Avish Parashar, a former Penn student and the president of Avish Parashar Productions, Inc. (go figure). The company conducts workshops and presentations for several types of audiences to show them “how the ideas and techniques of improve comedy can make [them] more flexible, more effective, and ultimately more successful!” Throughout the session Avish kept reminding us that while the activities we were doing might seem silly, they could actually empower us and help us in several of the roles we play as a Resident Advisor- these include being a mentor, a friend, an advisor, a role model, a motivator, a specialist, a Penn representative, etc. As we discussed his “Four Keys to Creativity” and each of the roles I just mentioned, I realized that many of these ideas also applied directly to being a successful entrepreneur and/or a successful manager:
Focus on the outcome: Here Avish pointed out something that is obvious but often overlooked- that the end goal is usually more important than all the little details. This doesn’t mean detail and organization aren’t important, of course, but that a balanced perspective is necessary. Avish gave us a simple example that I’ll share. He told us to think about a time when we were going out to a fancy or important dinner with our families and the restaurant was overbooked or closed. Some people let this ruin their evening- they complain about it in the car, they complain about it over dinner at another restaurant, and they complain about it on the way home. Others recognize that the point of the evening is simply to spend time with loved ones, and have a great time anyways. At Brilliont I noticed that if I got stuck somewhere along the data collection process or the data analysis process, the team would help me take a step back and look at what our end goal was. Often we found that there was a different, but equally valuable means to the same end. Sounds pretty basic, but sometimes you get so wrapped up or frustrated with what you are doing that you find it difficult to look at the big picture: what do your customers need and want, and how can you effectively, efficiently, and ethically deliver those results in a profitable manner.
Let go: It’s amazing how difficult it can be to grasp the meaning of these two words. I don’t think this means you should leave everything to chance, because as I’ve mentioned before, in my opinion the best entrepreneurs seek out opportunities and occasionally create their own luck. Nor does it mean that you shouldn’t challenge the status quo- because you should. It does, however, mean that you should make a conscious effort to recognize what you can and can’t control and stop trying to fight things that are entirely beyond your reach. Your energy and resources will be better spent if you focus on the areas where you can make the most impact. I view the importance of this personal resource/energy optimization and allocation as similar to the importance of how companies allocate their funds and resources to optimize results and progress. One of my favorite movie quotes comes from Something New: “Let go, let flow” says the lead actress.
Say “yes and” as opposed to “yes but”: This was one of my favorites. It’s not meant to be taken literally as Avish pointed out. Gentlemen, if your girlfriend asks you if she looks fat then “yes and ugly too” is not quite the response she is looking for. More generally though, this key reminds us to be open to new ideas. The thing is that I’ve noticed that pretty much all entrepreneurs like to pride themselves on being open to new ideas. Isn’t that what entrepreneurship is all about? The subtlety here is perhaps in the way we approach and react to new ideas. I know that I can be pretty critical- not because I don’t like new ideas but because I like to consider all of the facts and think about all of the long term consequences before I make a decision or express approval. Sometimes, though, this means that I appear to be negative at first. I’ll say “yea but XYZ”. This limits the conversation and tends to draw our focus to only one element of an idea where as a “yes and did you think about XYZ” tends to encourage more brainstorming and further exploration. Again, this is not to be taken literally because you shouldn’t always agree with people, it just reminds us that sometimes if you are willing to explore a “bad” idea a little further before nixing it completely, a new “good” idea might arise in the process.
Tap your creativity: Finally, we discussed how difficult it can be to apply or call upon your creativity. We’ve all experienced writer’s block at some point or another. Somehow it seems that we are most creative when we’re not trying to be… like right before we go to sleep, or in the shower, etc. Avish basically pointed out that we often have trouble because we analyze and critique ideas as they come and this can hold up the process. One thing we’ve always used on the Wharton Dean’s Advisory Board is the “Parking Lot” method of brainstorming. We allot ourselves a small amount of time to get as many ideas on to sticky notes as possible. We don’t discuss the ideas until after everyone has had a chance to write them all down and put them up on the board (when all the Post-its are on the board they look like a parking lot, thus the name). This is just one way of doing things, but the gentle time pressure and the momentum that builds when you aren’t giving yourself a chance to think about how silly or crazy an idea might be are extremely powerful tools in fostering fruitful brainstorming sessions.
There were of course some great (slightly embarrassing) games associated with each of these keys but I won’t get into detail about those here as you should probably hire Avish to come out and run a workshop for your organization if you’re interested. Overall though it was an extremely fun way to put yourself out there and think about how to harness your own creative powers. It put everyone at ease and enabled us to comfortably interact and collaborate right from the start. One other theme I noticed throughout the improv workshop was that the more willing one was to fail, the less likely failure became. Within reason, I think this is very true of entrepreneurs as well. I think it’s a great idea for corporations (small or big) to give improv a try. In addition to getting a few laughs at the CEO, the team might find it very effective.
