yes and yes

The principle comes from improv: Accept the reality in front of you (“yes”) and then build on it (“and”).

Resilient leaders don’t sugarcoat or stall. They acknowledge challenges: “The launch has failed” or “We lost a major client.” But they refuse to let the negative be the end of the sentence: “…and here’s how we gather feedback and relaunch smarter” or “…so starting this week we’re prioritizing connection and communication.” This recognizes the difficulty while redirecting people to solve problems, which helps foster more-flexible thinking.

Michelle Gielan

"How Leaders Counter Pessimism in Trying Times," Harvard Business Review. November–December 2026

the first rule of improvisation is AGREE

The first rule of improvisation is AGREE. Always agree and SAY YES. When you’re improvising, this means you are required to agree with whatever your partner has created. So if we’re improvising and I say, “Freeze, I have a gun,” and you say, “That’s not a gun. It’s your finger. You’re pointing your finger at me,” our improvised scene has ground to a halt. But if I say, “Freeze, I have a gun!” and you say. “The gun I gave you for Christmas! You bastard!” then we have started a scene because we have AGREED that my finger is in fact a Christmas gun.

Now, obviously in real life you’re not always going to agree with everything everyone says. But the Rule of Agreement reminds you to “respect what your partner has created” and to at least start from an open-minded place. Start with a YES and see where that takes you.

As an improviser, I always find it jarring when I meet someone in real life whose first answer is no. “No, we can’t do that.” “No, that’s not in the budget.” “No I will not hold your hand for a dollar.” What kind of way is that to live?

Tina Fey

Bossypants. Reagan Arthur Books. 2011.