Spot the connection…
‘Cause finally the tables are starting to turn,
Talkin’ about a revolution.
Tracey Chapman
Do what you can
with what you have.
Nothing more is needed.
Rick Rubin
Adaptability, not efficiency,
must become our new central competency.
Stanley McChrystal
The most important group work
since they built the pyramids.
Bill Murray
Eye-opening conversations on participatory, prosperous and peaceful societies that nurture rather than degrade the environment.
Nafeez Ahmed
The last one says it all: the revolution will be improvised!
We need radical change on so many fronts, but our default mindset is still for centralised hierarchies and a model of interaction based on a model of predict and control.
But that’s not the only way to organise and interact, and seems to me that being able to improvise intentionally in everyday life holds the promise of an emergent response to the emergencies we face.
One way of looking at improvisation is as the ability to sense and respond effectively to navigate towards a goal. It’s a certain set of skills for focused action in an uncertain and often overwhelming world.
It’s no surprise to me to see so much being written about the lessons improvisation has to teach people who are guiding change in the world. Academic research in this area is growing at pace and I can’t keep up with the number of books being published.
At the heart of my work with Here & Now People and what really brings me to life, are situations where I can share the principles and practices of improvisation (aka improv) to help more people learn to trust themselves to act spontaneously from a place of interconnection, shared awareness, and empowered action.
Sometimes that’s in an improv class, a workshop for professional and personal development or a show – the effect is the same. It’s always about liberating a spontaneous response based on trust and connection.
Trusting yourself to act spontaneously goes to places where the learning is rich. It can take time to get there, but the rewards are great. There’s a lot to learn, unlearn and relearn and it’s a process of mastery.
I tend to think that when more people trust themselves to think, and feel, and act spontaneously then the revolution will not just be televised, it will be improvised.