In today's economy, the Creative Economy, businesses face a disrupted, highly competitive, and constantly changing landscape. Robie and Jody Wood say that to thrive in the Creative Economy, team members, managers, and executives need to become and remain agile. Improvisational theater provides a proven model for developing agility skills since the characteristics of “being agile”—engaging people, learning, making decisions in the midst of uncertainty and ambiguity, and adapting—are the very skills that improv artists work to develop with every exercise they perform. This session is about “Being Agile,” developing the mindset and behaviors that grow great abilities in communication, collaboration, inspiring others, building on others’ ideas, learning, adapting, and evolving. This workshop will engage delegates in experiential learning exercises from Improvisational Theater that will have immediate impact in improving agile mindset and behavior. The workshop participants will find the exercises lively, inspiring, fun, life changing—and an experience they will never forget.

1. AW12
Session
6/8/16 2:45 PM
Improvisation for Agile Skill
Development
Presented by:
Robie Wood
ImprovAgility
Brought to you by:
350 Corporate Way, Suite 400, Orange Park, FL 32073
888---268---8770 ·· 904---278---0524 - info@techwell.com - http://www.techwell.com/

2. Robie Wood
ImprovAgility
With more than thirty-one years of experience as a business leader, program
manager, and information technology practitioner, Robie Wood now specializes
in information technology program strategy and delivery with emphasis on
building and leading strong agile teams and organizations. Robie has served as a
ScrumMaster, release train engineer, agile transformation leader, agile coach,
and agile trainer. He has presented at conferences and workshops on business
intelligence, project management, and team agility. Visit Robie at
ImprovAgility.com and follow ImprovAgility @ImprovAgility.

3. 1
Collaborative Emergence:
The Foundation for Agility in the
Creative Economy

4. 2
“It is not the strongest of the species that
survive, nor the most intelligent, but the
one most responsive to change.”
- Charles Darwin

5. 3
Lets Warm Up!!!
Zip - Zap - Zop
Silly - Relax - Be Human
Skills: Focus, Listening, Reaction, Thinking on Your Feet

6. 4
Ecosystems as Complex Adaptive Systems
Coral Reef Creative Economy
Navigating NY City Streets Software Development

7. 5
Coral Reef Ecosystem

8. Software Development Ecosystem
6
Navigating NYC Streets

9. 7
Welcome to the Creative Economy!
Technology
Knowledge
Globalization
Demographics

10. 8
Software Development
Ecosystem

11. 9
Exercise????

12. 10
Engaging Exploring
Embracing Paradox Adapting
Agile Mindset and Behaviors - “Being Agile”

13. 11
Engaging
Exploring
Embracing Paradox Adapting
Agile Mindset and Behaviors - “Being Agile”

14. 12
What the Arts Can Contribute to Developing Agile Mindset & Behaviors
Artful Making replaces the
industrial technique of
replication and the political
technique of compromise.
When artful makers
collaborate, either on a play
production or a business
plan, they contribute to
making something larger
than the individual makers:
an ensemble.
Make New &
Unpredictable Ideas
Collaborators
reconconceive a
problem in light of
each others ideas

15. 13
Experiential Learning Using Improvisation
“Yes, And” is a way of thinking,
speaking, and interacting with
others that keeps you open-
minded, allows you to act upon
opportunities, helps you
innovate, and allows you to
fulfill your potential.
“Yes, And” is
positive, moves
things forward,
opens minds, and
explores
possibilities. “Yes,
But” is negative,
stops all forward
progress, shuts
down the mind, and
cuts off creativity.
Practicing
Collaboration

16. 14
First Yes, And Exercise

17. 15
How to Self-Organize?
Manage Constraints
Develop a Team of Great Collaborators

18. 16
Constraints here?

19. 17
Overbearing Constraints Can Reduce Agility

20. 18
Managing Constraints Exercise

21. 19
Collaborative Emergence
This is NOT replication or compromise (subtracting), but rather
creating something bigger, something new, something not
anticipated.
Remember the Emergent Properties of Complex Adaptive
Systems — In this case a Team of Great Collaborators
The whole is bigger than the sum of its parts!

22. 20
Lets Try Our Own “Yes, And” Exercise
Lets Plan a Great Retrospective!!
I need to design a new
retrospective that really charges up
my Team…

23. 21
Lets Try Our Own “Yes, And” Exercise
What Emergent Characteristics Did We Experience?
What Did We Learn?

24. 22
Why Agile?

25. 23
C
haos
Com
plex
Predictable
Known
Known Unknown
Unknown
Requirements
Technology
Prescriptive: Often Done by
Machines/Robots
• Manufacturing
• Construction
Waterfall
Complex: Changing Requirements
and/or Technology
• Natural Ecosystem
• Navigating NY City Streets
• Creative Economy
• Software Development
Agile
Prescriptive vs. Complex Adaptive System

26. 24
Complexity Economics
“Free Markets succeed
not because they deliver
Efficiency at Equilibrium
but rather because they
deliver Innovation at
Disequilibrium.”
“Agility, rather than
efficiency, seems to be
the secret to Free
Market success.”
Software Development is a Creative Process that is a Component
of Another Complex System: The Creative Economy
For Businesses to Survive and
Thrive in the Creative Economy
they need to Change, Adapt
and Evolve.