The author Steven Berlin Johnson, recently gave a TED talk on the subject of his next book, which will be his seventh: Where do good ideas come from?
He’s an observant man, so the observations come tumbling out of him in a 17-minute torrent, from why coffee shops were important to the Enlightenment, to the debunking of ‘Eureka’ moments. If you want the full effect, step into the Johnson waterfall and view the video.
If you’re looking for a summing up, well, there’s a one-word answer to the question, ‘Where do good ideas come from?’ The answer is ‘Improvisation.’ Good ideas come from improvisation. Check this out:
Johnson says, “Don’t protect ideas, share them.” This is precisely the concept behind of yes-anding. Instead of scripting, blocking, denying, judging or yes-butting–all anathema to innovation–add to the ideas of others. Walt Disney used to call this “plussing,” a phrase that has been adopted by Pixar Animation Studios. In doing so, Pixar yes-anded Disney. That’s how it works. Ideas evolve. And when you yes-and by sharing, they evolve faster and more purposefully than if you don’t.
Johnson says, “Ideas are a network.” This equates to the Group Mind of improvisation, where ideas belong not to any one individual, but to the group, and the scene. Ideas are not isolated phenemona. They always exist in relationship to other ideas, and other people. An apple falling on Newton’s head was not his idea. It was a connection between a number of ideas that described the physical world at that time. Johnson says, “Chance favors the connected mind.” He might just as well have said, “Chance favors improvisers.” It was because he was able to connect it to other phenomena that the chance occurrence of an apple falling on his head became meaningful to Newton. This is no different than what a good improviser does in a scene. He or she turns chance into meaning by making connections. That’s the work. It’s not easy. It is a practice that takes study, discipline and time.
Johnson says, “Ideas are a slow hunch.” This equates to the patience some of the best improvisation groups have for finding the game in a scene. My favorite example of this from improv theater is the L.A.-based group, Dasariski. Those guys take their time about finding the game, this discovery arises organically–though quite predictably–from conversations, and it is a beautiful thing to see. Good ideas are the equivalent of productive games in improvisation. They often arise from anomalies or even mistakes. They’re generative, that is, they led to other ideas. Even though it makes for better anecdotes, ideas are not like a single frame from a movie, a frozen image—apple hits man on head!—they are montages of images, and jumps back and forth in time. Ideas are narrative.
Johnson says, “Ideas are a product of environment.” Yes and this, too, is one of the most fundamental ideas of improvisation: Environment fuels performance. This is why Belina Raffy conducts improvisation classes in Europe that are based on Biomimicry, where performers mirror biology to help their innovation process. Today, thanks to our connection with Belina (ideas are a network, remember?) we are beginning to play with biomimicry at GameChangers. As Viola Spolin said, “Act on environment and enviroinment will act on you.”
From beginning to end,
I’m producing, or helping with, four GameChangers events next week as part of 
Spencer, I agree to this extent: The phrase ‘Social Media’ is so amorphous as to be essentially meaningless. In fact, all media are social. It’s like saying Wooden Tree, or Feathered Bird.
The originators of these programs are as guilty of their crimes as Smith & Wesson are of the next murder committed with one of their handguns, which is to say they cannot be held accountable. “That’s just the way the game is played,” say the originators. Exactly. This does not mean, however, that the way the game is played is any good, or helpful to the 95% of U.S. households that, together, control as much wealth as the top 1% do. What the programmers call ‘innocence,’ and ‘what no one could have anticipated,’ and ‘God’s work,’ is actually ignorance by design. What comes across as confidence is actually just a con. On Wall Street, nobody really knows anything. The machines are in control. So don’t bother asking.
When he was working at Twelve Horses Interactive (now part of 
Wieden+Kennedy’s client for the Old Spice brand, Procter & Gamble, “couldn’t be more pleased,” according to McBeth. “They see it as a new paradigm for brand marketing. We should be seeing numbers soon that will show tremendous results for both awareness and sales.” With the success of the Old Spice Guy campaign, Wieden+Kennedy’s other clients are, naturally, clamoring for viral brand mojo of their own. One thing is certain, the ability to improvise will be key.
It’s easy enough to see that in a selling scene, a Customer is your Audience. You, in your role as Seller (and make no mistake about it, everyone in this world sells something) need the customer/audience to support you at the boxoffice, the gift shop, the showroom, the supermarket, the website, or anywhere else you can translate their ‘applause’ into revenue. This has been true since studly village smithies were putting on a good show by hammering out horseshoes under the spreading chestnut tree. A good performance gets rewarded by the audience. Selling doesn’t get any simpler than this.