To introduce her students to the concept of improvisation, Viola Spolin, the godmother of modern improv, used to summon half a dozen students onto the rehearsal stage, and then say nothing to them. Literally nothing. No direction. No reason for them to be there.
Nothing.
Nothing…
Still nothing… (more…)
Much of what I learned about improvisation in business came from my father, “Cowboy Bob” a farmer, entrepreneur and incorrigible dreamer from Ireland, Indiana by way of Louisville, Kentucky.
As my friend, the screenwriter Christopher Lofton, describes my early relationship with Cowboy Bob: “He was a teacher who didn’t know what he was teaching and you were a student who didn’t know what you were learning.” But teach and learn we did, and today I gladly share what I learned with my own sons, and with anyone else who’s interested. All you have to do is ask. (more…)
THIS POST IS GUEST-WRITTEN BY OUR FRIEND DAVE ROGERS, WHO IS AN EDITOR AT YAHOO!
You probably saw in the news that Irvine Robbins, founder of Baskin-Robbins 31 Ice Cream, passed away May 5 at the age of 90.
I had the good fortune of beginning my career at Baskin-Robbins. From a part-time job at a company-owned store, it blossomed into an association that lasted 31 years—14 on the payroll, the remainder as a consultant. I became acquainted with Mr. Robbins in my earlier years, especially after he retired in 1978 and I managed a store near his home. As one of the first GameChangers I’d met, he and his company profoundly shaped my professional life.
In honor and memory of Mr. Robbins, I’d like to share three examples of his GameChanging. (more…)
YOU THOUGHT I JUMPED THE SHARK WHEN I DID MY ‘BIG MOUTH BILLY BASS’ THING ON LENO, DIDN’T YOU? WELL, I WAS JUST GETTING STARTED, BABY. THAT WAS THE MOVE THAT BROKE ME AWAY FROM YOUR OLD SCHOOL FISH LIKE YOUR CATFISH, YOUR CRAPPY AND YOUR MUSKY. I’LL ALWAYS BE GRATEFUL TO JAY FOR GIVING ME A SHOT. ‘BIG MOUTH BILLY’ WAS MY ‘MATERIAL GIRL’. ‘DON’T WORRY BE HAPPY’ WENT PLATINUM WHEN I COVERED IT AND GAVE BOBBIE McFERRIN A WHOLE NEW AUDIENCE. AFTER THAT PEOPLE BEGAN PAYING ATTENTION. (more…)
I.
When I saw Charles Stenftenagel identified in an article in the Food section of the New York Times a few weeks ago as the person who’d come up with the name ‘yumberry’ for the juice of the yang-mei berry grown in China, I squirmed like a lab rat with a needle to its brain, because I owed the man an apology. So here goes… (more…)