“Yes, And” Is Having a Moment

By Josh Golden, President & Chief Creative Officer of Yes&

It’s in the news. It’s on podcasts. It even turned up in the New York Times crossword. “Yes, and”—the deceptively simple rule improv actors use to keep a scene moving—is officially having a moment. The technique is simple. First, you accept what you’re given: that’s the “yes.” Then you build on it with “and.” “I see a pigeon.” “Yes! And the pigeon runs this city.” “Yes! And it’s been eyeing your sandwich the whole time.” “Yes! And…”

No net. No script. No “no.” No “but.” No “can’t” or “shouldn’t.” You accept the premise in front of you, and you add to it. Momentum builds, and ideas start showing up from places you didn’t expect.

That’s exactly why “Yes, and” has been gaining traction in business. Markets shift by the week. Norms get rewritten overnight. Leaders need their companies to operate with open-mindedness, agility, and creativity—the same instincts that make an improv troupe great. In this context, “Yes, and” isn’t a fancy icebreaker. It’s an essential tool for turning uncertainty into an advantage.

Setting the Scene

Businesses today face constant change. And yet, most leadership teams are still optimising for one thing: avoiding risk. The bolder the idea, the more likely it gets shut down. That’s a fine strategy in a slow, stable market. It’s fatal in one that isn’t. Improv actors live the opposite way. They walk onstage with no plan and no script, counting on quick thinking, creativity, and the ideas their scene partners throw at them. Rather than avoiding risk, they run toward it. The more unexpected and outrageous the idea, the better. “Yes, and” is one of the tools actors use to build structure out of chaos. It leaves no room for naysaying. It demands forward motion. And it tends to create a virtuous circle of collaboration and energy.

That’s what makes “Yes, and” a real strategic advantage for companies navigating today’s uncertainty.

What It Isn’t

A lot of people get “Yes, and” wrong. First, it’s not toxic positivity. Saying “yes” doesn’t mean going along with every bad idea or nodding along to someone else’s spin. You accept what’s put in front of you—acknowledge it, understand it, consider it—but that doesn’t mean you have to sign off on it. Not every “and” that follows is a good idea, either. It only has to build on what came before it. There’s no “yes” without the “and” and no “and” without the “yes.”

Second, it’s not a license for careless, make-it-up-as-you-go leadership. A 2022 New York Times article about the risks of “Yes, and” leadership examined Elon Musk and Sam Bankman-Fried as examples. Those leaders improvise, sure—but without rules, without collaboration, and largely without principles. Good improv runs on the opposite principles: shared frameworks, rehearsal, and discipline. “Yes, and” is a rigid rule for handling unpredictability, not an excuse to skip the work.

Remember, “Yes, and” is a technique, not a decision-making process. Its job is to spark original thinking, break through resistance, and keep people moving. And it works just as well in a boardroom as it does in a black box theatre.

How to Start

So, do you need to hire a troupe of actors to run workshops? Sure, why not. But it won’t get you all the way there. What you actually need is to build “Yes, and” into your company’s culture. Like a troupe onstage, your leadership team must start by saying “yes” to what your organisation has to work with -unique strengths, painful weaknesses, untapped potential, real threats. You’re on a bare stage. No denying it. No negotiating it away. Then comes the “and”: searching out the possibilities that are already there, waiting. Instead of starting with “we can’t do that because…,” start with “what if we tried…?” followed by “yes, and…” Do it enough, and it stops being a technique. It becomes how you operate. It’s exactly the instinct we built our agency around—and why we named it Yes&.

Preparing for the Unpreparable

Facing an audience with no script isn’t easy. But very few businesses still have a script that actually works. And here’s the irony: even improv actors rehearse constantly. “Yes, and” requires a genuine change of mindset. It must be practised, reinforced, and rewarded before it can replace business-as-usual thinking.

Its time has come, though. In a world of lasting uncertainty, the companies that win will be the ones that can find the “and” no matter what the world throws at them.

(The pigeon, for the record, is still running things.)

By Josh Golden, President & Chief Creative Officer of Yes&

  Josh Golden, Opinion Leadership, Thought Piece, Yes&