When the stakes are high, the problems complex, and the goals audacious, the playful improvisational power of YES AND… enables a group to heap up a pile of ideas that keep getting more nuanced and inspired as things roll.
The quote from Louis Pasteur — “Chance favours the prepared mind” — is often invoked to underscore the importance of preparation in scientific discovery and creative work. However, the interpretation of "prepared" can skew heavily toward rigorous discipline, potentially sidelining the role of curiosity and playfulness.
Pasteur, a pioneer in microbiology, understood that transformative discoveries often arise unexpectedly — but only those who are intellectually ready can recognize and act on them. This preparation, however, is more than technical proficiency; it's a mindset attuned to noticing anomalies and thinking beyond established frameworks.
Rigour provides the precision, discipline, adherence to method, and scrutiny necessary to:
- ensure repeatability and validity of results
- filter out false positives and cognitive biases
- articulate structured hypotheses and interpret data meaningfully
Playful curiosity provides the intrinsic motivation to explore, ask “what if?”, and test boundaries. It plays an essential role in:
- fueling the formulation of original questions
- encouraging the exploration of anomalies instead of discarding them
- enabling lateral thinking and connections across domains
"There are people who prefer to say 'yes', and there are people who prefer to say 'no'. Those who say 'yes' are rewarded by the adventures they have. Those who say 'no' are rewarded by the safety they attain." – Keith Johnstone, Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre (1979)
When precious little safety remains in the status quo, and when expected outcomes fail to inspire, let’s invite a whole lot more YES AND… originality, exploration and lateral thinking.
Apply playfulness... rigorously!