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Entrepreneurship has often been compared to jazz improvisation. What can entrepreneurs learn from the practice and techniques of jazz or improvisational comedy?
Improvisation, when practiced as a collaborative group activity, has a moral core!
People who participate in an improv comedy session must actively choose the way they contribute to the energy of the entire group. Each time they speak, their words and actions will influence the flow, not just of thoughts and words, but also of the constantly changing rhythm of the emotional interactions. This process raises a fascinating question: “How much of the selection process is intellectual thought and how much is due to non-rational processing, e.g., free association based on intuition and emotions?”
When we participate, what role does our intention play?
In music, a similar dynamic is experienced in jazz performance, especially in the context of “jamming,” where performers encourage each other to extemporize, i.e., improvise on the spot. A group typically starts by agreeing on certain structural elements to be preserved, e.g., the theme, chord progressions, rhythmic patterns, etc., while also embracing unplanned modifications and additions. For a successful, i.e., pleasing, outcome for the group, the level of musicianship must be high. In addition to mastery of the instruments, the players need to be sensitive to the dynamic flow of the musical messages, to the complex interplay of emotions of the members of the group. If any one of the group is having a bad day, his distracted energy will present a big challenge to the group performance because that player’s contribution may not invite the kind of positive-feedback loops that are desired.
What can we learn about entrepreneurship from this analogy?
Lesson #1. Learning is FUN! How often we have heard those words, in different contexts. Yet, why do traditional approaches to education persist in presenting the opposite message? Students are routinely punished for being “not serious enough” about their efforts, usually in the context of exams and test scores. How much do we accept the research studies—and our own direct experience—that prove we learn more effectively when we are in a state of enjoyment, if not outright pleasure?
What makes learning fun? Why do things that are fun make a more profound and lasting impression on us?
Lesson #2. The secret for everyone is the intention to “play” with what is being experienced. Are we hard-wired for play? Isn’t that a natural instinct of all animals? Why are the most popular videos on Youtube those of puppies, kittens, and babies? Do we secretly envy their pure enjoyment of the moment, of their sense of freedom to create whatever experience they are inclined to have, at the moment? We accept that artists and musicians instinctively understand this concept of “play”, but how often do we remember that this is how Nobel Prize winners in science also feel about their “work”?
“To stimulate creativity one must develop childlike inclination for play and the childlike desire for recognition.” –Albert Einstein
Is this distinction between “work” and “play” an anachronistic, artificial concept left over from America’s Puritan roots? How well is this mindset serving us today, individually, and as a society?
Lesson #3. The essence of “play” is unfettered creative expression, the complex interaction of all our non-rational faculties with whatever intellectual abilities we choose to add to the mix. Does play always have to have a pre-defined goal or objective? How do we value ourselves when we are playing, i.e., enjoying ourselves in the moment? How does our balance of our rational and non-rational, including spiritual, aspects affect our self-perception? How much do we self-censor our ability to enjoy ourselves? How often do we hear, from others and from our own minds, “you’re just being silly (and stupid)”?
“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect, but by the play instinct arising from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the object it loves.” –Carl Jung
Lesson #4. Being creative is a courageous act! As a novice jazz musician, you will be afraid to contribute what you fear will be “mistakes” or just plain ugly sounds that will only bring scorn and criticism. Your actions will be timid and represent small changes that you feel are “safe” because even if they are poor or uninteresting choices, they will have little impact on the performance as a whole. This is a strategy of staying within your comfort zone, where you feel relatively secure. On the other hand, a bold musician, or an entrepreneur with a strong personality, may take a greater leap of faith and make statements that could either make him or her perceived as a hero or a fool. Seeking a higher potential reward does require taking a bigger risk. What can we learn from making these choices? How do we manage the risk/reward tradeoffs in our own lives?
Lesson # 5. Satisfying and productive interpersonal relationships require courageous exploration and acknowledgement of who we truly are. This is just as true for entrepreneurs as for jazz musicians. We often use the metaphor “making beautiful music together” as a description of a particularly warm and close relationship. What happens when we present to others only a limited selection of what we believe they want to see (or should, in our judgment)? We’ve all done that many times, from childhood on through our adult lives. How might those outcomes have been different if we had been willing to be more honest to ourselves? Since we understand that our insecurities limit our opportunities, why do we persist in encouraging unproductive behavior? To want to grow through creativity and positive contribution requires the courage to BE. This is a fundamental principle of entrepreneurialism.
Improvisation is THE narrative of life—our very survival depends on the characteristics we can acquire by learning to improvise creatively, to contribute in a collaborative context. What can be learned through jazz music or comedy are transferable skills that will serve us well in everything we endeavor. The insight that fun enhances the effectiveness of experiential learning is sadly still radical, although not novel at all. Entrepreneurs choose to live this way.
