The privileged are often blind to their privileges

True for power, true for money.

If the status gap gets too big, people do not believe that leaders can empathize with them, so they do not feel safe.

Not much more to quote sadly. The set of games introduced in the book is too verbal for me. Besides, I’d learned them from somewhere else.

See you at my next book!

[Agile?] people are starved for the kinds of interactions that improvisers take for granted. We get to express ourselves creatively, play together, have our ideas honored and our failures not only forgiven, but celebrated.

Wow, I like this. Improv not only brings about joy and creativity (which are always welcome), but also (and most important) collaboration, yes..andness and, someone praise Kat Koppett, celebration of failure! And this is just the introduction of the book. Mmmm, perhaps it ends up being like movie trailers: they show the best, you buy, and there’s few more chewy beef down the road. Let’s keep reading then. Ah, here’s a nice phrase:

The script is constantly being reinvented. The opportunities to plan deeply before acting are becoming fewer, shorter, and less reliable.

Interesting. Not that a regular play can be deeply planned either, but improv is, per se, more…err…improvised. Let’s go on.

In improv any idea is better than no idea

Ultimately saying “yes” is the foundation of all relationships

Say “yes, and…”: Accept offers and add to them

Spontaneity is a way of saying “yes” to yourself

We can come with all sorts of reasons to say “no”

Saying “no” (blocking) is a well-developed habit

Motivate through acceptance

And “offer” can be anything [..] Before an offer can be accepted, it must be recognized

80 percent of what wee experience as true, we make up

Our ability to receive complete and accurate information can be enhanced through practice

Increasing listening and awareness skills, is less about sensing more things, and more about sensing things more consciously [..] What the best improvisers are able to do is widen their circle of consciousness to include more information

There are three things that we can listen for when we listen: facts, feelings and intentions [..] facts are the simplest to perceive [..] unless the emotional content is addressed, all the data in the world will not result in clear commmunication [..] Understanding the point of a message qualifies as the most important aspect of listening

So far so good. Time to put the book down, digest ideas and cook dinner. I’ll keep reading later.

I’ve read, loved and learned from gems such as Artful Making, Free Play, Slack, The Reengeneering Alternative, The Ignorant Schoolmaster, Montessori – the Science behind the Genius, and Open Space Technology. Most of these recommendations were bestowed on me by my great friend and mentor Toby Mayer. I treasure each on of them in my mind and heart. And yet I feel, especially as I embark on new readings, that a piece of my spiritual puzzle is missing. Perhaps it is the fact that my brain, shame on me, is not almighty. I forget things. Not that many, but yet I do. But then there’s the more distressing sense of selfish intellectual seclusion, so common these days. I can read, and smile while I read. And I want to share those smiles with the world.

So now, whenever I read a paragraph or chapter or book that strikes me as relevant to the art of loving Mondays, I will simply speak out. No, I will not review books. Or maybe I will, but simple by narrating, relating, digressing and highlighting. Paragraphs, chapters and books will randomly be read aloud. I sincerely hope you enjoy the experience. I’m pretty sure I will.