Written by Jonathan Reyes
April 24, 2024
The first rule of improvisation is to say, "Yes, and..." The reason is so that you can add more information to the story.
I graduated from the Executive MBA (EMBA) program in 2021, during the pandemic. Our cohort had to adjust to taking full-time Zoom classes instead of the Friday and Saturday in-person classes. The school wisely canceled the planned trip to Germany for our safety, and naturally, there were dispiriting and unfavorable vibes worldwide because of the pandemic. Professor Kumar Sarangee asked Dawn McCale and I to be the first "Business Advisors." He pitched an idea to combine Business and Law students with Business and Law advisors to assist small businesses and startups with their various issues that could find our insights helpful. I had a choice to say "No!" because I had many responsibilities at my full-time job, and the "New Business Ventures" class with the legendary Professor Al Bruno was a lot of work.
Instead, Dawn and I said, "Yes!"
"My improvisation exercise to say 'Yes! And..' is just as significant."
Listening to the client was the first and most crucial lesson my first Law Advisor, Stanley Chang, modeled for me. I still encourage SCU students to listen to the client during the intake interview of the client. The program intended to continually practice the knowledge and frameworks we learned in the EMBA courses for the clients. I also learned about various kinds of laws because each team has a law advisor and a first-year (L1) or second-year (L2) SCU Law student.
Professor Sarangee's inspired shared vision was important. However, my improvisation exercise to say "Yes! And.." is just as significant. The program started with just two business teams. After three years, the BEACH program enables SCU Business and Law students to act and use their knowledge with fifteen teams per quarter, servicing two clients for each group. That is about 120 small business and startup clients to empower in each academic school year.
If you are about to go on an unknown innovation journey, invite people who embrace the first rule of improvisation to say "Yes! And..."