The Entrepreneur

as
°°Improviser°±
Improviser°±

A Plenary presentation for

REES Stanford 2005
Patricia Ryan Madson
 Who am I?

_ Emerita faculty, Stanford University, Department of Drama

_ Winner of Stanford’s Dinkelspiel Award for Innovation in

Undergraduate Education

_ Founded “The Creativity Initiative.” Stanford

_ Founder of the Stanford Improvisers

_ Consultant to business and education on improvisation and

creativity

_ Author of Improv Wisdom: Don’t Prepare, Just Show Up

WEBSITE: WWW.STANFORD.EDU/~PATRYAN
 Instant Improv for
Entrepreneurs
• 1. Say “YES!”

• 2. Say “Ooopps. . . (TA-DA!)”

• 3. Say “Thank You”

Say YES!
Say Oooops!
Make Mistakes, Please
“Failure is okay. Which is the most famous ocean liner?”
(Keith Johnstone)
Say “Thank You”
 Who else is helping?
• Make a list of those “thanks to whom”
we are here today. Who are the others
who are supporting our work here?
 The Three “G’s”

•Generosity
•Grit (Hard work)

•Gratitude
The book, Improv Wisdom offers tips to help us cultivate our
capacity for creating excellence in the workplace and in our
personal lives. There are 13 maxims that guide the way.
 Improv Maxims
• The First Maxim: Say Yes

• The Second Maxim: Don’t Prepare

• The Third Maxim: Just Show Up

• The Fourth Maxim: Start Anywhere

• The Fifth Maxim: Be Average

• The Sixth Maxim: Pay Attention

• The Seventh Maxim: Face the Facts

• The Eighth Maxim: Stay on Course

• The Ninth Maxim: Wake Up to the Gifts

• The Tenth Maxim: Make Mistakes, Please

• The Eleventh Maxim: Act Now

• The Twelfth Maxim: Take Care of Each

Other

• The Thirteenth Maxim: Enjoy the Ride

ENJOY THE RIDE
 Thanks for your attention.
If you’d like to contact me:

improvwisdom@comcast.net
– www.improvwisdom.com
– www.stanford.edu/~patryan
– P. O. Box 909
– El Granada, CA 94018-0909