What’s beyond the thrill of a new game?
It’s always fun and often exciting to discover a new improv game. And, as time goes by, the thrill is enhanced by finding what makes these activities worthwhile. That means delving into questions like: What distinguishes an adequate activity from a powerful...
From Teaching to Learning
There’s a scene in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in which the economics teacher, played by Ben Stein, stands in front of a room of apparently comatose students. “Anyone? Anyone?” John Hughes’ classic film caricatures a familiar model of education: the teacher has the...
Stop Celebrating Failure
Improvisers often say “Celebrate failure.” They’re pointing at a worthy problem, but proposing the wrong solution. Many people hold back when the perceived cost of getting something wrong is high. If we’re worried about looking foolish, wasting time or making...
Play Without the Failure Fetish
What if we’ve misunderstood what AI actually learned from play? Mia Sundstrom recently wrote an engaging Substack article arguing that the story of modern AI is importantly a story about play. She recounts how DeepMind achieved many of its breakthroughs by setting up...
Before Messi scores
The moments that matter most are often shaped long before they happen. This article explores how thoughtful workshop design, leadership and facilitation create the conditions for better conversations, stronger collaboration and more meaningful outcomes.