Improv AtWork and AtLife

Management By Baseball

I just came across a brief description of a book, "Management By Baseball" by Jeff Angus. The book came out last year but this is the first I've heard of it and I have no explanation for why it's taken me this long to discover it but I've finally discovered it so no big deal. I ordered it immediately because two of my greatest passions come together in it - baseball and improvisation.

I love baseball - I've loved it since I was a kid and I'd sit in front of the radio with my grandmother and listen to the St. Louis Cardinals play and take in the commentary of my 80 year old Irish granny who swore at every decision Whitey Herzog made and professed to be able to manage the team better than he did. Never mind that the Cards won 2 NL pennants and the World Series under Whitey and he was named NL Manager of the Year in '85. My granny's reality was her own - but that's another story. She instilled in me my love of baseball.

Friends who don't get the game always ask why I love baseball so much and I tell them it's because anything can happen. "But it never does" says a writer buddy of mine. For me, baseball's the perfect place to practice improv - players adjust at the plate, pitchers adjust to the hitters in the moment, managers have to be flexible and adaptable and react to what's happening at any given time on the field. It's improv paradise. I don't know why I didn't make the connection between baseball and improv before - but I'm glad Jeff Angus made it for me. And I can't wait to read his book...which should be here tomorrow because I order so many books from Amazon that I get special two day delivery free...but that's another story.

Bride Bad Hair Day

Unless you've been living under a rock the past couple of weeks, you've either seen or heard of the latest UTube video to break wide - the one that shows a bride having a bad hair day, breaking down and cutting all her hair off. A friend e-mailed it to me and the minute I saw it, I suspected it was staged. I mean, who gets that bent over a bad hair day? Are there really people whose coping skills are so lacking that they'd whack off their hair in a fit of pique? (I love that phrase - a "fit of pique" - you don't get to use that often - it ranks right up there with "hissy fit" in terms of endearment for me - but I digress.) Well, evidently there are people whose coping skills are so lacking as evidenced by the great number of folks who not only believed that the video was real but could testify to having had personal interaction with said coping lackers (I know, not real words but go with me, okay), including several bridal consultants who vowed that video bride had nothing on the antics of brides with whom they'd worked. Of course, it was later revealed that the video was indeed staged by a group of 4 actresses who are looking for work (I'm curious to see if this video gets them more than their 15 minutes of fame, although 15 minutes must be plenty for some people or else there would be no explanation for American Idol - but again, I digress).

So even though this video was a fake, there are people out there going ballistic over a bad hair day or finding the grocery store out of their favorite salsa. Whatever happened to having a plan B? Whatever happened to being able to improvise? Maybe seeing how people react in a minor crisis can give us insight into how they'll cope with the big things - like life. I'd sure think twice about walking down the aisle with a bride who flipped over having a bad hair day.

Do Over!

Okay, I'm calling for a do over. I read yesterday's entry. Didn't like it. I was listening to a phone seminar while I was writing it and I just don't multi-task well. I don't feel bad about that because most of us don't multi-task well. I know this because I've read the latest research on multi-tasking which says that studies show that people underperform when they multi-task. Never mind that these studies contradict earlier studies that say people have the capacity to multi-task and should develop that skill. I'm going with the latest research because it makes me feel better than I don't multi-task well. And I'm sure there'll be new studies out within the year that says yes, we can multi-task well, but only during the hours of 11 p.m. and midnight. My point is that the more we know, the more we know we don't know. Ye Gods, shades of Cheney..forgive me!

The bottom line is...when we get more information, we need to reevaluate instead of continuing to do the same thing over and over. When we hit a wall, we need to reevaluate. That's what P.C. does - when he hits a wall and can't move forward, he reevaluates. If a robotic dog can do that, surely we can, too.

Is Robo Dog Smarter than Some People?

I've been away for a couple of weeks, trying to finish a field guide on using improvisation in business. I shipped a rough first draft of it off to a colleague for input yesterday afternoon and celebrated this morning by having a romp on the carpet with my very smart and fetching robotic dog which I named P.C. He was a gift from my niece and nephew and I know he's a he because he lifts his leg. He also does a whole bunch of other stuff which make him almost warm blooded. I was watching him trot across the floor - he kept going until he ran into a wall...at which point he turned and started off in a new direction. Wasn't that smart of him? He ran into a roadblock and rather than keep going up against it, he changed direction. Why is it so hard for some people to do that in life? Is my robotic dog really that much brighter than some people? He must be...God knows I've seen people do the same thing over and over, expecting a different result. Of course, that different result never happens, but rather than change direction...you see where I'm going with this. Watching someone do the same thing over and over without moving forward is frustrating - especially when it doesn't have to be that one. Challenge habitual ways of thinking and doing...and start moving forward.