Read Chapter 1: A Burger, Fries, and a Side of Improv from the Applied Improvisation textbook (see Syllabus on Canvas for complete textbook information) and write in your learning journal on Google Drive the answers to the following questions:

1. Why did the consulting firm On Your Feet choose to use improv exercises with their client Burgerville? What did Burgerville gain?
2. Select a sentence or paragraph from the reading that you strongly agreed with or disagreed with. Explain why you picked that section your reactions.
3. What similarities did you see in this reading and your own workplace and/or leadership?

I also attached chapter picture, Can you please help me in this , take your time I'am waiting and I give you the like and best comment

Thank you so much

My Apps Dashboar X Topic: Homework d X Mail - Jitenkumar L X 28 (28) WhatsApp X Applied Improvisat X Settings x G Read Chapter 1: A | X Homework Help - ( X + X - -> C @ File | C:/Users/jiten/Downloads/9781350014398_web.pdf Applied Improvisation: Leading, Collaborating, and Creating Beyond the Theatre 45 / 323 92% + 28 APPLIED IMPROVISATION A BURGER, FRIES, AND A SIDE OF IMPROV 29 with an audience to birth the iPod for Burgerville?" Jeff remem- through.'" This insight led to the most transformative innovation 42 bers asking. "The only thing we could see that would get us into for the PDX Burgerville: The abolishment of the counter. that 'Don't know what you don't know' domain was improv." At the PDX location, open since 2014, the crew stands out front Again, Burgerville reached out to On Your Feet as they entered this greeting customers (Figure 1.1). Not only are they able to take unchartered territory. orders without a line or the barrier of a counter, they are also freed Together, we designed the next experiment that took place on a to improvise how they serve customers. Stories abound of PDX rainy November evening in an airport conference room. Burgerville Burgerville employees running forgotten phones and food to people had gathered representatives of the entire PDX community- at their gates, going on a hunt for peppermint tea to soothe some- travelers, vendors, security, and administrators. Using improv, we one's travel tummy, and helping to distract kids cranky from their uncovered what would serve this disparate group in a restaurant. journeys. The Port of Portland told Beth that Burgerville's extreme We started the session with an exercise we call Picture Library, focus on customer needs has raised the bar on service through- where numerous images are thrown on the floor and participants out the airport, contributing to yet another year when PDX was are asked to pick up the image that represents the feeling of being awarded best domestic airport by Travel & Leisure magazine. part of the airport community. As participants described why they'd This was just the beginning of what these community ideation chosen their images, Burgerville learned tons about PDX. As every- sessions would accomplish for Burgerville and the communities they one might imagine, an airport is a world of unpredictability, but it serve. One memorable session focused on a small remodel of an 43 is also a world of camaraderie where people work with friends who existing store in Battle Ground, Washington, about twenty miles remain a comforting constant. north of PDX over the Columbia River. Jeff recalled that Battle To gather further details about what would serve this group, we Ground itself was a community divided along religious and political used an exercise we call Incorporations, but this exercise has been given many other titles. This popular exercise encourages partici- pants to self-organize into clusters of affiliation. For example, to teach the dynamic of the exercise, we might tell participants, "Find others who have something in common with your shoes!" Soon, a brown shoe group, a black shoe group, a flats cluster, and a sneaker FD Burgerville Chris contingent form standing around the room. People must choose one cluster or another, but you can switch clusters at any time. A facili- tator hears from each group about their choice. Once the dynamic is clear, we dive into more relevant questions and hear from each cluster that forms: "What's the best part of being part of the airport community?" "What is most difficult?" "What is the most challeng 44 ng pain point of travel?" We built onto the pain points that emerged from Incorporations using an improv storytelling technique called Verbal Chase (Johnstone 1979: 128-30) to elicit ideas about what could be done to alleviate the inconveniences of travel without overthinking the question. One pain point stood out. Beth recalled that this session validated ideas they had been hearing: "People over and over and over said, 'I don't want to stand in another line,' 'I don't want to FIGURE 1.1 Burgerville's PDX location, December 2014, seven months be a number,' 'I don't want to be just in a queue and processed after opening. This ebook belongs to Kavya Dhanani (dhananikavya@gmail.com), purchased on 12/09/2022 This ebook belongs to Kavya Dhanani (dhananikavya@gmail.com), purchased on 12/09/2022 45 80 F O ENG 4:12 PM Mostly sunny IN 9/14/2022 2My Apps Dashboar X Topic: Homework d X Mail - Jitenkumar L X 28 (28) WhatsApp X Applied Improvisat X Settings X G Read Chapter 1: A[ X Homework Help - ( X + X - - C @ File | C:/Users/jiten/Downloads/9781350014398_web.pdf Applied Improvisation: Leading, Collaborating, and Creating Beyond the Theatre 47 / 323 92% + 30 APPLIED IMPROVISATION A BURGER, FRIES, AND A SIDE OF IMPROV 31 44 lines, compounded by a split between the aspirations of newer and Crews would catch on quickly to the intuitive computers; and if longtime residents. Adding to the heaviness was the community's crews would no longer be spending their focus and energy battling heartbreak over recent teen suicides. The environment was fraught. with the old ordering system, they could spend it making deeper On the day of the ideation session, about twenty-five people from connections with the guests. But they needed training: "Teach them disparate groups in the community showed up to a venue where the how to start to relate to the guest, how to make an offer, how to Nomad was giving away Tillamook Cheeseburgers. Then, On Your accept an offer, how to listen for the clues about what kind of Feet introduced them to improv. "It turned out kind of magical," experience they wanted," proposed Beth, revealing her own mastery remembers Shelley Darcy, a director at On Your Feet, who played of the language of improv. an integral role in most of our work with Burgerville. "People who It wasn't a challenge for us to design a training that could help lived there for two months and people who lived there for 50 years crew members relate differently to their guests. The difficulty was were all in the same boat together." And then, this broken commu- in delivering this training to 1,600 employees across forty-two loca- nity played. They were vulnerable together. Silly together. Beginners tions throughout the Pacific Northwest in a way that was econom- together. And Shelley noted something else that people often say ically feasible for Burgerville. As an outside consultancy, we know about this work, "The playing field was completely leveled." that eventually we need to train ourselves out of the job. The learn- The community had been trying to spark a healing conversa- ing needs to pass from our expertise into the bones of the organiza- 45 tion for a while, but without success-until the ideation session. tion. After ten years, it was time. With that in mind, the Burgerville Subsequently, people from the city of Battle Ground came back to Improv Ninjas were born. Jeff astonished, saying things like, "I just saw something extraor- We trained six high-potential Burgerville employees from around dinary happen. How did that happen?'" Shelley thinks she under- the company to train managers in all Burgerville locations. These stands. Burgerville convened a discussion between a group of people managers, in turn, would train their crews in both the improv skills who otherwise never would have come together. "Through that, to build relationships with customers and the straightforward and through the improv work, really difficult conversations started mechanics of the new POS system. This was also a stealth change to happen in a way that didn't feel tense or heightened. I think just management operation, because, as Beth explained to us, it was the people interacting with each other was a huge step." critical to have manager buy-in when a new system or policy came By this time, On Your Feet's collaboration with Burgerville had from on high. If crews figure out that managers don't like or under- lasted about eight years. Because of the sustained and varied ways stand a new policy or process from HQ, adoption is slow and messy. Burgerville was enabling us to apply improv practices to their busi- Beth attributes the quick adoption of the new POS system largely ness challenges, both our organizations were stretching beyond even to the Ninjas' work training managers. And quick adoption trans- what we knew was possible, touching people beyond the employees lated into fewer mistakes when ringing up orders. Most surpris- 46 we were hired to train, affecting communities beyond the objectives ing to Beth, however, was her discovery that the Ninjas were now we had set out to achieve. looking at everything through an improv lens. One of the Ninjas from the Newberg, Oregon, restaurant, for example, emailed Beth about her store's approach to a new menu launch. The new menus The Fifth Experiment: Scaling Improv got rid of the popular option of "baskets," Burgerville's former ter- minology for adding a drink and a side to a sandwich. After the In 2014 Burgerville was continuing to innovate their business new menu debut, guests kept asking where the baskets went. This and was about to launch a new point of sale (POS) system when Improv Ninja described her crew's reaction. "They shifted from Beth called On Your Feet with a challenge. Much to our relief, 'Now I've got to defend why we don't have baskets,' to 'Oh, it's an Beth explained that she had no interest in On Your Feet teach- offer! They're actually telling me a ton of information!'" Armed ing Burgerville employees the mechanics of their new POS system. with that information, that a guest was looking for the old basket 47 80 F ENG 4:12 PM Mostly sunny IN 9/14/2022 2My Apps Dashboar X _ Topic: Homework d X Mail - Jitenkumar L X 28 (28) WhatsApp X Applied Improvisat X Settings x G Read Chapter 1: A | X Homework Help - ( X + X -> C @ File | C:/Users/jiten/Downloads/9781350014398_web.pdf E Applied Improvisation: Leading, Collaborating, and Creating Beyond the Theatre 49 / 323 - 92% + 32 APPLIED IMPROVISATION A BURGER, FRIES, AND A SIDE OF IMPROV 33 option, the crew could accept the offer by helping the customer add each other, or learn how to accept each other's offers and work 46 a drink and a side to their meal. In other words, crews were behav- together." ing like improvisers. Jeff sussed out our covert agenda when we work with clients. Yes, For us at On Your Feet, hearing about this Ninja's email was as we want to help their businesses, but we are also massive believers much of a signal as we could hope for that we had made a signifi- in the power of applying improv theatre practices to change lives. cant contribution to a profound cultural shift at Burgerville. What Indeed, our lives have all been altered by its practices and their abil- started a decade ago with top leaders performing improv as a way ity to strengthen relationships, to help us find the good in people to model behavior they hoped would cascade down has moved all and situations, and to engage with the world more fully. The begin- the way to the other end of the spectrum: Improv thinking and ning of this improvisational adventure with Burgerville began in behavior is now bubbling up from the ranks to the leadership-and the 1990s when Gary's mother threw a dart at a map. It continues the leadership at Burgerville has both the wisdom and humility to because of leaders who have a deep belief in the power of com- accept that offer. munity, relationship, conversation, and experimentation. For Gary, Looking back on our partnership with Burgerville that spanned Amy, Shelley, and everyone at On Your Feet, it has been incredibly ten years, five big experiments, and a ton of discovery, we asked gratifying to work with such an open and committed organization Jeff to tell us what he thought the benefit was to their organiza- that sees the potential of improv not only for their business but also tion. Before our partnership, Jeff explained, "You would not get for a higher purpose. 4/ anything to go anywhere unless it was what we did yesterday." He credits the improv work for infusing a spirit of experimentation and a willingness to take risks throughout Burgerville's culture that has allowed them to adapt to an ever-changing business climate. Notes Now that they are armed with their own set of Improv Ninjas, Jeff shared with us their thoughts for the role that improv will con- Unless otherwise noted, direct quotations by Beth Brewer and Jeff Harvey as well as most of the follow-up information on how Burgerville has grown from their tinue to play in their organization. We liked what he said so much, collaboration with On Your Feet comes from an interview session Gary facili- we included it at the start of this story and here: "It's a set of skills tated with both Beth and Jeff on August 1, 2016. to reinforce," Jeff observed. "It is the biggest rut-busting approach 2 See also Johnstone's (1999) "You're Interesting" technique. I've ever seen before, but to be effective, you've got to keep at it." We Now that we have seen the effectiveness of improv as a diagnostic for hiring feel the same way about our own practice of improv, always trying teams and customer service providers, we hope this methodology will be more to stay fresh, to stay present enough to ask ourselves, "What's the widely adopted. There's an economic argument to be made for this approach: A meta-analysis by the Center for American Progress found that the typical cost offer here? " even in the most trying circumstances. At On Your Feet of turnover for positions earning less than $30,000 annually is 16 percent of an we often make the analogy of going to the gym. Just like nobody employee's annual salary. Using that figure and a wage of $12 an hour, an improv will ever be "done" getting in shape, improv is a practice that needs workshop built into a hiring event that costs up to $8,000 would essentially pay 48 constant renewal. for itself if it prevented only two bad hires or ensured two good ones (Boushey and Glynn 2012). Jeff sees the importance of improv thinking beyond the restau- rant business: "I'm going to say that we as a people, as a world, are right in the middle of an unknown that we have never seen before. We are in the middle of a fundamental question, which is 'What do we want to become together?' " When Jeff thinks about this new world, he laments the idea of people navigating its challenges with out "the benefit of doing any improv work or training. So, we can either enter this new world by choosing sides and working against This ebook belongs to Kavya Dhanani (dhananikavya@gmail.com), purchased on 12/09/2022 This ebook belongs to Kavya Dhanani (dhananikavya@gmail.com), purchased on 12/09/2022 49 80 F O ENG 4:12 PM Mostly sunny IN 9/14/2022 2My Apps Dashboar X _ Topic: Homework d X Mail - Jitenkumar L X 28 (28) WhatsApp X Applied Improvisat X Settings X G Read Chapter 1: A | X Homework Help - ( X + X - -> C @ File | C:/Users/jiten/Downloads/9781350014398_web.pdf 0 E Applied Improvisation: Leading, Collaborating, and Creating Beyond the Theatre 35 / 323 - 91% + A Burger, Fries, and a Side of Improv 35 Gary Hirsch and Amy Veltman 1 A Burger, Fries, and a Side Gary Neweh and Amy Hillman Gary Hirsch is the co-founder of On Your Feet, pioneering Applied Improvisation since 1998. He is also a visual artist and the creator of Botjoy, a global visual art experiment that uses over 30,000 hand-painted robots to explore collaboration, inspiration, and how art can help people. 36 Amy Veltman is a partner in On Your Feet. She is an award- winning actor and writer who has been studying improv for over fifteen years in New York, Los Angeles, and Portland. She began her career as a professional screenwriter and then worked as a marketing executive before joining On Your Feet in 2010. It's a set of skills to reinforce. It is the biggest rut-busting approach I've ever seen before, but to be effective, you've got to keep at it. JEFF HARVEY, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF BURGERVILLE 37 This ebook belongs to Kavya Dhanani (dhananikavya@gmail.com), purchased on 12/09/2022 This ebook belongs to Kavya Dhanani (dhananikavya@gmail.com), purchased on 12/09/2022 80#F ENG 4:12 PM Mostly sunny IN 9/14/2022 2My Apps Dashboar X _ Topic: Homework d X Mail - Jitenkumar L X 28 (28) WhatsApp X Applied Improvisat X Settings X G Read Chapter 1: A[ X Homework Help - ( X + X - -> C @ File | C:/Users/jiten/Downloads/9781350014398_web.pdf E Applied Improvisation: Leading, Collaborating, and Creating Beyond the Theatre 37 / 323 - 92% + 20 APPLIED IMPROVISATION A BURGER, FRIES, AND A SIDE OF IMPROV 21 The Transformational Milkshake improvisation to their clients' business issues. The budding con- sultancy was developing training and programs to enhance col- Gary Hirsch was first introduced to Burgerville in 1990 when his laboration, presentations, creativity, and communication, asking mom decided to relocate her teenage son, her business, and her questions like, "Is there anything that doesn't have a connection entire life from Ohio to the Pacific Northwest by throwing a dart at with improv?" Then someone would yell out a random profession a map and moving wherever it landed. On the last leg of their 2,500- like, "Lion taming!" and the whole office would riff on how you mile drive west, Gary and his mom crossed the Idaho border into could be a better lion tamer by being a better improviser (e.g. focus, Oregon. They were hot, tired, and driving each other crazy, when work with the unexpected, and don't get eaten!). These were giddy they stopped at what they thought was a typical fast food joint to and experimental times. 35 grab lunch and a much-needed break from each other. Gary quickly It was into this fun-fest that the phone rang at On Your Feet realized, though, that this place was far from typical. The restau- one morning, and Gary was greeted by the deep, jovial voice of Jeff rant was packed, there were shakes made with fresh, local straw- Harvey, CEO of Burgerville. Since their founding in 1961, they've sought to make food that's fresh, local, and sustainable, long before 1 berries, and the delicious burgers were topped with Oregon cheddar. A Burger, Fries, and a Side Suddenly, his mom no longer seemed annoying; she was a pioneer. those became fashionable marketing buzzwords. Instead of a mission He wasn't leaving a life behind; he was starting a new one. As he statement that focuses on growth and productivity, the Burgerville Gary Noweh and Amy Hillman finished his first meal at Burgerville, everything began to look better. mission, "Serve with Love," illustrates the company's deeper com- In 1998, eight years after his mom threw her dart, Gary found him- mitment to their customers, employees, supply chain partners, and self starting On Your Feet, a consulting firm that uses improvisation communities. There's a business case for this regional chain to build as a training tool for business organizations such as Starbucks and connections with their guests, too. Sourcing food responsibly and Nike, a field that would come to be known as Applied Improvisation. compensating workers ethically costs money. Strong relationships He was also teaching this approach at the local university's business with customers are a big piece of how Burgerville stays competitive school. Little did he know that that first milkshake would eventu- despite prices that are a bit higher than the global chain competi- ally lead to a ten-year working relationship between Burgerville and tion. The fantastic flavor of their food is the other piece! Jeff explained that, on an upcoming afternoon, they were going 36 On Your Feet, full of experiments and discoveries that would have a lasting impact on both of their organizations. Amy Veltman leapt to close all their locations early and gather all 1,600 of their staff into the work with Burgerville when she joined On Your Feet in in one place to celebrate a history-making year. As part of this cele- 2010, and her hybrid background in improv, marketing, and screen- bration, they wanted to reinforce their culture, demonstrating their writing helped On Your Feet to recognize and articulate the power- commitment to developing their people. For this unique event, Jeff ful story created by these two renegade organizations. wanted to create "something that would be totally uncommon for The duration of their partnership with Burgerville has allowed employees to engage with senior leadership." As a longtime fan of On Your Feet to both validate and expand much of what they've improv, he had a hunch that exposure to this high-wire art form always believed about improv practices' immense potential to trans- could provide what he was looking for, so someone recommended form a company's culture over time. This is that story. that he give On Your Feet a call. Jeff is a former electrical engineer, active guitar maker, and a The First Experiment: Leadership Models philosopher king whose beliefs are deeply aligned with the prac- tices and tools of improvisation. Even during that first call, he Risk-Taking talked about the importance of collaborative partnerships and showing up with an attitude of possibility and curiosity. Building 37 In December of 2006, On Your Feet was eight years into their on each other's ideas, Jeff and Gary eventually hatched what work, and surprising themselves daily with new ways of applying would be their first experiment together: On Your Feet would give 80#F O ENG 4:12 PM Mostly sunny 9/14/2022 2My Apps Dashboar X Topic: Homework d X Mail - Jitenkumar L X 28 (28) WhatsApp X Applied Improvisat X Settings X G Read Chapter 1: A | X Homework Help - ( X + X - -> C @ File | C:/Users/jiten/Downloads/9781350014398_web.pdf Applied Improvisation: Leading, Collaborating, and Creating Beyond the Theatre 39 / 323 92% + 22 APPLIED IMPROVISATION A BURGER, FRIES, AND A SIDE OF IMPROV 23 36 the Burgerville leadership team a crash course in improv perfor- no director, no script, and an audience of employees, would they mance. Then, with the help of a few On Your Feet team mem- hold back because they might "look bad"? Would they practice and bers, these senior leaders would perform an improv show for their rehearse like crazy in an attempt to "get it right"? Or would they The Trandormsziond bill duke employee base. In this way, they could publicly model the risk- embrace the uncertainty and dive in? Jeff wanted his leadership taking and collaboration behaviors that Jeff was hoping to build team to face these questions together head-on. more of in the organization. Sure enough, the rehearsal process had its hiccups. Jeff recalls As a cornerstone of the two rehearsals we held with fifteen of that when it came to accepting offers, for one of his senior leaders, the organization's top leaders, On Your Feet facilitators gave them it was a "file not found," no matter how many times peers and the a primer on the practices that allow improvisers to co-create some- On Your Feet facilitators gently brought it to his attention. Another thing spontaneously without the benefit of a director or a script: leader just did not enjoy the process. Even so, Jeff had the group, 1. See everything as an offer: Seeing the world as full of "offers" himself included, persist. He had a hunch that something valuable means looking at everything as something you can use. The would emerge from this experiment. On Your Feet team introduced the Burgerville leadership to On the day of the performances, the leadership team showed up two possible dynamics for engaging with offers: accepting jittery, but mostly eager to perform. The hundreds of employees 37 ("yes, and") and blocking ("yes, but" or "no"). The accepting had no idea that they were about to have their leaders "serving" mode is generative and collaborative, helping them problem- them. Because the venue could hold only one-third of the employees solve productively, while blocking shuts down collaboration at a time, the plan was to deliver three separate, unique perfor- and the flow between people. mances, one after the other, for separate groups of employees. This space constraint ended up providing an unforeseen and wonderful 2. Notice more: Improvisers create new ideas by being extremely "offer" for the leader-performers. To create a sense of safety, On "tuned in" to their environment. The simple practice of Your Feet facilitators performed alongside the leadership team on 'noticing more" allows any group to extend the resources stage during the first performance, taking part in "freeze tag" scenes that they have to work with any problem. for example, and leaping in during a lull. For each of the two sub- 3. Be willing to be changed: To create meaningful work together, sequent performances, On Your Feet's improvisers were able to step the collaborating parties need to be willing to be changed by back further and further as the Burgerville performers were increase the opinions, constraints, or offers of the other. ingly able to step forward and make each other shine without the 4. Be "Fit and Well": Gary was first exposed to the memora- afety net of our seasoned performers. ble phrase "Fit and Well," by impro guru Keith Johnstone In the end, the performances were funny; they were strange. in 2002, at the Loose Moose International Improvisation There were awkward moments and moments of brilliance. For all 38 Summer School. It refers to the attitude you bring to any- of it, Gary remembers the crowd going wild at the sight of their thing you do and is easier to understand when you hear its leaders improvising on the stage. The shows were such a hit that, opposite, "Sick and Feeble." When faced with uncertainty, or the second and third performances, we had to turn back folks improvisers make a conscious choice to say to themselves, "I who wanted to see the leaders perform again. Each leader tried don't know what's going to happen, but I know it's going to something new, different, and allowed themselves to be vulnerable be great." This is the essence of "Fit and Well." In our experi- in front of their colleagues, demonstrating that it's okay to "go for ence, choosing to adopt this attitude has a remarkable power it," even if it doesn't always end up perfectly. Together they created to impact any interaction for the better. scenes and stories that employees would be talking about for years to come. We were curious to see what behavior Burgerville leaders would Jeff still remembers how beneficial it was for him and his lead- model when faced with the ambiguity of improvising together. With ership team to share the experience of struggling together with the 39 80 F ENG 4:12 PM Mostly sunny 9/14/2022 2My Apps Dashboar X Topic: Homework d X Mail - Jitenkumar L X 28 (28) WhatsApp X Applied Improvisat X Settings X G Read Chapter 1: A[ X Homework Help - ( X + X - -> C @ File | C:/Users/jiten/Downloads/9781350014398_web.pdf Applied Improvisation: Leading, Collaborating, and Creating Beyond the Theatre 41 / 323 - 92% + 24 APPLIED IMPROVISATION A BURGER, FRIES, AND A SIDE OF IMPROV 25 new skills and mind-set of improv-and then to succeed together have few customers and things are slow?" "What's the offer specific 38 on the stage. Jeff credits Beth Brewer, now the company's chief to serving to kids?" "What's the offer when someone doesn't want innovation and learning officer, with recognizing the deeper poten- to play a game with you?" tial of this single experience. It was Beth who noticed the strong At the time, we saw this work with the Nomad team as a finite analog between the way the team interacted while preparing for engagement to help a specific group achieve two relationship-based this performance and as a team at work, the "applied" part of the outcomes. In fact, this second experiment would have an impact experience. that would only be realized years down the line. Jeff looks back on Burgerville at the moment of this first experi- When the Nomad's peak season cooled, many of its crew mem- ment as having a culture deeply resistant to change. He knew that, bers headed back into the fixed Burgerville locations. Beth noticed a as CEO, he would have to send a signal-a loud one-that it was difference in those who had been through the Nomad improv train- okay to do something with an unknown outcome and a real risk of ing when she visited them in stores. They seemed to be better lis- failure. Only his modeling of that behavior would give the orga- teners and bigger risk-takers, and they readily created connections nization permission to behave similarly. This experiment was the with fellow team members and customers. They built on the ideas first step in creating a company culture for Burgerville that would of others and were confident in their actions. Beth observed, in the be agile and innovative enough to thrive during changing times dispersed Nomad crew, behaviors she wanted for all Burgerville 39 ahead. As for On Your Feet, even at this early stage in our relation- employees. ship, Burgerville seemed like an exciting partner for our own giddy Two years later, as Beth thought about optimizing Burgerville's experimentation. hiring process for a new location, she wondered how she could screen for people who had a strong capacity for the behaviors she'd seen among the Nomad crew. After all, she knew that Burgerville The Second and Third Experiments: could train almost anyone to grill well, but to help Burgerville with Building Great Teams their mission of contributing to their communities, they wanted to find service-oriented people with the capacity to relate well to In 2010, Burgerville reached out to On Your Feet for our second others. It was then that Beth got in touch with On Your Feet again experiment together. They asked us to help the crew of their travel- to create our third experiment. ing food truck, The Nomad, to quickly build relationships with cus- Though we had not yet applied improv to the hiring process, we tomers as they road-tripped from site to site in the Pacific Northwest. understood at once that Burgerville wasn't scouting for talented During pre-interviews with the Nomad crew to find out more about stage performers. Instead, they wanted to evaluate in real time their needs, Amy remembers the team expressed an additional a candidate's ability to work collaboratively, think on their feet, need for tools to work better with each other in the tight, steamy have a positive attitude in the face of the unknown, and step out- 40 quarters of a food truck on long road trips in the height of sum- side their comfort zone to make connections with people. In other mer. To help this mostly young crew create an instant relationship words, Burgerville was looking for people who had an improviser's with guests and build stronger relationships with each other-even mind-set. under stress-we designed a two-day deep-dive into the practices As we began our session design, we started by asking ourselves we had shared with the leadership team four years earlier. To make what the ultimate improv partner might look like. How do they sure the practices stuck, Burgerville wisely built into our contract a allow for flow and possibility to flourish? We landed on a single follow-up where we visited the Nomad crew on site while the truck evaluation question, which both the On Your Feet facilitators and was parked in front of the Portland Children's Museum. Our job a Burgerville observer would answer after a session with the poten- was to side-coach the crew in real time to notice, create, and accept tial candidates: "Who would you want to be on stage with?" If you more offers in their real environment: "What's the offer when you ask an experienced improviser this question, they can give you an 41 This ebook belongs to Kavya Dhanani (dhananikavya@gmail.com), purchased on 12/09/2022 This ebook belongs to Kavya Dhanani (dhananikavya@gmail.com), purchased on 12/09/2022 80 F ENG 4:12 PM Mostly sunny 9/14/2022 2My Apps Dashboar X Topic: Homework d X Mail - Jitenkumar L X 28 (28) WhatsApp X Applied Improvisat X Settings X G Read Chapter 1: A | X Homework Help - ( X + X - - C @ File | C:/Users/jiten/Downloads/9781350014398_web.pdf Applied Improvisation: Leading, Collaborating, and Creating Beyond the Theatre 43 / 323 92% + 26 APPLIED IMPROVISATION A BURGER, FRIES, AND A SIDE OF IMPROV 27 40 immediate (often instinctive) evaluation. Improvisers want to work wasn't loud or showy, but she was present with her scene partners with fellow performers who are easy to interact with, who accept far and pushed herself to keep stepping forward. Largely on our rec- more offers than they block, and are comfortable in their own skins. ommendation, she was hired. Now, Beth tells us, she is training to They want to be on stage with someone who's focused on making become a manager. Along with going through a Burgerville intern- their fellow players look good by giving them "gifts" that make it ship program, Beth credits improv tools with helping this young easier to develop the scene. Most importantly, they want to be on woman blossom. stage with someone who can give the story what it needs rather than Ever since this hiring experiment in 2012, for all new restaurant putting effort into controlling the story and hogging the limelight. hiring events, Burgerville has used the question "Who would you The design of the event itself was simple. Candidates were put want to be on stage with?" to identify both unlikely leaders and through two rounds of traditional one-on-one interviews with hidden risks, building a more collaborative culture of employees Burgerville employees in a local hotel ballroom for an evaluation chosen for their ability to relate with others. of the standard qualifications such as work history, education, and availability. For candidates who made it through the standard interviews, much to their surprise (and sometimes dismay), round The Fourth Experiment: Building a two was a thirty-minute callback to participate in an Improv 101 41 Wider Community class in a meeting room across the hall. We (truthfully) assured can- didates that we were not looking for them to be funny or evalu- In 2013 Portland, Oregon's transportation authority, the Port ating how well they improvised; we just wanted them to have a of Portland, asked Burgerville to open a location at Portland good time and try something new. The game of Presents (Johnstone International Airport (popularly known by its IATA code PDX). 1979: 100-101) was our way of introducing the idea of offers. We Jeff's immediate reaction was "No thanks." While the airport might continued with exercises such as I Am a Tree (Workbook 7.1) to have been viewed as a coveted high-revenue concession for a quick give people opportunities to step forward, interact with each other, service restaurant, the opportunity didn't look like it would for- and build on others' offers. ward Burgerville's commitment to building community, at least not This hiring experiment yielded some surprising results. One can- at first glance. Jeff was thinking of the airport as a place that people didate's improv audition unearthed behaviors that didn't show up pass through, not a place where people convene and connect. What during his standard interview, where he had seemed like an ideal changed his mind was a conversation with Bill Wyatt, the Port of candidate. Without watching him improvise with others, we, too, Portland's executive director, who focused on the port's role in the would have hired this friendly guy on the spot. However, when the region's economy, how it moves agricultural products to market, improv began, on multiple occasions when he got on stage with stimulates business, and creates jobs. As the meeting progressed, it 42 women, his comments became alarmingly personal for a profes- became clear that the Port of Portland saw Burgerville as an innova- sional setting. He was not an improviser we would want to be on tion partner to forward their own mission. Perhaps by supporting stage with, and we recommended that Burgerville not hire him. the port, Burgerville would be advancing its mission, too. However, As this methodology for evaluating candidates was new, and the challenge remained: How to create a sense of fresh, local, sus- he had come across so strongly in the other parts of the process, tainable community at this location? Burgerville hired him anyway. Within a week, Beth recalled, they Beth and Jeff wanted to talk to the actual people who used and had a significant HR issue on their hands. Even we were surprised worked within the airport. However, they knew they didn't want to learn that a thirty-minute improv diagnostic had so effectively to make this interaction a focus group where suggestions were put ferreted out a red flag on a candidate. on the table for people's reactions. They wanted the community Another candidate came across as remarkably shy during the conversation to begin without any preexisting assumptions about basic interviews. However, she showed up as an improviser. She what this audience needed. 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