Happy Accidents: The Transformative Power of "Yes, and" at Work and in Life

By David Ahearn, Frank Ford and David Wilk

Stop saying 'no' to opportunity, and start saying 'yes' to possibility

Happy Accidents is your personal guide to transforming your life. As we take on task after task, responsibility after responsibility, we lose sight of who we are and why we're doing what we do; we rush through the day completing a to-do list, but we never really seem to accomplish the things that are most important. What goals do you have for your life? What steps have you taken toward them today? Consider this book your guide to getting back on track to your dreams and help inspire those around you. It's not about doing more or doing less, it's about making what you do worthy of the effort. From forging new relationships, stepping out of your comfort zone, and reframing your work—start valuing these as empowering choices you get to make toward a particular goal every day.

To preserve our precious time and energy, we often default to 'no,' yet this only closes the door to our growth, while a 'yes' opens up a world of possibilities. The secret is adding 'yes, and' to our lives. This seductively simple turn of phrase opens the doors to better collaboration and positive relationships, and invites self-sustaining opportunities into our world. 'Yes, and' helps you get from where you are, as an individual or organization, to where you want to be.

No person or organization is an island, and none of us reaches our goals alone. This book shows you how to build on the power of open-mindedness, cultivate supportive relationships, and adopt a win-win mindset to reignite your purpose and unleash your best.

• Harness the power of team collaboration, cooperation, and creativity
• Reframe 'mistakes' and 'bad ideas' into 'Happy Accidents' that lead to opportunities
• Communicate more effectively by learning how to listen actively and build on the pertinent information
• Relinquish some degree of control to allow for more growth and discovery

Children have a natural inclination toward curiosity. As we grow into adults, our curiosity gradually takes a back seat to obligations, responsibility, and duty—but that spark remains, and can be reignited. Don't spend your life adrift in a sea of 'could've, would've, should've'—take back your sense of purpose, positivity, joy, time, and energy with the power of Happy Accidents.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wiley
• Release date: Aug 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9781119428664

Book preview

Praise for Happy Accidents

If you are looking to unleash human potential in your organization, there is no better place to start than with the power in two words, ‘Yes, And.’ If you need proof of concept, this book and the entrepreneurial vision and lessons of the authors will provide a pathway.

—O. HOMER EREKSON, John V. Roach Dean and Professor of Managerial Economics and Strategy, Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University

Working with Four Day Weekend changed my life. They instilled confidence in me and helped me believe in my own ability to impact the world in a positive way ’ by making people laugh and feel good.

—CRISTELA ALONZO, Actor, Writer, Comedian and Producer

This book is a must-read for people who yearn for a new way of working, thinking, doing and creating a better world.

—ERIK WAHL, New York Times bestselling author of Unthink

Read this book and heed its words ’ the ‘Yes, And’ philosophy can work wonders by opening minds and inspiring your family, your company, and your community to make the seemingly impossible happen.

—BETSY PRICE, Mayor of Fort Worth, Texas

"Happy Accidents sets the table for creating a positive attitude and a better way of seeing the world, which impacts our lives in everything we do. From school to work to home, this is a great read about an optimistic approach to life that benefits all of us."

—MIKE MONCRIEF, Businessman, Philanthropist, former Texas State Senator and former Mayor of Fort Worth, Texas

HAPPY

ACCIDENTS

The Transformative Power of

YES, AND at Work and in Life

David Ahearn,

Frank Ford,

and David Wilk

Founders of Four Day Weekend Comedy

Entrepreneurs-in-Residence at The Neeley School of

Business at Texas Christian University

Wiley Logo

Cover Design: Wiley

Cover Image: © DonNichols / Getty Images

Copyright © 2017 by Four Day Weekend, Inc. All rights reserved

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Ahearn, David, 1969- author. | Ford, Frank, 1967- author. | Wilk, David, 1966- author.

Title: Happy accidents : how yes, and thinking helps you open hearts, change minds, and win together in a no, but world / by David Ahearn, Frank Ford, and David Wilk.

Description: Hoboken, New Jersey : John Wiley & Sons, Inc., [2017] | Includes bibliographical references and index. |

Identifiers: LCCN 2017025189 (print) | ISBN 9781119428565 (cloth)

Subjects: LCSH: Attitude change. | Acquiescence (Psychology) | Creative thinking. | Success.

Classification: LCC BF327 (ebook) | LCC BF327 .A34 2017 (print) | DDC 204/.4—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017025189

To our family, our friends, and our fans:

This happened because of you.

You inspired us. You gave us a chance to shine.

We couldn’t dream of what we’ve accomplished without you.

And to you, our readers:

Listen to each other. Learn from each other. Laugh together.

It’s the best way to improve the world.

May Yes, and transform your lives

as much as it did ours.

CONTENTS

Fourword

IntroductionHow to Reset Your Mind-set From No, But to Yes, And

You’re Already an Improviser

1 How to Harness the Power of 
Positive 
Collaboration

Getting Into Comedy 101

Our First Happy Accident: 
Discovering the Power of We

In Yes, And We Trust

Chapter 1 Intermission

When One Door Closes, ­Opportunity Knock-Knocks

Conscientiousness

The Origin of an Idea

Chapter 1 Highlights

Chapter 1 Exercise

2 Life’s All About the Leap, Not 
the Landing

Opportunity Isn’t Opportunity, 
Unless We Choose to Seize It

Renting Our First Starter Home

Chapter 2 Intermission

Manifestation Is When Intention Meets Belief

The Curtain Rises

Shared Passion Creates Fertile Ground for Success

The Happiest of Accidents

The Goal We Share Together We Achieve Together

You See a Rainy Wedding Rehearsal and We See a New Theater

Chapter 2 Highlights

Chapter 2 Exercise

3 How to Get the Maximum Return on Improvisation (ROI)

Value Your Staff and Customers and They Will Value You

Chapter 3 Intermission

In Improvisation, the Setback or Perceived Mistake Can Be the 
Next Great Thing

Chapter 3 Highlights

Chapter 3 Exercise

4 How to Treat Your Coworkers Like Artists and Poets

Can Someone Please Teach Me to Be Authentic?

The Call of Hollywood

Chapter 4 Intermission

The Work Is What Matters

Hollywood’s on Line 1

Chapter 4 Highlights

Chapter 4 Exercise

5 Why a Controlled Life Is the Enemy of a Happy Life

(A, P, A), E, I, O, U, and 
Always, Why?

The Age of Poi-Zen (Our Breakup)

Chapter 5 Intermission

The Age of Re-Zen (Our 
Big Makeup)

Chapter 5 Highlights

Chapter 5 Exercise

6 How ­Being a Better ­Listener Makes You a ­Better ­Communicator

Crisis, Party of Six, Your Table 
Is Ready

Would You Like Your Financial ­Meltdown on White or Wheat?

Chapter 6 Intermission

Pull Up a Deck Seat on the Titanic and Enjoy the View

Lifeboat, Party of Six

Chapter 6 Highlights

Chapter 6 Exercise

7 Why There Are No Mistakes, Only Higher and Lower Percentage Choices

Relationships

Chapter 7 Intermission

Vision

That’s the Spirit!

Chapter 7 Highlights

Chapter 7 Exercise

8 How to Transform Your Labor of Love Into a Masterpiece

It’s Raining Congressmen and Congresswomen

20 Seconds from Another Happy Accident

Chapter 8 Intermission

Building a Yes, And City

Chapter 8 Highlights

Chapter 8 Exercise

9 When All Else Succeeds, Leap Again

Take Ownership of Your Choices

Chapter 9 Intermission

Practice Genuine Appreciation and Authenticity

Pen to Paper to Passion 
to Product

Yet Another Happy Accident, but This One Has Wings

Chapter 9 Highlights

Chapter 9 Exercise

10 It Takes a Village, Idiot

Chapter 10 Intermission

Chapter 10 Highlights

Chapter 10 Exercise

Encore Exercises

Gift-Giving Exercise

I Get To Exercise

Shared-Experience Exercise

Gratitude Exercise

Index

EULA

List of Illustrations

Introduction

Figure 0.1 Current Four Day Weekend cast. From left to right: Anthony Bowling, Ray Sharp, Oliver Tull, Josh Roberts, Andrew Hamer, Troy Grant, Frank Ford, David Wilk, David Ahearn

Chapter 1

Figure 1.1 This is what the corporate ladder looks like at Four Day Weekend. Notice how we’re helping each other up? From top to bottom: David Wilk, Frank Ford, Ray Sharp, David Ahearn, Oliver Tull, Josh Roberts

Chapter 2

Figure 2.1 Illustration by Dan McMahan

Figure 2.2 The interior of the Four Day Weekend Theater in 1997

Chapter 3

Figure 3.1 Early Four Day Weekend cast. From left to right: Oliver Tull, Frank Ford, David Ahearn, Josh Roberts, Ray Sharp, David Wilk Photo Credit: Joseph Victor Stefanchik

Chapter 4

Figure 4.1 The cast of Get Lost

Chapter 5

Figure 5.1 This sign hangs in the cast’s dressing room, as a reminder to have fun.

Chapter 9

Figure 9.1The Maccabee on the Mantel

Figure 9.2 The Secret Blue Butterfly

Chapter 10

Figure 10.1 From left to right: Oliver Tull, Ray Sharp, Frank Ford, David Wilk, David Ahearn

Figure 10.2 From left to right: Cristela Alonzo, Frank Ford, Oliver Tull, Anthony Bowling, Josh Roberts, Andrew Hamer, David Wilk, David Ahearn, Troy Grant

Fourword

Over the years, through various political, civic, and business engagements, we’ve had the privilege of getting to know some of the most talented, dynamic and, in rare cases, truly exceptional people anywhere. Four Day Weekend’s founding members David Ahearn, Frank Ford, and David Wilk are among them. We are honored to call them our friends, and proud to call them Fort Worth’s Greatest Ambassadors.

Our shared Happy Accident started some 20 years ago, mostly on a whim. It was early on in their entrepreneurial and artistic journey, and the authors, along with another founding member, Troy Grant, made the auspicious decision to launch an improvisation and sketch comedy theater company in, of all places, our beloved city of Fort Worth, Texas. It was a leap of faith with clear risks and an uncertain landing. It took real courage, one borne of a belief in possibility and the power of the words Yes, and to change their lives for the better.

To give you context, our city had never witnessed their kind of comedy before, and for their part, they’d never witnessed a city as wonderful as ours. And so formed the beginnings of a beautiful bond that has blossomed from a risky experiment into a 20-years and counting, massively successful Yes, and experience. It’s one that has touched the lives of thousands of people, and we can proudly say it has forever changed our city and our cultural landscape for the better. It has brought our people closer and made us feel a deep sense of pride about our home.

Four Day Weekend’s philosophy of Yes, and offers an enchanting way of drawing hearts and minds together. It helps us recognize that life and work are best played as a team sport. It leads us toward placing value on a shared purpose, shared vision, and a shared experience for what can be a more optimistic, enriching, and supportive life experience for all.

To us, and our broader Fort Worth family, it means one other thing: taking care of each other, no matter what. It’s true in times that are good and in those that are challenging. It applies to all of us’friends, neighbors, strangers and especially those in need. At times we are called upon to lift up our fellow citizens, and do our part. That’s the Fort Worth way, it’s a message of belief in an empowered community, that none of us as individuals are as good as all of us as a city, and a family working in harmony together. It’s not always perfect, but it works well. And it honors those with whom we get to experience this preciously short gift of life.

Four Day Weekend reflects a spirit of goodwill and of brotherhood, of making something from nothing, celebrating the good that we can realize together, and the joy we can discover in life. The authors cast their egos aside in favor of working together to achieve more together. They learned how to be successful and how to give back. They are truly a team, and their success is a great reflection of it.

When we were asked to contribute to this book and Four Day’s unique version of success, we felt honored to lend them our support. And now, we are thrilled to lend you our support and invite you into their world of Happy Accidents.

Enjoy the leap. Support your community. The landing will take care of itself.

Mike and Rosie Moncrief

Mike is a successful businessman and philanthropist who served as Mayor of Fort Worth from 2003 until his retirement in 2011. Rosie has been a community leader for more than 30 years and hasn’t yet retired from the front lines of Fort Worth.

Introduction

How to Reset Your Mind-set From No, But to Yes, And

Imagine there’s a world where every idea you ever have is not only accepted but so fully embraced that it literally transforms the community where you live, love, work, and play. Sound Pollyannaish? Even crazy? It’s not.

If you’re like most people, your BS detector might be buzzing right about now. So we ask you to simply silence your Skeptical Sam or Negative Nancy alarm and cast aside your doubts for this reading.

Those of us who discovered the power of Yes, and have found a world of possibility that exists, a real place where positive outcomes rule – and a genuine way of living a more joyful and fulfilling life is the norm. You might be looking for this place and this way of life. If so, welcome home.

Yes, and is a way of manifesting the very best that life has to offer us. By saying Yes, and, we invite into our lives the people and the situations and the opportunities that conspire to make all our dreams come true.

This is the world of improvisation (our world), the world where Yes, and and Happy Accidents – positive disruptions to the routine pattern of everyday life – are the norm. This is the world where our comedy group, Four Day Weekend, has resided and experienced many Happy Accidents for more than 20 years. Our success is a testament to the power of improvisational philosophy, where we as individuals commit and contribute to helping each other, thereby making ourselves as individuals and as a group look better each day.

If you don’t believe us, consider this surprise. Our little comedy show was originally slated for a limited six-week run back in early 1997. So what happened? A Happy Accident. We became the longest-running show in the Southwest. To date, we’ve performed more than 5,700 shows to more than a million people around the globe. We’ve been awarded the Key to the City of Fort Worth, Texas, and were named Small Business of the Year. We’ve delivered a keynote address to the United States Congress and performed for two US Presidents, for hundreds of Fortune 500 companies, for the armed forces abroad – and we’ve worked with students, teachers, police officers, plumbers, professors, bankers, and entrepreneurs, just to name a few.

Today, in addition to running our comedy theater, a student training center, and corporate workshops, we’re also Entrepreneurs-in-Residence at the esteemed Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University. All of this was made possible with the help of two little words: Yes, and. These words truly changed the shape of our lives.

Image described by caption.

Figure 0.1 Current Four Day Weekend cast. From left