Life in the (not-so) new role…

I’m conscious that I’ve not written anything here for many months since I signed on the dotted line to join my current employer, a global investment bank in Birmingham. Initially things were just too busy and more recently I’ve not known what to write, but with a new year comes a renewed enthusiasm for picking up habits which have lapsed and a motivation to start writing.

The new job has been going well and I’ve learnt an awful lot in the past 7 months or so. I’m enjoying working in a truly global team, perhaps spending more time on the phone working with colleagues in Frankfurt than I do talking to those sat next to me here in Birmingham. I’ve enjoyed my visits to Germany too and have been brushing up on my basic German, although I’m still not confident enough to use it on my colleagues. I do enjoy listening to them though and trying to work out what they are saying. It has also been interesting to learn about some of the more quirky aspects of German employment law. Last summer, shortly after I joined, I spent 5 weeks delivering training to our 2015 Global Graduate class, which was an amazing experience and I am looking forward to doing the same again this year when the next cohort joins. Continue Reading…

10 Reasons to Learn through Improv

This post was originally found on my business blog and has been reposted here in May 2015.

Recently I blogged over on my personal blog about my journey into the world of improvised comedy.

Since writing that post, I’ve been thinking about all the reasons why I think learning through improv is great. Here are ten of those reasons.

1. “Yes, and…” is a great mantra

Anyone that knows anything about improv, will know that the fundamental principle is “Yes, and”. In practice, this means you have to listen and observe what has happened, accept it and build upon it.

Although simple in theory, this can be a challenge for some people. You have to resist the urge to forge ahead with your own idea or to shout down your partner. Instead you must think about how you can take their idea and improve upon it. Accepting other’s ideas and building upon them is an important lesson in business. No one wants to work with the negative person that ignores or criticises every idea someone else puts forward. They want to work with people they can collaborate with to build something great. Continue Reading…

Applying improv to life and business…

Over the past two years I have been introduced to the wonderful world of improv comedy. It all started when my partner signed up for an 8 week Foundation in Improv course with ComedySportz UK Manchester back in autumn 2012. He’s always been fairly shy and thought improv would be a great way to step out of his comfort zone, improve his confidence and have some fun. Soon enough he was addicted and trying to encourage me to get involved. I started watching lots of improv shows and once I had also got to know most of the ComedySportz UK crew, I was being roped into signing up for the classes as well. Continue Reading…