Getting to Yes And: A Practical Review for People Who Work in Teams

What this book wants to change

Getting to Yes And begins by separating improvisation from comedy and from desperate invention. Kulhan presents it as a trained way of noticing, adapting and communicating when the plan meets a reality that nobody fully predicted.

That distinction matters to me. In technology and transformation work, improvisation is already happening. A dependency moves, a stakeholder adds information or a test exposes an assumption. The useful question is whether people react alone and defensively or adapt together with enough structure to protect the outcome.

The book then moves through acceptance, personal presence, energy, teamwork, ideation, silos, leadership and implementation. It is ambitious, but the through line is clear: improv becomes valuable at work only when it changes what people actually do.

The book is strongest when improv stops being an interesting idea and becomes a visible choice in the next conversation.

What I found most useful

The most useful material is the translation from principle to business behaviour. The Story of a Lifetime case on print pages 19 to 25 shows a group separating idea generation from evaluation, developing several possibilities before choosing and then turning the result into a concise pitch. It gives divergent and convergent thinking a practical rhythm.

I also like the repeated emphasis on transfer. Kulhan does not treat a lively workshop as success by itself. He asks what participants will say, practise and change when they return to work. The accountability material on print pages 201 to 205 is especially relevant for facilitators because understanding a concept silently is not the same as being able to explain or use it.

The examples are concrete enough to imagine in a billing transformation, a leadership meeting or a workshop with several functions in the room. That makes the book more useful than a collection of inspirational improv principles.

Where I would use it

I would recommend this book to managers, facilitators and project leaders who need a credible bridge between improv and organisational life. The chapters on teamwork, ideation and silos are particularly relevant when people have expertise but struggle to combine it.

It is also useful for anyone who has to explain applied improvisation to a sceptical audience. Kulhan understands that business participants want to know why an exercise matters, what behaviour it develops and where it can be used. His language is direct and he takes that question seriously.

For my own work, the best lesson is to keep the transfer specific. A team does not need to adopt an improv identity. It may only need to postpone judgement for ten minutes, invite one outside perspective or acknowledge a concern before defending the plan.

Where I would be careful

The tone is energetic and sometimes forceful. I enjoy that in many places, but some readers may want a shorter route to the practice. Several exercises are embedded inside long stories, which makes the book less convenient as a quick facilitation manual.

Some examples come from senior corporate programmes and United States business culture. A facilitator still has to adapt the language, status dynamics and level of risk for the people actually in the room. Yes And must never become pressure to agree, disclose more than someone wants or support a weak decision.

I would also handle the broad communication ratio mentioned on print page 60 with care. I would not present one percentage formula as a general rule for every conversation. The more durable point is simply that body, tone, words and context all influence how a message lands.

My verdict

Getting to Yes And is one of the clearer books for showing that business improv can be rigorous without becoming rigid. It offers a strong argument, memorable cases and enough practical material to change a workshop or meeting.

I would not copy every story or instruction directly. I would choose one idea, simplify it for the group and connect the debrief to a real behaviour. Used that way, the book earns a place beside the workshop plan rather than only on the bookshelf.