Friday Mar 22, 2019
"The Princess and the Pea Principle"
Aaron Schmookler / Adam Utley
Co-Founders The "Yes" Works
Introduced by: Clint Merriman
Our brains are wired to resist change. That’s the biggest impediment to progress, innovation, and even problem recognition. In this presentation, Aaron will give you a high level overview of what makes for an innovation culture, and take a deeper look at one important key — recognizing opportunities.
About the Speaker
The Yes Works was founded in 2014 by Aaron Schmookler and Adam Utley.
A love of collaboration and of excellence in communication has driven Aaron Schmookler to make a career building teams and nurture creativity. After graduating Summa Cum Laude from Oberlin College, Aaron began work in the corporate world, gaining appreciation for his ability to communicate, to innovate, and to find the opportunity for constructive change in every crisis.
In his career, Aaron’s career has had work in outdoorsmanship, theater direction, teaching, sales, and corporate training. Once, he thought that was a hodge-podge. Working with teams in a diversity of companies including Microsoft, Mod Pizza, Boots to Business, Stronger Families (Fortune 100s and small nonprofits) has shown him that the principles of effective relationships he’s learned are universally applicable, profoundly valuable. His career is unified by leadership, training, and humanity.
Adam Utley, as a co-founder of The Yes Works, has directed his 16 years of Improvisation experience towards helping businesses, large and small, solve the problems they think can’t be solved. Since graduating from Pacific Lutheran University in 2004, Adam has found that no matter what the setting, a regular practice of Improvisation habit gives people the confidence to synthesize their own ideas with the ideas of others. Together, in that way, they attain a height greater than they imagined. Having the audacity to value your own brilliance with the genius of the people around you is in your best interest.
Regardless of age or profession, the intention is the same; to nurture creative connections that engage self-education–connections grounded in empathy and a sense of one’s self. When these things come together, a company culture forms that’s conducive to great work ethic, employee retention, and stellar work product.
Adam is proud of his ongoing investment in making Improvisation habit accessible to all human brains, regardless of profession.
A love of collaboration and of excellence in communication has driven Aaron Schmookler to make a career building teams and nurture creativity. After graduating Summa Cum Laude from Oberlin College, Aaron began work in the corporate world, gaining appreciation for his ability to communicate, to innovate, and to find the opportunity for constructive change in every crisis.
In his career, Aaron’s career has had work in outdoorsmanship, theater direction, teaching, sales, and corporate training. Once, he thought that was a hodge-podge. Working with teams in a diversity of companies including Microsoft, Mod Pizza, Boots to Business, Stronger Families (Fortune 100s and small nonprofits) has shown him that the principles of effective relationships he’s learned are universally applicable, profoundly valuable. His career is unified by leadership, training, and humanity.
Adam Utley, as a co-founder of The Yes Works, has directed his 16 years of Improvisation experience towards helping businesses, large and small, solve the problems they think can’t be solved. Since graduating from Pacific Lutheran University in 2004, Adam has found that no matter what the setting, a regular practice of Improvisation habit gives people the confidence to synthesize their own ideas with the ideas of others. Together, in that way, they attain a height greater than they imagined. Having the audacity to value your own brilliance with the genius of the people around you is in your best interest.
Regardless of age or profession, the intention is the same; to nurture creative connections that engage self-education–connections grounded in empathy and a sense of one’s self. When these things come together, a company culture forms that’s conducive to great work ethic, employee retention, and stellar work product.
Adam is proud of his ongoing investment in making Improvisation habit accessible to all human brains, regardless of profession.