“Yes, And” vs. Forness® Thinking
As part of our work, we always teach participants the Forness® mindset for creativity to ensure that ideas are allowed to flow and flourish during ideation and even during convergence. We start by talking about what happens when ideas are shared: how the brain breaks ideas up into the parts we like, the parts we have questions about, and the parts we have concerns about. We ask teams whether they typically gravitate toward the negative or positive, and like clockwork, most teams say negative.
Why We Lean Toward the Negative
So why does this happen? It’s because of Negativity Bias, the tendency to give more attention to, and to be more influenced by negative information than positive. It’s about fearing loss more than appreciating potential gain. It’s an innate bias that everyone has, and it comes out when new ideas are shared because new is often seen as scary and risky.
Negativity Bias most often shows up in the form or “Yes, But” behavior. This is how it usually plays out:
What is said – “It’s going to cost too much,” “It’s going to take too many resources,” “We’ve tried that before,” etc. th
What behaviors are exhibited - People shut down and stop sharing ideas, they start to pick apart other people’s ideas, they stop paying attention, and arguments can even break out.
What feelings arise – People can feel dismissed, frustrated, angry, or even stupid.
And finally, what happens to the ideas – We wind up with smaller, fewer, less innovative ideas.
Is “Yes, And” the Answer?
Here’s where you might be thinking that “Yes, And” is the antidote to “Yes, But.” And that’s not entirely wrong. We sometimes use “Yes, And” illustratively to set up a method that works even better.
Here’s the activity we lead before teaching the creative mindset to demonstrate the difference between “Yes, And” and “Yes, But.” It’s called Plan a Party! We break everyone into pairs and ask them to plan a party together to celebrate the success of their newest product launch. There is no budget. The only rule is that when one person suggests something, the other person has to respond with “Yes, And” and then suggest something to add to the party. This quickly gets out of hand, resulting in rooftop parties in Shanghai with gold lamé couches, a beach scene with real sand on the floor, expensive champagne with fireworks in the flutes and entertainers dancing on the bar! (yeah, that was a real party we went to, but I digress).
After they’ve planned the party, we have them plan a new party, but the only rule is that when one person shares an idea, the other person has to respond with “Yes, But,” give the reason and then suggest something else, and so on. This quickly drains the energy out of the room and results in either a really boring party, or no party at all.
It becomes pretty obvious why “Yes, And” has its merits, but isn’t perfect:
The benefits of Yes, And: ideas are flowing.
The drawbacks of Yes, And: ideas are out of control and unrealistic.
The benefits of Yes, But: hard to find any, but at the very least, it keeps things grounded.
The drawbacks of Yes, But: ideas die.
Enter Forness® Thinking
When using Forness® thinking or Forness® mindset, the first thing you do when an idea is shared is identify what you are FOR in the idea: What you like, What’s good about the idea, What’s useful, and What’s the potential in the idea. That gives the idea a fighting chance. And there is no rule to what you can be “for.” You can be “for” any part of the idea, even the most inconsequential part. The idea may not be perfect, but there is something you can find in it that works for you, and then you can use that as a springboard to get even more ideas. In ideation, quantity is key, so anything we can do to promote more ideas is helpful.
Turning “Yes, but…” into Wishes
The next part of Forness® mindset is to take those concerns we spoke about earlier and state them in a more productive way. Instead of “Yes, but that won’t work because…” you share what you WISH FOR to make the idea work better for you. Sentence starters like “I wish,” “How to,” and “How might we,” get the ball rolling:
“Yes, But it’s going to cost too much,” turns into “How might we make it more affordable.”
“Yes, But it’s going to take too many resources,” turns into “I wish we could partner with so-and-so to leverage their capabilities.”
“Yes, But, we’ve tried that before,” turns into “How might we learn from the last time, and what’s different today that could make things work better.”
These statements provide a way to express concerns in a problem-solving way without shooting the entire idea down. And, once stated aloud, other people start chiming in with solutions that solve your problem. Not only does this result in solutions, it usually also results in the generation of several more ideas (yes, quantity again)!
The Benefits of a Forness® Mindset
Using Forness® thinking in ideation sessions and in regular meetings has a positive impact on both the dynamics of the group and on the content of the meeting. Forness® thinking:
Keeps the good alive in every idea and potential solution
Pushes toward solutions (and more ideas)
Creates a safe environment where people feel more comfortable expressing themselves and taking risks
Promotes teamwork and collaboration, always a plus.
Saves time – no more arguing about what’s wrong with ideas
Try Forness® Thinking at Home
If you like Forness® thinking at work, you’ll love it at home too! With the Holidays coming up, arguments are sure to break out over what to do, where to go, what gifts to buy, what vacations to take, what food to prepare, and who to invite. Even if your friends and family don’t know about Forness® mindset, you can use it on them. They might look at you funny, because you are using language in a different way than they are used to. But the result is the same as in meetings.
Try Forness® thinking at work with our helpful guide below! Fill out the form and take the mindset back to the office!