Say “Yes, And”
Accept reality as it is, then choose how you’ll build on it to move forward with greater confidence, flexibility, and possibility.
Bloomsbury · November 12, 2026
How to
Handle
Anything
Four improv principles for navigating life’s curveballs
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The premise
Master ambiguity, and everything else becomes manageable
Drawing on more than a decade spent training leaders and teams — plus a career that has taken her from executive boardrooms and high-growth companies to TED and the improv stages of The Second City — Mary Lemmer translates four core principles of improv into a practical, research-backed toolkit for navigating uncertainty with greater resilience, creativity, and confidence.
It’s a guide for anyone who wants to meet the unplanned, the unexpected, and the unscripted with a little more steadiness, and a lot more joy.
The Principles
Core Four Principles
When life throws curveballs, these principles help navigate whatever happens.
Take Everything as a Gift
Reframe every challenge, setback, or unexpected moment as valuable information that can teach you, strengthen you, or open a new path.
Play the Scene You’re In
Let go of the scene you expected and fully engage with the one you’re actually in, focusing on what you can do right now.
If It Feels Weird, Do It
When your usual approach isn’t working, lean into the unfamiliar — because new choices create new possibilities.
About the author
Mary Lemmer
Mary Lemmer is an author, speaker, and creative entrepreneur who helps individuals, teams, and organizations create what doesn’t yet exist and navigate uncertainty when there is no script to follow. She created The Improve Method™ by combining lessons from entrepreneurship, venture capital, leadership at a fast-growing startup, and more than a decade of designing and leading workshops for companies including Google, Verizon, Square, TED, and Pfizer.
A graduate of the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, Mary trained in improvisation at The Second City, the Upright Citizens Brigade, and The Groundlings. She gave the TED Talk “How Improv Can Improve Your Leadership and Life,” hosts the How to Handle Anything podcast, and writes the Life, Improvised Substack.
Learn more about Mary →As featured in
The New York Times
Fast Company
Forbes
Thrive Global
Say Yes, And
Keep Handling Anything
Collaborate
Handle Anything
Bring How to Handle Anything and The Improve Method™ to your organization through keynotes, workshops, and leadership experiences that help people communicate, adapt, and handle anything.
Explore speaking & workshops → ListenHow to Handle Anything
Conversations with writers, leaders, and improvisers about the curveballs they’ve had to navigate.
Listen now → SubstackLife, Improvised
Weekly personal stories and practical techniques for navigating life’s unpredictability.
Read the latest →Praise
What early readers are saying
“I’ve long believed improv builds some of the most valuable skills for leadership, including presence, communication, collaboration, adaptability, creative thinking, and the ability to operate under uncertainty. In How to Handle Anything, Mary Lemmer translates those principles into an accessible, practical guide for navigating the unpredictability of work and life.”
— Dick Costolo, Former CEO of Twitter and Co-founder and Managing Partner, 01 Advisors
“Much of our suffering comes from the belief that we can control what was never ours to control. In How to Handle Anything, Mary Lemmer uses improvisation principles to help readers explore a different way of meeting life — one grounded in presence, flexibility, and a willingness to engage with, and not control, what’s here.”
— Jerry Colonna, author of Reunion: Leadership and the Longing to Belong
“Mary Lemmer understands better than most the undeniable power of an improvisational practice to bolster our relationships, improve our daily work and to build a better life.”
— Kelly Leonard, Vice President of Creative Strategy, Innovation and Business Development at The Second City, Inc.
“We never can control what happens in life, but we can choose how we show up. Lemmer’s How to Handle Anything offers a compelling, refreshingly human guide to navigating uncertainty with presence, adaptability, and intention — the skills that matter now more than ever.”
— Susan McPherson, Founder and CEO of McPherson Strategies, author of The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Business Relationships
“Improv principles are catchy enough to actually remember — which means you’ll actually use them. Backed by real neuroscience, tested in real lives, and written with the warmth and humor you’d expect from someone who found her way out of adversity by learning to say yes, and.”
— Ori Amir, Neuroscientist and Professor
Get the book
How to Handle Anything
Published by Bloomsbury. Available wherever books are sold.