It's easy to forget the difference between business and 'busyness,' to get caught up in the adrenaline rush of deadlines without thinking about what we're really doing, or why we're doing it.

This fall, about 30 people from the Company of Friends cell in Ottawa, Ontario turned to Ken Godmere, 37, founder of an improvisational comedy club called the Institution, to learn how to use improv skills in business settings high in what Godmere calls 'hecticity.'

'Hecticity can either charge you up or shock you. It's a sign that we're alive in this society - that we're humming. But people can get overwhelmed,' Godmere says.

Fast Company traded punch lines with Godmere to learn how to handle a job high in hecticity. Here's what he suggested.

Don't Wait for Resources. When we moved into this location, the layout wasn't great for sketch comedy. There was no backstage. So I dropped the sketches, even though they were the most popular part of our show, and concentrated on pure improv. There was a time when I would have waited to open a club until I could get the space I needed. But when I was a video producer in Toronto, I learned that you've got to take what you've got and do what you can - until you get what you need to do what you want.

Be a Special Generalist. It's important to be flexible, and to remember that the only person you're really able to count on is yourself. So be on top of the world, but know that if you sit on it, it might pop. You may have to find a new career entirely. When change comes along, go for it. The longer you wait, the further away from yourself you are.

Defer Payment. How much is a comedy show worth? I talk to audience members as I seat them to ensure that people feel like they belong. Improv is hit or miss. Some people will laugh; some won't. But at the end of the show, when I finally ask them to pay, they'll pay two or three times more, because they'll feel like the show was just for them.

Coordinates: The Institution, www.3dcomcomcom.com; Ken Godmere, ken.godmere@sympatico.ca