Work, we are often told, is the opposite of play. As Harold Geneen, the CEO of ITT (1959-1977) put it memorably, management’s goal is “to make individuals as predictable and controllable as the capital assets for which they are responsible.” The result today? Workplaces where no one wants to work, where innovation is in decline, and where customers are frustrated. So work makes many miserable.
But not everyone. In the world’s fastest growing firms today, work can incorporate a spirit of productive playfulness. In truth, it’s leisure that is the opposite of work, not play. A mindset of productive playfulness in the workplace can help to:
· Create workplaces where talented staff want to work
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· Enhance collaboration.
· Accelerate innovation at work.
· Generate work that is inherently motivating.
· Delight customers, and:
· Inspire meaningful lives.
What Is Productive Playfulness?
Productive playfulness is a mindset of openness, curiosity, creativity, and a willingness to take considered risks, in collaboration with others, with a view to producing positive outcomes for all.
As usual, the ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, has given us clues. Several millennia ago, he noted: “Two extremes in discussions: being too serious and dull and being too frivolous—which is dull in its own way. Between these two lies a mental quality that Aristotle called eutrapelia, or ‘good-turning’: being able to change direction playfully from serious to fun and back, engaging others in a rich, but also lighthearted, discussion.”
Thus, balance is vital. Context and timing are essential. Imposed buffoonery may be even more painful than extreme tedium. Different kinds of playfulness will make sense at different times, with some people, and not with others. And playfulness by itself is not a panacea: it needs to be woven together with all the other elements of 21st century management.
What Productive Playfulness Is Not
It’s also key to understand what productive playfulness isn’t. Thus, it’s not:
· ‘Play for its own sake’: Productive playfulness is not a matter of clowning around for its own sake. Pointless frivolity can become a significant distraction from getting things done.
· ‘Compulsory off-sites or gaming’: Nor does it have much to do with exercises where managers take staff from their tightly regimented workplaces to off-sites where they are required to engage in specified kinds of gaming or sports, only to return them to their tightly regimented workplaces suitably “refreshed.” Is it collaboration or competitiveness that has been strengthened?
· “Anything goes”: Nor is genuine playfulness in the workplace about letting everyone do whatever they wanted. The gaming firm, Valve Corporation, famously tried that and it didn’t work.
· “Adjacent play spaces:” Nor do adjacent play spaces necessarily create a playful mindset. True, some workplaces need “off-ramps.” For example, at Tesla, where work consists of grueling 12-hour shifts, it can make sense to providing play spaces in its factories, where staff can “let off steam.”
The point is that productive playfulness is a mindset, not an activity or a physical place. Business school professors and traditional managers can miss its potential, even when it’s right in front of their eyes.
2008: Google’s Culture Of Playfulness
Take the case of Google. In 2008, Eric Schmidt as CEO of Google met with more than a score of the world’s most influential management experts, assembled by management guru Gary Hamel, as an input for the “Moonshots for Management” initiative. The meeting took place in Silicon Valley. Schmidt, as the CEO of the leading Silicon Valley firm at the time, explained in detail how Google staff self-organized. Google managers were there for advice and guidance, not control. A video of the entire conversation is available here.
Schmidt explained how “everybody here [at Google] understands that the model of governance has gone from hierarchical to empowered.” Staff had 20% free time to work on what they wanted. Google’s careful selection process ensured recruiting staff who wanted to innovate. A strong shared vision and culture were also important: staff did what they liked doing within clear boundaries.
The professors were dubious that an organization could be driven by something as vague as culture.
Schmidt said, “What is most interesting about Google,” said Schmidt, “is the way in which the culture is expressed. It’s very difficult to describe it, but when you’re in it, you know exactly what it is. …. The culture defines the outcome and the culture is one with innovation.”
Was it replicable? Schmidt said “It starts with listening. It has to do with curiosity. And there is a style that’s involved that can be learned.”
The assembled group of management professors were not convinced. “Won’t you face brain drain? Won’t the people you have trained then go off to some other startup or start their own company?”
“Basically,” Schmidt replied, “it’s about attracting and motivating the top talent. The top people want to work in creative organizations. And it’s true in many industries. People know where they want to work.”
The professors were so worried that this would lead to chaos that they expressed the hope that this kind of management would not spread.
Unsurprisingly, Google and its management approach were not even mentioned in the final report of the “Moonshots For Management.” Instead, the report contained a list of challenges to be pursued by improving methods, tools, and processes, rather than making the leap to a new way of thinking. (Figures 1 and 2).
2024: Playfulness Is Just One Aspect Of Reimagining Management
Now 16 years later, Google (renamed Alphabet) has gone on to become a $2 trillion company that is still one of the fastest growing firms. Over the years, staff ideas have led to innovations such as Google Maps, and Gmail. Google continues to dominate Search, despite Microsoft’s massive effort to catch up. YouTube service is dominating video streaming. And Waymo’s driverless cars are now starting to serve the whole of San Francisco. In his book, Work Rules (2015), Lazslo Bock, the visionary head of Google’s innovative People Operations, explained the multiple ways in which playfulness was fostered at Google, way beyond the widely-publicized ping-pong tables and free food.
Moreover, Google (aka Alphabet) is not alone. Some 20% of public firms of all sizes and many different sectors are moving in the same direction and growing fast as shown in Figure 3.
With the help of productive playfulness, organizations can start to upend their thinking and make the leap to realize their potential as flowing, life-giving, creative, and value-creating organisms. Instead of remaining a pile of inert rules and processes, the organization can come alive. A spirit of playfulness can include a disposition that includes integrity, compassion, and empathy, as opposed to deploying commands, controls, and processes focused on short-term profit. Playfulness can’t do it alone, but it can help.
