Last month we reviewed The Rules of the Red Rubber Ball, looking at Kevin Carroll’s suggestions on how to find that passion and his seven rules to press forward.  Now, let’s take this one step further with the notion that play and work can coexist.  As stated by Mark Twain, “Work and play are words used for the same thing under differing conditions.”

Carroll begins his book by taking the reader back into their childhood.  Our childhoods were filled with using our imagination, being resourceful, planning, designing, and taking risk.  For me that meant building a Barbie house out of cardboard boxes, pretending the tree house was a home, or the idea of being the piano player for one of the famous popstar bands (one I refuse to name). Carroll argues that our childhoods strengthened our resolve, gave us courage and instilled confidence.  

So why as an adult do play and work seem so contradictory?  Why do organizations not see the value in incorporating play at work? Carroll discusses how our play behavior has been replaced by institutional processes and boundaries, with our productive instincts stifling our ability to be creative.  In the book, Carroll outlines research on the merits of play:

Spontaneous play and fantasy help children learn about the world, cope with life’s pressures, and how to process negative emotions:

• Role-playing prepares us for real-life situations
• Group play teaches us to socialize and cooperate
• Play provides an opportunity for self evaluation and reflection

There are two types of play introduced in the book: playful play and productive play.  Carroll believes productive play can easily weave into our work, or be the work itself.  This includes play that has consequences, a specific outcome and outcomes rather than pure pleasure.  Examples include producing a tangible thing, such as a new and better widget, or playing tennis to win a tournament.  With this in mind, it seems reasonable to believe we can move beyond our traditional thinking that play only exists in the margins of our lives, weekends and vacations only, and look for ways to incorporate play into our work.   

Carroll studied and interviewed dozens of successful leaders, looking at their play histories and current work.  He found that in their childhoods these individuals enjoyed many different activities, developed a variety of skills, and a number of experiences were accumulated to be used later in life for a completely different purpose other than play.  Carroll’s framework in the book helps the reader see the play-work connections in others.  This includes exploring five elements of play with multiple components within each element:

Innovation: scenario planning, mobility and freedom, improvisation and imagination, being part of a community, a passion for building things, inventing within constraints and the ability to be resourceful.  

Results: problem solving, tinkering, bringing people together, visualization, and inclusion.
Teamwork: people-centered pretending, igniting the imagination of others, bringing out the best in others, intellectual creativity, creating imaginary worlds, pushing boundaries, and being resilient.
Leadership: being nimble on your feet, a team of friends, sports, challenging what’s possible, permission to try, coaching, and resiliency.
Curiosity: building and creating, embracing the unexpected, boundless imagination, practical invention, everything, creating joy for others, and skill and instinct.

He encourages the reader to reflect back on their childhood, isolate the core mental activities that stimulated them as a child and look for ways to incorporate them in your current role.   In each element within the book are lists of resources to reawaken that particular element in your life.  As stated by Carroll, “in order to play at work you have to be willing to work at play!”