the play ethic: lessons from play in an adverse economic climate

PLAY IS LIKE SEX

WWW.THEPLAYETHIC.COM

2 JUNE2009LONDON

WHO AM I? I AM A PLAYER

A FOUNDINGEDITOR OFSUNDAYHERALDNEWSPAPER,1999

1 MILLION RECORDS SOLD (1987-2009)

PLAYED WITH MADONNA, U2, JAMESBROWN, VAN MORRISON, RAYCHARLES, AL GREEN

RELAUNCHED SUCCESSFULLY LASTYEAR @ WWW.HUEANDCRY.CO.UK

AUTHOR OF THE PLAYETHIC (MACMILLAN2004) - BOOK, BLOG,CONSULTANCY

WWW.THEPLAYETHIC.COM

SO I’M INTOPLAY…

WHERE IS PLAY?

EVERYWHERE!

iPODS, CAMPHONES, NETBOOKS…

GAMES BIGGER THAN MOVIES…

GAMBLING ON AND OFFLINE…

RISE IN LIVE PERFORMANCE &SPORTS ATTENDANCE

CARNIVALS, FESTIVALS,THEMED CITY BRANDING…

NEVER MIND WEB CULTURE…

MARX TODAYWOULD BEWRITING ‘DASKARNEVAL’…

WHY DO WE PLAY?

PLAY IS LIKE SEX

…IT’S FUN THAT FULFILLS ANEVOLUTIONARY TASK

SEX IS FUN THATPRODUCES BABIES

PLAY IS FUN THAT PRODUCES ASENSE OF LIVELY OPTIMISM,HELPING US TO TRIUMPH OVERLIFE’S INEVITABLE CHALLENGESBRIAN-SUTTON SMITH, ‘PLAY THEORY’, AMERICAN JOURNAL OFPLAY, SUMMER 2008

WHAT IS PLAY?

PLAY IS ‘ADAPTIVEPOTENTIATION’

WE MIMIC OR MOCKSURVIVAL THRU OURVARIETIES OF PLAY -TOYS, TOOLS,GAMES, PRACTICES

BRIAN-SUTTON SMITH, THE AMBIGUITY OFPLAY, (HARVARD 1997)

B4 ‘INNOVATION’ &‘CREATIVITY’ …THERE’S PLAY

WHAT USE IS PLAY TO MANAGEMENT?

DO YOU VALUE…..

PLAY CAN BRING THIS….

OPTIMISM AND ENERGY?

WILLINGNESS TOEXPERIMENT & TRY OUTNEW ROLES?

REAL COMMITMENT TO A ETHOS?

…BUT THE PLAYFULORGANISATION IS RARE…

BECAUSE PLAYFUL SELF-ORGANISATION ISEVERYWHERE…

WHY IS THE PLAYFULORGANISATION RARE?

….IT’S CALLED THE INTERNET

THE INTERNET IS A “GROUND OF PLAY”

SAVANNAH PLAYPARK INTERNET

ALL THREE:…HAVE LOOSE BUT ROBUST GOVERNANCE…ENSURE A SURPLUS OF TIME, SPACE, STUFF…TREAT FAILURE, RISK, MESS ASDEVELOPMENTAL NECESSITIES

WHAT ARISES FROM THE NET’S“GROUND OF PLAY?”

FOR BUSINESS, IT’S NOT INSIGNIFICANT…

A NEW,COLLABORATIVESHARING ECONOMY

& A GENERATION OFPLAYERS (NET +GAMES ≠ WORKER)

BIG ORGANISATIONS & THE ‘PLAYGROUND’…CLOSE THEM DOWN? OR BUILD YOUR OWN?

’S ‘TWENTY PERCENT RULE’

THEIR ‘GROUND OF PLAY’ WITHIN THE ORG

LOOSE BUTROBUSTRULES

SURPLUS OFTIME,SPACE,STUFF

RISK & MESSIS HEALTHY

GOOGLE’SBENEFIT:CONTINUOUS,PASSIONATEINNOVATION &PRODUCTIMPROVEMENT

THAT’S OK FOR GOOGLE…BUT ANYONE ELSE?

A ‘PLAY ETHIC’ NOT SUITABLE FOR ALLBUSINESSES AND ORGANISATIONS…

GOOD FOR START-UPS (NOT JUST HI-TECH)

GOOD FOR PUBLIC SECTOR (STRONG G-O-P)

GOOD FOR VERY LARGE, STABLE CORPS(NUFFSLACK TO CREATE SKUNK-WORKS)

NOT GOOD FOR COMPANIES IN TIGHTMARKETS (TOO PANICKED TO VALUE G-O-P)

BUT…

NOT GOOD FOR LOW-SKILLED INDUSTRIES(PLAYERS NEED AUTONOMY, NOT ORDERS)

PERHAPS IT’S ONLY A NEW POLITICALECONOMY WHICH COULD ENABLE THATGROUND OF PLAY FOR ALL SECTORS…

COULD THE 35-HOUR WEEK BRING THEGOOGLE “TWENTY PERCENT” TO EVERY ORG?

COULD COMPANY LAW SUPPORT TRUSTS,COOPERATIVES, MUTUALS - NEW FIRMS FORTHE SHARING ECONOMY OF THE NET?

… IN SHORT, THE BIGRULES OF THECAPITALIST GAME ARE UPFOR BEING CHANGED…

…BUT IN THISDIRECTION??

…”YOU NEVER WANTA SERIOUS CRISIS TOGO TO WASTE…”

RAHM EMMANUEL,NOV 2008, WSJ

LISTENTO THEBIGGESTPLAYERS

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