Why Play Works.

Playful Methods To Cultivate Playful Attributes

How do you use playfulness and LEGO® to make an impact on something as serious as climate change?  Lucy Hawthorne is the founder of Climate Play. She is a facilitator, LEGO® Serious Play® practitioner and campaigner at heart. She was an environmental campaigner and a social issues campaigner for about 15 years, helping ban fracking in the UK before starting Climate Play. Despite this success she was able to reflect that ultimately they weren't deeply changing people's minds and hearts on the issues.  Through Climate Play they create conversations, events and actions that people actually want to be involved in rather than only feeling like they should. Things to consider * Play isn’t being super extroverted - it’s having a sense of humour. * Playfulness and perfectionism are complete opposites. * “Outcomes are not meant to be playful, but our process is.” - Yana Buhrer Tavanier * Make play accessible * Practicing playfulness is an ongoing journey * The need to be light footed, create space for experimentation, and try different ways of doing things * Playfulness is about giving people choice and agency Links * Lucy Hawthorne LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucyhawthorne/] * Climate Play [https://www.climateplay.org/] * Yana Buhrer Tavanier - How to recover from activism burnout [https://www.ted.com/talks/yana_buhrer_tavanier_how_to_recover_from_activism_burnout?language=en] * Carol Dweck - Growth Mindset [https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/40745] * Catherine Wilkes’ Shoopery [https://www.theshoopery.com/]

Restoring the world as a strange place of wonder

Have you ever entered a meeting and instantly been set up to fail? Do organizations really want to change or just be seen to change?  Consultants also get stuck in this game where they want to bring in more play and creativity and the organization thinks they should change but won’t. This is a challenge that Steve Chapman has encountered many times and has to overcome “vanilla compromises” that leads to no change.  He does this through compassion and care, improvisation and subtle tactics like changing the space used.  Steve is an artist, writer, and speaker interested in creativity and the human condition. He's spoken around the world on the subject of creativity and culture and worked with over 80 organizations in many sectors to help free them from ever tightening loops of common sense. He holds an MSC with distinction in organization's culture and change, and has held roles of visiting faculty on a number of MSC programs at Ashridge Business School, the Meno Institute, and Ruffy Park as an artist. He sold his work across seven continents, exhibited alongside the lights of Pablo Picasso and David Trigg, and has held a number of successful solo exhibitions in Central London, Hampshire. Things to consider * What is the difference between work and life? * How do we get paid more for the things that feel like play? * Can compromise lead to something that makes no difference * Nietzche sums it up for Steve, “learning to see the world as strange makes us un home in the everyday and thereby restores it as a potential place of wonder.” * Learn to see the world as strange.  * Ask curious questions. Links * Escape from Freedom, Erich Fromm [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25491.Escape_from_Freedom] * Barry Mason, Safe Uncertainty [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/26344041211063125?journalCode=husa] * Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice, Shunryu Suzuki [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/402843.Zen_Mind_Beginner_s_Mind] * The (Not A) Lost Cat Project [https://www.canscorpionssmoke.com/lostcat/] * Sound of Silence Podcast [https://open.spotify.com/show/5rxjX4BNmtbK53OntljzGQ?si=8bc681a6e9a64371] * Arny Mendell [http://www.aamindell.net/] * Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace, Gordon MacKenzie [https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/100469] * Can Scorpions Smoke [https://www.canscorpionssmoke.com/]

Creating a Playful and Purposeful Workplace

What is the point of play? Is it just acting like a child at work? Nicole has grown children's brands, Ella's Kitchen and worked at informal creative agencies, and also in corporate environments.  She has identified over the course of her career 10 key qualities that make up a child's lens on business framework that Nicole shares in detail in this episode.  Nicole believes the whole point of play is to have no point. It is not frivolous. It is a vehicle for connection that can have important benefits for employers including staff retention through greater relationships, willingness to collaborate, general wellbeing and happiness and ultimately better results flow from it. “Play is like magic tea!” Nicole extols. But it is NOT just having playful games to be done between the doldrums of work. In this episode explore the definition of play and its deeper meaning beyond just fun in the workplace and the results it will bring.  Discussion highlights: * The role of play in creating connections and fostering better communication * The benefits of incorporating playfulness in both personal and professional settings * Overcoming barriers to play in corporate environment * Applying a child's lens to business brings qualities such as confidence, creativity, resilience, and collaboration. Key things to consider * Creating a culture that encourages creativity and innovation can have a transformative effect on an organization. * Playfulness has to be embedded in the culture. It should be integrated into the culture of an organization rather than treated as a separate activity. * Having playful areas at work to use between work is not being playful at work * To be playful at work and access your playful side, look through the eyes of a child * A positive and inclusive organizational culture should encourage creativity, innovation, and collaboration * A supportive culture can significantly impact employee engagement, productivity, and overall company success

Pringles, the gift that keeps on giving

Ace thinks play is wonderful. He sees it as explorative and unstructured, where we scan the world in which we exist and see all of the opportunities to push, prod, dig and learn. Scott thinks play is annoying and that playfulness is where it’s at.   Despite disagreeing on these fundamentals Scott and Ace work together at Envoy providing executive guidance; supporting partnership negotiations; facilitating leadership retreats; guiding strategic planning; and mediating conflict.   They teach these disciplines through talks, workshops, and executive programs. In this episode, we delve into the power of building momentum and playfulness (or play) in the way we work work. Our guests share experiences and thoughts on how intentional and regular doses of play and laughter can transform our approach to challenges and create a positive environment where different kinds of conversations can emerge. Their work involves building partnerships and exploring the intersection of technology, behavioral economics, and psychology. While Scott and Ace are experts in handling tough conversations they bring a lightness and playfulness to the way they do it  - they take the work seriously but not themselves.  Discussion Highlights: * When a stickman starts doing the YMCA dance during a serious tech demonstration, highlighting the inherent joy of playfulness. * The impact of intentional play in loosening people up and facilitating discussions about opportunities, risks, and privacy in partnership contexts. * The importance of consistently nurturing playfulness rather than resorting to it as a last-ditch effort. * The value of momentum and creating space for play in our lives, allowing us to tap into it when needed most. * How play and playfulness can be a great way to shift energy Things to consider * Is being skeptical about play at work just being a curmudgeonly bastard? * Where do you find flow most often? * When you are using your energy to deal with serious issues you don’t have the energy to take yourself seriously. * Building momentum and intentionally incorporating playfulness into our lives creates a reservoir of joy and resilience that we can tap into when facing challenges. * Play is not a desperate last resort; it's a powerful tool that should be nurtured regularly to enhance creativity, problem-solving, and overall well-being Links * Envoy [https://envoynotes.com/] * Scott Wayne LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottxwayne/] * Ace Callwood LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/acecallwood/] * Envoy Recorded Radio [https://envoynotes.com/envoy-notes/category/Envoy+Recorded+Radio] Get in touch! Make Work Play [https://my.captivate.fm/www.makeworkplay.co.uk] Playfilled [https://my.captivate.fm/www.playfilled.com]

Play isn’t an activity, it’s an attitude

Start a conversation with, “do you think a hotdog is a sandwich?” and see the playful reaction.  Catherine Price is an advocate of bringing people together in a playful manner whether it’s a conversation with a stranger, a dinner party, at work or even Zoom. Catherine helps people scroll less, live more, and have fun.  She is a science journalist, speaker, teacher, consultant, and the author of several.  Catherine is also the founder of ScreenLifeBalance.com [https://www.screenlifebalance.com/], a resource hub dedicated to helping people create more intentional relationships with technology and reconnect with what really matters to them in life.  Things to consider * Create deeper and engaging conversations with people by asking more interesting openers * Bantering with people is a form of play * There's often an assumption that only certain activities qualify as play. * Play and fun aren’t an activity they are an attitude or a feeling * Fun and playfulness actually bring us closer together  as human beings. * If you do have to use willpower to keep doing some activity that's being marketed to you as play, then it's not play anymore. * Fun is any moment when three states coincide; playfulness, and connection and flow. This can definitely happen at work. Even on Zoom! * Rules and structure can give people permission to be playful in an unexpected context. Links * Catherine Price Website [http://catherineprice.com/] * The Art of Gathering [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-art-of-gathering-how-we-meet-and-why-it-matters-priya-parker/588739?ean=9781594634932] by Priya Parker * The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-power-of-fun-how-to-feel-alive-again-catherine-price/16503842?ean=9780593241400], by Catherine Price * How to Break Up With Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life [https://bookshop.org/p/books/how-to-break-up-with-your-phone-the-30-day-plan-to-take-back-your-life-catherine-price/265958?ean=9780399581120], by Catherine Price * Vitamania: How Vitamins Revolutionized the Way We Think About Food [https://bookshop.org/p/books/vitamania-how-vitamins-revolutionized-the-way-we-think-about-food-catherine-price/219459?ean=9780143108153], by Catherine Price Get in touch! Make Work Play [https://my.captivate.fm/www.makeworkplay.co.uk] Playfilled [https://my.captivate.fm/www.playfilled.com]