Posted on Jul 2, 2012

The Competitive Advantage of Playfulness

Do you still know how to play?

When you are at the beach, do you still bring your pail and shovel to build sand castles? Its ok if you have to build the biggest sand castle (achievement is another differentiating value).

If you walk outside and someone sprays you with water, do you jump at the chance to grab a hose and spray them back? Maybe you go looking for the super-soaker!

We are all still kids at heart, regardless of age.

In the late 1980s, there was a hit movie called BIG, with Tom Hanks. It’s a romantic comedy about a 12-year boy who makes a wish “to be big” and is then aged to adulthood overnight. The boy-in-a-mans-body goes and gets a job working in for a toy company. Not surprisingly, he makes a big impression on the company’s owner with his extensive knowledge of current toys and his happy-go-lucky childlike enthusiasm.

Hanks does a superb job of reminding us that we should never lose our ability to play.

While many parts of life can be serious, there should still be room for playfulness. This also applies to business.

The Value of Playfulness

As a differentiating value, Playfulness means full of fun and high spirits; a disposition that creates amusement.

What business leader wouldn’t want to see their employees filled with passion (high spirits) about their work and visibly enjoying what they are doing? Of course, there are always certain expectations and deliverables to be produced.

Is it possible to have our cake and eat it too?

There is a popular quote that speaks volumes to the need for playfulness:
“The happiest people are those who discover that what they should be doing and what they are doing are the same thing.” — unknown

This suggests the following formula:
Competence + Playfulness = Happiness

Who can Play

I once read a story about a scientist who loved his work. He was happiest when engrossed in his research. It could be said that he lived for his work.

After many years working for the same company the scientist passed away.

When the manager was cleaning out this scientist’s desk he found numerous paychecks – un-cashed. Why? Because he had been too busy enjoying his work to go to the bank (this was before the days of direct deposit).

Now, before you go ahead and think that the employer was taking advantage of this scientist, consider the following:

We’re not surprised to hear the world’s best musicians practice hours every day, including weekends. They choose to do this.
We expect our top athletes to eat-sleep-drink their chosen sport to reach the top, and remain there. This is also their choice.

Does this mean it’s all work and no play? It doesn’t have to be. As indicated by the formula above, playfulness is the bridge between competence and happiness.

If it works for professional musicians, athletes, and even scientists, it can work in business too.

From Culture to Community to Competitive Advantage

In business, the value of playfulness might seem an obvious choice for employee retention or increased productivity. Financial analysts can easily calculate the ROI, and how this helps keep costs down.

But how do customers and the broader community benefit from this value? And how can marketers play with this?

In a previous post – Is FUN too frivolous for Business? – I addressed how some organizations have embraced fun as a differentiating value. These include Zappos, Cxtec, and AthenaHealth. Such organizations have figured out how to better connect employees with customers and even developers and channel partners.

Thanks to increased transparency and available technologies, it is easier than ever to connect directly with all types of employees. Employees can post comments on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. They can produce videos and post on YouTube and Vimeo.

Don’t stop them. Empower them to invite others to join the fun.

Employees at such organizations are also turning to the power of crowdsourcing to solve key problems. This is a newer, faster and more effective way to connect and engage various sources of innovation, including customers, even competitors, and the global community.

So, if you are a marketer and you can see the benefits of playfulness inside your organization, now is a great time to encourage others outside your organization to join the fun. By tapping everyone’s enthusiasm and the disposition that creates amusement, you can form a nice tight community.

And that’s a formidable form of competitive advantage!