Influx

Early in November, Influx commented on Douglas Ruskoff’s latest book about innovation “Get Back in the Box”. Douglas has been using his blog to highlight some of the issues he covers in his book. His final post on the book contains one of his most provocative thoughts.

“Indeed, as my lectures bring me from industry to industry, I find myself amazed by just how little fun most people are having. Whether separated from one another by policy, competition, or cubicle, the last thing that seems to occur to people is to have fun together-when it should be the first priority. Instead, managers feel obligated to reign over employees; executives think they must hoodwink their shareholders; sales believe they must strong-arm their clients; and marketers assume they must manipulate the consumer. All for the life-or-death stakes of the next quarterly report.

Instead of relentlessly pursuing survival even after our survival needs are met, we must learn how to do things because they fulfill us- because they are, in a word, fun. Fun is not a distraction from work or a drain on our revenue; it is the very source of both our inspiration and our value. A genuine sense of play ignites our creativity, eases communication, promotes goodwill and engenders loyalty, yet we tend to shun it as detrimental to the seriousness with which we think we need to approach our businesses and careers.”

It’s a smart wake up call for all of us trying to bring creativity and ideas to our clients. If we can’t make the process fun, what’s the point? It’s up to us to lead the charge and bring fun and play back into the mix because that’s where innovation and creativity lie. Intense seriousness and pressure strips the fun and soul out of ideas and that’s a terrible place to be.