2 JUNE
2009
LONDON
WWW.THEPLAYETHIC.COM

WHO AM I? I AM A PLAYER
1 MILLION RECORDS SOLD (1987-2009)
PLAYED WITH MADONNA, U2, JAMES
BROWN, VAN MORRISON, RAY
CHARLES, AL GREEN
RELAUNCHED SUCCESSFULLY LAST
YEAR @ WWW.HUEANDCRY.CO.UK
A FOUNDING AUTHOR OF THE PLAY
EDITOR OF ETHIC (MACMILLAN
SUNDAY 2004) - BOOK, BLOG,
HERALD CONSULTANCY
NEWSPAPER,
WWW.THEPLAYETHIC.COM
1999
SO I’M INTO
PLAY…

WHERE IS PLAY?
EVERYWHERE!
iPODS, CAMPHONES, NETBOOKS…
GAMES BIGGER THAN MOVIES…
GAMBLING ON AND OFFLINE…
RISE IN LIVE PERFORMANCE & MARX TODAY
SPORTS ATTENDANCE WOULD BE
WRITING ‘DAS
CARNIVALS, FESTIVALS, KARNEVAL’…
THEMED CITY BRANDING…
NEVER MIND WEB CULTURE…

WHY DO WE PLAY?
PLAY IS LIKE SEX
…IT’S FUN THAT FULFILLS AN
EVOLUTIONARY TASK
SEX IS FUN THAT
PRODUCES BABIES
PLAY IS FUN THAT PRODUCES A
SENSE OF LIVELY OPTIMISM,
HELPING US TO TRIUMPH OVER
LIFE’S INEVITABLE CHALLENGES
BRIAN-SUTTON SMITH, ‘PLAY THEORY’, AMERICAN JOURNAL OF
PLAY, SUMMER 2008

WHAT IS PLAY?
PLAY IS ‘ADAPTIVE
POTENTIATION’
WE MIMIC OR MOCK
SURVIVAL THRU OUR
VARIETIES OF PLAY -
TOYS, TOOLS,
GAMES, PRACTICES
B4 ‘INNOVATION’ &
‘CREATIVITY’ …
THERE’S PLAY
BRIAN-SUTTON SMITH, THE AMBIGUITY OF
PLAY, (HARVARD 1997)

WHAT USE IS PLAY TO MANAGEMENT?
DO YOU VALUE…..
OPTIMISM AND ENERGY?
WILLINGNESS TO
EXPERIMENT & TRY OUT
NEW ROLES?
REAL COMMITMENT TO A ETHOS?
PLAY CAN BRING THIS….
…BUT THE PLAYFUL
ORGANISATION IS RARE…

WHY IS THE PLAYFUL
ORGANISATION RARE?
BECAUSE PLAYFUL SELF-ORGANISATION IS
EVERYWHERE…
….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 AS
DEVELOPMENTAL NECESSITIES

WHAT ARISES FROM THE NET’S
“GROUND OF PLAY?”
FOR BUSINESS, IT’S NOT INSIGNIFICANT…
A NEW,
COLLABORATIVE
SHARING ECONOMY
& A GENERATION OF
PLAYERS (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 BUT
ROBUST
GOOGLE’S
RULES BENEFIT:
CONTINUOUS,
SURPLUS OF PASSIONATE
TIME,
SPACE, INNOVATION &
STUFF PRODUCT
IMPROVEMENT
RISK & MESS
IS HEALTHY
THAT’S OK FOR GOOGLE…BUT ANYONE ELSE?

A ‘PLAY ETHIC’ NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL
BUSINESSES AND ORGANISATIONS…
GOOD FOR START-UPS (NOT JUST HI-TECH)
GOOD FOR PUBLIC SECTOR (STRONG G-O-P)
GOOD FOR VERY LARGE, STABLE CORPS(NUFF
SLACK TO CREATE SKUNK-WORKS)
BUT…
NOT GOOD FOR COMPANIES IN TIGHT
MARKETS (TOO PANICKED TO VALUE G-O-P)
NOT GOOD FOR LOW-SKILLED INDUSTRIES
(PLAYERS NEED AUTONOMY, NOT ORDERS)

PERHAPS IT’S ONLY A NEW POLITICAL
ECONOMY WHICH COULD ENABLE THAT
GROUND OF PLAY FOR ALL SECTORS…
COULD THE 35-HOUR WEEK BRING THE
GOOGLE “TWENTY PERCENT” TO EVERY ORG?
COULD COMPANY LAW SUPPORT TRUSTS,
COOPERATIVES, MUTUALS - NEW FIRMS FOR
THE SHARING ECONOMY OF THE NET?
… IN SHORT, THE BIG
RULES OF THE …BUT IN THIS
CAPITALIST GAME ARE UP DIRECTION??
FOR BEING CHANGED…

…”YOU NEVER WANT
A SERIOUS CRISIS TO
GO TO WASTE…”
RAHM EMMANUEL,
NOV 2008, WSJ
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PLAYERS