T HE PLAYFUL ENT REPREN EUR i ii THE PLAYFUL ENTREPRENEUR How to Adapt and Thrive in Uncertain Times Mark Dodgson and David M Gann YALE UNIVERSIT Y PRESS NEW HAVEN AND LONDON iii Copyright © 2018 Mark Dodgson and David M Gann All rights reserved This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press) without written permission from the publishers For information about this and other Yale University Press publications, please contact: U.S Office: sales.press@yale.edu yalebooks.com Europe Office: sales@yaleup.co.uk yalebooks.co.uk Set in Adobe Caslon Pro by IDSUK (DataConnection) Ltd Printed in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall Library of Congress Control Number: 2018938631 ISBN 978-0-300-23392-6 (hbk) A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library 10 iv For Oliver and Michael v vi Contents Prelude Acknowledgements Part Why be playful? Work Play 41 Part Noble behaviours viii x 89 Grace Craft Fortitude Ambition 91 125 150 171 Part Being playful 209 Work and organization Postscript 211 239 Endnotes Bibliography Index Make it playful: A manifesto for those seeking more agreeable work 243 248 253 264 vii Prelude In 1762, the Swiss philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote an influential book called Emile The book was stylistically rather strange and, as we shall see, was written by an extremely peculiar man Some of the views in the book were so subversive it was banned and even publicly burned Its ambitions were no less than understanding the nature of mankind, and how education can encourage innate human goodness The eponymous Emile is an imaginary child, and Rousseau writes about how early education should encourage his ability to carefully observe the world around him Having made an ‘active and thinking being’, the latter part of Emile’s education is completed by making a ‘loving and feeling being – that is to say, to perfect reason by sentiment’ A key to Emile’s learning, which we call ‘Emile’s gift’, is the way he combines his work and his play Work or play are all one to [Emile], his games are his work; he knows no difference He brings to everything the cheerfulness of interest, the charm of freedom.1 The gift of combining work and play is the core of this book The wide range of entrepreneurial people and organizations whose stories we tell show the importance of merging play and work viii PRELUDE in today’s uncertain world They show us the behaviours of entrepreneurs that allow everyone at work to express the cheerfulness of interest and enjoy the charm of freedom With so many people working in circumstances that are volatile, stressful and unrewarding – and where new technologies can seem so threatening – new approaches to work are needed that bring the pleasure, fun and meaning back to this important aspect of our lives Emile’s gift is to show us the virtue of playful work and how its helps us survive and thrive in our jobs in a turbulent and unpredictable world ix INDEX Batey, Mavis 117 Bauman, Zygmunt 63–4 Bazalgette, Joseph 192–7, 216, 223, 233 behaviour 6–7, 51–3, 217, 235–6 and rules 85–6 see also noble behaviours behaviour modelling 137–41 Behncke, Isabel 66, 87, 235 Beinhocker, Eric, The Origin of Wealth 122–3 Bennett, Paul, The Little Book of IDEO 57–8 Bentley, Thomas 112 Berger, Rudy 225–6 Beynon, Huw, Working for Ford 29 Bigelow, Kathryn, The Hurt Locker 214 Bilbao Guggenheim Museum 136 Bishop, Arthur 166–9, 216, 233 variable ratio steering gear 168–9 Bishop Steering Technology 169 Blackburn, Julie 197 Blake, William 21 Bletchley Park 114–18, 124, 216, 231 Colossus computer 117–18 Blur, Modern Life is Rubbish (album) 32 Blyton, Enid 189 Bond, Alan 86 bonobo apes 66 Boulton, Matthew 17 Bourneville model village 191 Bowen, Sean 109–12, 151, 216, 217, 220 Boyle, Brendan 59–61 Boyle, Brendan, and John Cassidy, The Klutz Book of Inventions 61 Boyle, Danny 131 Bragg, Melvyn 85 Branson, Richard 150, 186 Braverman, Harry, Labor and Monopoly Capital 29–30 Briggs, Baron Asa 116 British Computer Society 47 Brown, Clare, on Arthur Bishop 166, 167 Brown, Stuart, Institute for Play 66 Brown, Tommy 116 Brubeck, Dave 82 Brynjolfsson, Erik, and Andrew McAfee 136 The Race Against the Machine 10, 228–9 bureaucracy 10, 212, 235 Busy Bees club 189 Byrne, John 102 Cadbury, Bourneville model village 191 cancer treatment 72–3 capitalism, and difference 66–7 Carlyle, Thomas 22 Carnegie, Andrew 175 case study, Emily 34–40, 239–42 Celltech 92–3, 94–5 Challenger Space Shuttle disaster 77 Chan, Gerald 216 philanthropy 119–21, 233 change companies and 53–4, 72–3 innovators and 8–9, 11–12 Charles II 155 Charlton, Sir Bobby 85 Chateaubriand, Franỗois-Renộ de 21 children cochlear implants 180 learning through play 75 Childs, Peter 107 choice, problems of 214 cholera 193, 196 Christie, John 171 Churchill, Winston 17, 115 cities, playful 225 City & Guilds of London Institute 130 Cleese, John 65, 75 cochlear implants, for children 180 coffee houses, eighteenth-century 226 collaboration and conflict 73–5 and design 107 and social networks 112–13 with staff 108–9 and teamwork 109–12 see also Bletchley Park 254 INDEX Coller, Jeremy 216, 233 animal factory farms 172–5 The Lives, Loves and Deaths of Splendidly Unreasonable Inventors 173 communication, and performance 145–8 companies and change 53–4, 72–3 and playfulness 53–4, 219–24 competitiveness aggressive 85–6 of players computer-aided design (CAD) 134 computers 152 Cook, James 171 Cox, Brian 216 craft, as noble behaviour 15, 25, 125–49, 232 and design 25, 126 digital 134–7 and innovation 143–5 MI5 206 and play 140 and practice 146, 147–8 and problem-solving 126–7 and simulation technology 140 craft skills 24–6, 127–8 creativity 65 Creativity Explored 96 crime, predictive modelling 137 Cromwell, Oliver 20 Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly 105 CSR, Australian building materials company 165 da Vinci, Leonardo, Notes 234 Darwin, Charles 235 Darwin, Erasmus 18 D’Ascanio, Corradino 128 data access and sharing 212, 230 movement of 109–11 see also AI; digital craft Davy, Humphry 151 Dawkins, Richard 104 de Botton, Alain, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work 32 de Raadt St James, Alexsis 95–7, 216, 231 Death Notification and Stress Management Programme (DNP) 96 DeepMind 135 Del Ponte, Carla, war crimes tribunals 162–3 design collaboration and 107 and craft 25, 126 inspiration for 132–4 stages of 60 of work 221–2 see also Heatherwick, Thomas; IDEO design thinking 222 deskilling, in work 29–30, 31–2 Dey, Rajeeb 216 entrepreneur 49–53 Diana, Princess of Wales, and AIDS campaign 161 Dickens, Charles, Hard Times 83 Dickin, Maria 187–90, 216 animal welfare 187–90 The Cry of the Animal 187–8 Dickin Medal 189 digital craft 134–7 discipline, and play 116–17 dishonesty 86 Disney Concert Hall 136 DNA Electronics Ltd 181, 215 DNA tests 178 Dodgson, Kate 214 Dodgson, Mark (author) 31–2, 228 and Idi Amin 100–1 Drabble, Margaret 65 Dragons’ Den 51 Drayson, Elspeth 78, 79, 80 Drayson, Paul 78–80, 82, 216 Drayson Racing Technologies 79 Duff, Hilary 83 Dunlap, Al ‘Chainsaw’ 102–3 Dyson, Sir James 129 Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College 107, 129, 130 eating disorders, Recovery Road app 142–4 eccentricity, at Bletchley Park 116 Economist, The 194 255 INDEX Edison, Thomas 83–4, 217 on failure 153 gracelessness 99 education and learning through play 75 Rousseau and 80–1 Edwards, David, The Lab 226–7 Einstein, Albert 71 Eisenhower, General Dwight 118 electrification of cities 23 elegance, craft and 130 Emerson, Ralph Waldo 225 Emily (case study) career changes 239–40 move to health sector 240–2 work stress, and poor management 34–40 empathy 108 empowerment, of workers 30–1 English Civil War 155, 157 English Secondary Students’ Association 49 Enron 212 Enternships.com 50 entrepreneurs 5, 215–17 behaviour 6–7, 51–3 internships for 50–1 philanthropy 46, 47, 80, 119–21 and uncertainty 51, 174 environmental sustainability 186–7 equanimity 92 ethics 224, 235–6 Evelyn, John 156 exhibitions, art and photography 184–5 experiences, new 65 experiments, cheap 53, 228 eye diseases, cheap treatments for 190–1 Facebook 64 factories and time-keeping 20–1 William Morris on 26 failings, accepting 104 failure fear of public 154 fortitude and 151–4, 217–18, 232–3 grace and 231 Fairtlough, Gerard 92–5, 216, 222 Creative Compartments 93 The Three Ways of Getting Things Done 93 Feynman, Richard 229 Nobel Prize in Physics 76–7 ‘On Thinking’ lecture 134–5 FI (Flexible Information) Group 44 financial crisis, global (2008) 223–4 fire safety planning 229 and behaviour modelling 137–41 flexible working 44 Florence, Renaissance in 225 Flowers, Tommy 42, 117–18, 217 football, rules of 85 Ford, Henry 28 on failure 151, 153 Ford, Martin, The Rise of the Robots 10–11 Ford Motor Company, under McNamara 68–9 fortitude, as noble behaviour 15–16, 150–70, 205 failure and 151–4, 217–18, 232–3 Fortune magazine 212 Fowler, Norman 157–62, 216, 233 AIDS: Don’t Die of Ignorance 161 Foxconn, manufacturer 33 Franklin, Benjamin 18 Fred Hollows Foundation 190–1 freedom and play 80–3 and rules 81 Friedman, Thomas 214 Froebel, Friedrich 75 Future Waves 181 Galbraith, J.K., The Age of Uncertainty 63 Galilee, Mimi 117 Gann, David (author), and Desmond Tutu 101 Gardner, Howard 221 Five Minds for the Future 114 Gates, Bill 64, 103, 175 Gawande, Atul 233–4 Gehry, Frank 127 and technologies 136 Geim, Sir Andre, Nobel Prize in Physics 76 256 INDEX Heatherwick Studio 131–2, 133, 226, 231 Heatherwick, Thomas 130–4, 216 Making 131 Seed Cathedral pavilion 132–3 Heraclitus 171 heroic individual 114 hierarchy of human needs 214 in large corporations 61–2 medical profession 72–3 Hilton, Peter 117 Hirschman, Albert 103 HIV/AIDS collaborative approach to treatment 73–4 Norman Fowler’s campaign 157–62 Hobsbawm, Eric 24 Hollows, Fred and Gabi 190–2 Hooke, Robert 156 Huizinga, Johan 76, 81 Hume, David 22, 80, 230 Hytner, Sir Nicholas 147–8 General Electric 212 generosity (of spirit) 51 GENEU, company 178–9 Gianadda, Léonard 183–5, 216, 231 ‘gig economy’ 222 Gladstone, W.E 112–13, 194–5 Gladwell, Malcolm 14 globalization, threat to work 213 Glyndebourne 171 Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von 65 Goldwater, Barry 68 Goodwin, Fred, RBS 102 Google, Project Loon 54 Gorman, Katie, IDEO 56–7 grace, as noble behaviour 15, 91–124, 231 characteristics of 104–5, 123–4 and equanimity 92 as good manners 205–6 inspiring affection 94–5, 99 inspiring loyalty 97, 99 ungraciousness 99–103 Great Britain, railways 23 Great Exhibition (1851) 129–30, 132, 225 Great Fire of London 155 greed 6–7 Grenfell Tower, 2017 fire 139 Grove, Andy 217 Habermas, Jürgen, Theory of Communicative Action 92 hackathons 129 Halberstam, David The Best and the Brightest 68 The Quagmire 70 The Reckoning 68–9 Halliday, Stephen, The Great Stink of London 192 Hang Lung Group Ltd 119 hard work 14, 44 Japan 29 and playfulness 83–4 in USSR 28 Harford, Tim, Adapt 154 Harrison, Shelley 197–201, 216, 233 Harrison, Susanne 198 Hassabis, Demis 135 Hawking, Stephen 137, 232 IBM 220 ‘Jams’ 229 playfulness 54 ideas 152 and locations 226 and social media 136 ideation 60 identity, work and IDEO, design company 54–61, 63, 226, 227, 231 go-cart 56 and Stanford University 58, 59, 60 Toy Lab 59–60 workplace 55, 57 imagination 12, 136–7, 183 and ambition 52 Imitation Game, The (film) 114 Imperial College 107, 129, 130 implementation 60 Industrial Revolution 18–19, 230 inequality, increasing 237 innovation 126 and craft 143–5 as creative destruction 23 257 INDEX Kodak 10 Kralingen, Roland and Rogier van 60–1 Krznaric, Roman 4, 53, 211 innovators 5, 13 and change 11–12 and grace 231–2 inspiration 60 for designs 132–4 intellectual property rights 167 internet data movement 109–11 influence of 229–30 intuition 71, 238–9 and AI 136–7 Iorns, Elizabeth 216, 233 Science Exchange 175–8 Isaacson, Walter 226 on Steve Jobs 54, 103 The Innovators 103, 114 Ive, Sir Jonathan 130 Jain, Naveen 153 Japan karōshi (death by overwork) 29 post-war reconstruction 164–5 Jazz FM, radio station 98–9 jazz improvisation 148 Jeremy Coller Foundation 172–3 job dissatisfaction job insecurity 212 younger generations 214 Jobs, Steve 54, 103, 150, 217, 226 Johansson, Frans 225 Johnson, Samuel 19 Johnson, Steven, Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World 11 Kahneman, Daniel Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences 77 Thinking, Fast and Slow 121–2 Kamata, Satoshi, Japan in the Passing Lane 29 Kane, Pat, The Play Ethic 20, 65 Kelley, David, IDEO 55, 59 Kelley, Tom, The Art of Innovation 56 Kennedy, Robert 151 Kerr, Clark 30, 230 Keynes, John Maynard 174–5 kindness 91–2 Kipling, Rudyard 91 Knox, Dan 177 ‘lab on a chip’ 181–3 Lacey, Robert 68 Le Laboratoire, Paris 227 ‘Le Whif ’, chocolate that can be inhaled 227 leadership 71, 206–7 people, process, results (PPR) model 182 styles of 221 to encourage play 222–3 Learnerbly, online learning platform 52 learning importance of 52 iteration 127 and play 75, 235 Lego 53 Lenin, Vladimir 28 Leon, Nick de 221–2 Lever brothers, Port Sunlight 191 Lewis, Michael, The Undoing Project 77 Lidgey, John 179 lifetime employment model LinkedIn 52 location, and playfulness 225–7 London bridges 196 embankments 192, 193, 196 public parks 196 pumping stations 193–4, 195–6 sewer system 192–7 London Olympics 2012, cauldron 130–1 loyalty, inspiration of 97, 103 luck, as a factor in success 121–3 Luddite movement 24, 125 Lunar Society (1760s, Birmingham) 17–19, 33 MacCarthy, Fiona, on William Morris 26 McLaren racing cars 130 McChrystal, General Stanley, Team of Teams 34, 223 258 INDEX machinery and algorithms 33 and industrialization 21–4 as threat 23–4 see also robots; technologies McKay, Sinclair, The Secret Life of Bletchley Park 117 McMaster, H.R., Dereliction of Duty 69 McNamara, Robert Strange, US Secretary of Defense 67–72, 87, 217, 232 management by statistics 68, 69–70 as president of Ford 68–9 and Vietnam War 69–71 Madoff, Bernie Maker Faires 129 Maker Movement 128–9 management good 94–5 poor 34–40 see also leadership Manningham-Buller, Eliza 202–7, 216, 223 March, James 8, 71 markets personalized 213–14 understanding of 60 Marx, Karl, on mechanized work 28 Maslow, Abraham 214 mass production 28 May, Brian 82 medical profession, and play 72–5 medical research, and engineering 180 Merian Ventures 97 MI5 (security service) 202–7, 220, 233 Microsoft 64 Millar, Susanna, The Psychology of Play 76 Milligan, Spike 64 Milošević, Slobodan 163 MIT, Media Lab 53, 127, 227 Mitchell, David 229 mobile phones 230 modesty 123 as element of grace 105 Montessori, Maria 81 Morningside company 119 Morris, William, and Arts and Crafts Movement 25–6 motivation, personal 48–9 Mukherjee, Siddhartha, The Emperor of All Maladies 72–3 Murray, Joan 117 musicians collaboration 148 craft of 145, 146 and freedom 82 Pierre Gianadda Foundation 185 Musk, Elon 14, 137, 150, 217 Nader, Ralph, Unsafe at Any Speed 168 National Enterprise Board 93 National Institute for Play (US) 60 Natural History Museum 130 Negroponte, Nicholas 127 NEUW Ventures SA 186 Newman, Max 116, 117 Newton, John, ‘Amazing Grace’ 103, 124 Nielsen, Michael 135 Reinventing Discovery 126, 228–9 Nightingale, Florence 196 Nobel, Alfred 100, 174 noble behaviours 15–17, 219, 231–6 see also ambition; craft; fortitude; grace Novoselov, Konstantin, Nobel Prize in Physics 76 Oakley, Annie 122–3 obsessiveness 173–4 Office, The, TV series 83 Olson, Ken 152 Ordnance Survey, Geovation hub 226 organizational structures 93 Ormerod, Paul, Why Most Things Fail 151–2 O’Rourke, Paddy 215 Ove Arup company, design of Freedom Tower 138 Page, Jimmy 82–3 Palchinsky, Peter 154 Papua New Guinea 164 Pauling, Linus 152 259 INDEX PDSA (People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals) 188–90 performance, and communication 145–8 philanthropy 175, 233 of entrepreneurs 46, 47, 80, 119–21 and unrestricted donations 121 Pierre Gianadda Foundation 184–5 Pink, Daniel 50 Plato play 8–15, 41–88 balance with work 83–6, 87 and craft 140 as creative 5, 12, 65 as development and discipline 116–17 entrepreneurs and 41–53 and freedom 80–3 and fun 7, 75–7 and innovation 11–12, 13 and learning 8–9, 235 and the medical profession 72–5 and profit 220 rules for 84–5, 86–7 and uncertainty 63–7, 87 workplaces 54–63 play theory 86 Player, Gary 147 playfulness 218 companies and 53–4, 219–24 and hard work 83–4 locations and spaces 225–7 science and 76–7 PolyVentures, venture capital 199 Port Sunlight model village 191 Porter, Michael 224 portfolio careers Post Office Research Centre 42 PowderJect Pharmaceuticals 78–9 practice, to perfect craft 146, 147–8 predictive modelling 137 Priestley, Joseph 18 private equity, secondary market 172 problem-solving, craft and 126–7 problems, global 212–13 Project HEAL 145 Protestantism, and work ethic 19–21 prototyping 56, 228–9 public health 233 Bazalgette and 192, 196–7 Fowler and 157–61 hospital administration 240–2 philanthropy and 120–1 Pullman, Philip 87, 146–7, 229 Puritanism, and work ethic 19 Push Technology 109–12 Demo Week 111–12 Quaker companies 191–2 Quality of Working Life movement 30–1, 33 rationality, inflexibility of 70–2, 232 Reagan, Ronald 160, 235 Recovery Road app 141–5 Rees, Martin, Astronomer Royal 135 refugee crisis 213 Renaissance, Italian 225 repetition, as antithesis of play 66–7 Rhodes, Nick 178 Richards, Sir Vivian 218 Robinson, Marilynne, Lila 91 robots and robotics 4, 33, 129 robotic surgery 140–1 Ronson, Jon, The Psychopath Test 100 Rousseau, Jean-Jacques Emile viii, 5–6, 80–1, 215 on fortitude 150 on kindness 91–2 on materials 125 on play as instinctive 75 purpose of life 172 Routemaster bus 133 Royal College of Art (RCA) 129, 130, 221–2 Royal Society for Arts 211–12 Royce, Josiah, The Philosophy of Loyalty 234 Rule Book of Association Football, The 85 rules and behaviour 85–6 and bureaucracy 10 and freedom 81 for play 84–5, 86–7 social 12–13 time 85 Rumsfeld, Donald, ‘unknown unknowns’ 63 260 INDEX Rusbridger, Alan 146 Ruskin, John 25, 27 St Mary’s Hospital, London, AIDS clinic (1982) 158 St Paul’s Cathedral, London 154–6 Salk, Jonas 100, 234 Salter, Ammon Sartre, Jean-Paul 86 Schiller, Friedrich ‘Ode to Joy’ 21 On the Aesthetic Education of Man 21 Schrage, Michael The Innovator’s Hypothesis 53 Serious Play 53 Schulz, Kathleen 105 Schumpeter, Joseph 14, 103, 152–3, 232 on innovation 23, 126, 169 science and collaboration 74, 232 playfulness and 76–7 research efficiency 176–8 Science Exchange 175, 176–8 Science Museum 130 Seed Cathedral pavilion, Shanghai Expo (2010) 132–3 Sennett, Richard, The Craftsman 23, 146 Sensium patch 180 service industries, speed and idiosyncrasy in 64–5 Shakespeare, William, Troilus and Cressida 104 Shanghai Expo 2010, Seed Cathedral pavilion 132–3 Shapley, Deborah, biographer of McNamara 67 share ownership 45, 62–3 and stock options 108 Shark Tank, TV series Shaw, George Bernard 16, 151 Shirley Foundation 47 Shirley, Steve 174, 216–17, 232–3 Let IT Go 47–8 philanthropy 46, 47 software entrepreneur 41–9 Silicon Valley 56, 107, 218, 226 simulation technology 138–9, 140 Skidelsky, Robert 9, 175 skills, and technology 30–1 see also deskilling skunkworks 220 Smiles, Samuel 151 Thrift 100 Smith, Adam 18 Smith, Paul 225 Snow, John 196 Snowy Mountain hydroelectric scheme 164 social media 113 and data sharing 212 and ideas 136 social networks 112–13 social reform, business and 191–2 social responsibility, corporate 224 software development 11 Solzhenitsyn, Alexander 154 SpaceHab 197–8, 199–200 SpaceX 150, 153 spontaneity 226 sport, and teamwork 110 Stakhanov, Aleksei 28 Stalin, Joseph 28 Stanford University, and IDEO 58, 59, 60 StartUp Britain 50 Stephenson, Frank, McLaren 130, 133–4 Strickland, Don 107–9, 216, 223 stubbornness 151 success and grace 100 role of luck 121–3 Sutton-Smith, Brian 12, 86 Swartz, Jerome 198 Sykes, Sir Richard 181 Symbol, laser scanning 198–9 Takacs, Zoltan 140–1 Tata, J.R.D 14 Tata, Ratan 186 Taylor, Frederick (F.W.) 27, 222 Taylorism 27–8, 220 and deskilling 30, 32 teamwork 109–12, 217–18 Tebbit, Norman 159 261 INDEX technologies and architecture 136 challenges of 10–11, 32–4, 228–31, 237–8 changing 3–4 and industrialization 21–4 simulation 138–9, 140, 229 and skills 30–1 and social problems 230 see also AI; CAD; internet; machinery; robots; social media Temple, Julien 82 Terkel, Studs, Working: People Talk About What They Do 211 Tesla, Nikola 99 Thames Tideway Project 197 Thatcher, Margaret 94 and Norman Fowler 157, 159, 160 theatre 145, 146–7 rehearsal 147–8 Thiess Brothers 164 Thiess, Sir Leslie 163–6, 215 Think, Do, Play Thomke, Stefan, Experiments Matter 134 Thompson, E.P 20 time pressures on 212 and rules 85 and synchronization 20–1 Toumaz Technology Ltd 181 Toumazou, Chris 178–83, 219–20, 231 Tregarthen, Jenna 141–5, 216, 233 Trent and Mersey canal 104–5 Trevor-Roper, Hugh (Lord Dacre) 116 trust 92, 123 importance of 45–6, 48 Tuffley, Keith 216, 233 sustainability and environment 186–7 Turing, Alan 114, 115, 116 Turing test 137 Tutu, Desmond 101 Tversky, Amos, Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences 77 Twitter 229 Tyson, Mike 63 U2, ‘Grace’ (song) 91 Uber 34 uncertainty 5, entrepreneurs and 51, 174 and leadership 223 MI5 203–4 modern life 212–14 and play 63–7, 87 ungraciousness 99–103 United States AIDS epidemic in 160 car industry 168 military equipment 164 University of Oxford Internet Institute 47 Urban Living Laboratory 201 USSR (Soviet Union), industrial system 28–9, 235 venture capital 199 Vespa scooter 128 Victoria and Albert Museum 129–30, 131 Vietnam War 67, 69–71 Virgin Galactic 150, 153 virtualization, digital craft 134 visualization 135, 229 Voltaire 80 Volvo, car maker 30 VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) 34 Walken, Christopher 147 Wall Street, Gordon Gecko in 6–7 war crimes, prosecutions 162–3 Watson, David 113 Watson, Thomas, IBM 152, 123–4 Watt, James 17 wealth ambition and 174–5 distribution of 237 Weber, Max, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism 19 Webster, Dave, IDEO 55, 56 Wedgwood, Josiah 17, 20, 104–5, 225 as innovator 126 social networks 112–13 Welch, Jack 212 Wesley, John 19–20 Wheatly, Richard 97–9, 216 262 INDEX Whitelaw, Willie, MP 160 Wilczek, Frank, Nobel Prize in Physics 76 Wilhelm II, as Prince Frederick of Prussia 123 Wolf of Wall Street, The women at Bletchley Park 117 as computer software freelancers 43 entrepreneurs 96–7; see also Iorns, Elizabeth; Tregarthen, Jenna; Shirley, Steve see also de Raadt St James, Alexsis; Shirley, Steve Wood, Ronnie 83 Wood, Stuart, Heatherwick Studios 131 work 3–8 balance with play 83–6, 87 destructive 211 insecurity of 212 organization of 27–30 pleasure of 105–7 (re-)design of 221–2 and technology 21–4, 211 worthwhile 104–5 work ethic, Protestant 19–21 work and play, history of 17–34 workers at Edison’s ‘innovation factory’ 84 share-ownership 45, 62–3 workplaces Airbnb 61–3 informality in 55, 57 and playfulness 226–7 World Trade Center, 9/11 attack 137–8 Wren, Sir Christopher 154–7, 215, 225, 229, 232 Xansa, IT company 46 Y Combinator 176, 177, 178 Zappa, Frank 83 263 Make it playful: A manifesto for those seeking more agreeable work ÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌ Work and play are mostly separate parts of our lives, but there is much to gain when they are combined Making work more playful improves the meaning, purpose and experience of a major element of everyone’s life Play helps mitigate work’s uncertainties and monotonies, and accentuates the distinctiveness of human endeavour compared to the ever-expanding capacities of machines Playful work is characterized by: the expression of freedom, when we have discretion over what and how work is done; having fun at work, no matter how hard it is, because it is interesting, energizing and rewarding; preparedness to explore and experiment, which indulges our curiosity and allows us to take risks by trying and testing new things without fear of damaging reputations and careers if they don’t work out as expected; and opportunities to learn about ourselves and the world, enabling us better to adapt to uncertain and turbulent circumstances Playful work is supported by behaviours that are ‘noble’ in the sense of being admirable and virtuous We should aim to cultivate these behaviours in ourselves and seek to work with and for those who demonstrate them Grace ÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌ Playful work is encouraged by: being respectful, trusting, encouraging and collaborative; displaying modesty and avoiding hubris; accepting constructive criticism; recognizing personal shortcomings and celebrating the abilities of others; and 264 MAKE IT PLAYFUL crediting success to joint efforts, but taking responsibility for failure Craft ÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌ Playful work is encouraged by: expressing our creativity and putting our experience and knowledge towards outcomes that are rewarding for us and pleasing to others; having the occasion and tools to combine different abilities and perspectives and utilize and develop our skills; engaging with problems that interest us and are pleasurable in their solution and meaningful in their results; and claiming with justification that what we is a source of pride Fortitude ÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌ Playful work is encouraged by: moving the point at which we give up on schemes, continuing further than we have in the past when things aren’t going so well; coping and adjusting when efforts turn out in unexpected ways; and seeing failures as opportunities to learn and on which to build the basis for eventual success Ambition ÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌ Playful work is encouraged by: making sure our motivations and efforts, and those of our employer match our expectations of ourselves and what we want from life; having the right balance in our working life between rewards in salary and status, and contribution to family, community and society; and recognizing the great rewards that come from giving back to the societies and communities of which we are a part 265 266 ... BE PLAYFUL? helps people to advance their careers while enjoying themselves at the same time Their lessons apply to every person wishing to have greater choice and input into how they work in the. .. around them: they mould opportunities to their advantage These people – innovators and entrepreneurs, leaders of change – show determination and resilience in the face of the most extreme uncertainty... is with the entrepreneurs and innovators in this book, who can all these things Their work animates and energizes They work hard and play hard, and the two are often indistinguishable The behaviour