How to solve all of your problems using a playground

When in Doubt, Go to the Playground

Phillia (see my post from 2013 for Phillia's intro: Phillia Post) would show up everyday to the office and did the same thing every morning.

He gets his coffee, turns on his computer, says hello to a few colleagues and then sits at his desk. It usually takes five minutes for him to look at his list of tasks and then freak out and walk over to my desk to chat and make some sort of nervous small talk.

I asked one day about his to do list and why he let it freak him out. He showed it to me...what a train wreck! I quickly came up with a solution for him (a stolen solution from Franklin Covey of course). List everything in order of importance. Gut the shit that doesn't absolutely have to be done today. Delegate what you can. Break down the big tasks into smaller pieces. Re order the list. Then start at the top and go from there.

Decide what is important first

Easy, right? Simple you say? Yes, it can be if you recall how much pleasure one gets from keeping it simple.

I think about my kids playing on the little playground in the park we live in. When it is just the two of them out there they are having the time of their little lives. Running around the structure, walking along the wooden border, going up the slide backwards.

And they love it because it's easy and simple, it's pure. It's when three more kids show up that it gets complicated. When two people want to use the slide at the same time. When someone is throwing acorns and someone else doesn't like that. When someone is loud and screaming and another kid gets scared.

Lack of resources leads to conflict

So what do we as adults do in this situation. usually one of two things: we either remove our child from the situation (here Johnny, come play over here with this. Isn't this fun?). Or we try to mediate the issue at hand (Now Johnny, it's not nice to throw acorns at someone. You might hurt them.)

Our issues as adults, whether in the personal or professional world are not much different when you think about them. We have a limited number of resources available to us: budgets, time, peoples' attention, housing, water, that new iPhone that was just released. It's when those resources get scarce or we are in competition for them that conflict arises. I would suggest that remembering the basic rules of the playground might help most of us as adults in resolving these conflicts. For a simple reminder here is a list of the common playground rules in my little part of the universe:

• If it's not yours don't touch it
• Share with others
• Keep your hands to yourself
• Don't pick on the other kids
• Use the playground at your own risk
• Have an adult with you if you are too young
• Stick to age appropriate play elements
• Don't booze and play
• Wear proper footwear

When in doubt

What would happen if you posted that list in your office? Would it stick? Would it matter? Would people actually pay attention and get it?

Maybe at some point I'll actually get into how to promote an ethic of play in your work environment, but for now this is good enough. Just remember, all afternoon should be for leisure and play according to Thomas Jefferson, or was it Ben Franklin?

Either way, go play. Be nice. Share. And when in doubt go down the slide backwards and trust your gut. In the end it's only a slide and you are only playing.

Music festivals and corporate strategies, one in the same

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to have been a part of a special live musical experience called the Lightning Bug Music Festival (http://www.lightningbugmusicfestival.org/). It was a crazy, special, pixie-dust filled fundraiser that started the ball rolling for a lot of people with some really great business ideas.

That's not the story here though. This story is about my friend George. Well, it's more about what George stands for and represents on this particular day for me. He is an incredibly well respected lawyer in our community and is continually recognized as someone who makes a positive difference in people's lives. He is part of the world that I exist in these days: government buildings, planning meetings, contract negotiations, networking events, service club luncheons, etc. He is not part of the world that I had previously enjoyed: late bar nights, road trips, concerts, boozing in some guy's basement or man cave in the wee hours of the morning.

At the festival that day I saw something I'd never thought I see in George. He was walking through the grass towards the stage and our eyes caught each other. He was glowing. I mean he was absolutely radiant. He had that ruddy red look on his face like he had been out in the sun a little too long. He probably had enough to drink that his wife was definitely driving home and his face had this smile that stretched his cheek muscles out so you knew it would hurt tomorrow in his jaw. He comes toward me with an outstretched hand and that gorgeous twinkle and says, "Walter! Why aren't you doing this here every weekend!" You have to understand that this is the first festival our little park had seen in some years and it was a big deal.

He shared with me how much he enjoyed the day and how our department needed to host events like this more often. He made sure I understood that these things were important in our community. As I said goodbye to George and began to look around the crowd I noticed the collision of universes that was happening for me at that very moment.  All of the people I work with and for: the business owners, the park users, local families, corporate executives and their associates were all dancing and drinking with a group of ratty hippies in shoe-less outfits with hula hoops that wouldn't be too appreciated at my weekly Rotary lunch. And that is when it struck me: my job had become my passion. My vocation was my avocation as I sometimes say.

I soon realized that it wasn't really that hard to get there. I only had to put together three things: good people, good intentions and a little prep work before hand.

People are first and foremost all the time no matter what the objective. Either at a festival or in a business venture making sure that you are with the right crowd is paramount. Heading off to four days at Coachella or Lollapalooza with a bunch of folks that make you wretch is a horrid idea. So make sure that if you are hiring someone, looking for a job or putting together a task force for that next big project, ensure that the people you are going to the "show" with are the ones you really want to be eating parking lot burritos with later.

Next, make sure that you are going (or hiring that person, or firing that person for that matter) for the right reasons. I once hired someone even though every other member of my team was against it. I knew that this guy had the skills that we needed in our organization. Unfortunately my staff all wanted another "yes" person that they were already friends with that wouldn't teach them or question them. In the end it worked out great and the whole group was glad that I made the decision.

The same was true when I went to a New Year's Eve show for the wrong reasons. I went to go chase a girl and ended up not enjoying the show at all. In fact, we had tickets for the next night and ended up selling them because we realized it wasn't what we really wanted to be doing. In both situations: work or at a festival you will enjoy it more if you are doing it because you enjoy being there.

And of course in either world, musically or professionally a little bit of prep work goes a long way. Is it going to be scorching hot all day? Will there be food and water there? Will it be outrageously expensive? Do you have to pay for parking? Do we have all the right resources for our project? Does the timeline seem reasonable? Are we prepared for the eventual hiccups that always occur? Are our goals reasonable? Have we talked with our customers, clients and other stakeholders about what success looks like or what the deliverable's are? Did we put it all in writing? The time spent on looking at logistics and details will save you energy in the end and will ensure that the pleasure of the event itself is appreciated.

So yes, work and business can and should be fun. So go ahead, grab your blanket, lawn chair, picnic basket or whatever else you take to a music fest in your world and instead bring them to your office. If you have the right people, intentions and a little forethought your entire team will be dancing like no is watching. And if you are really lucky George and his wife will be sitting next to you.