The Red Rubber Ball at Work

The Big Idea
According to bestselling author Kevin Carroll, it’s child’s play!

Former 76ers athletic trainer Kevin Carroll has turned his childhood passion for playing ball into a bestselling franchise. Drawing on “play profiles” from thought leaders, change agents, and business leaders, he explains how to bring a sense of play into the workplace to stimulate creativity, encourage risk-taking, achieve goals – and have a great time doing it.


Why You Need This Book
This entertaining, pocket-sized book builds on Carroll's self-help series with profiles of 33 successful workers who illustrate the value of "productive play" (as opposed to "playful play," which is not serious enough for work). The book is inspiring and clever, with a lively layout and energetic writing.

Successful “players” featured include ESPN president George Bodenheimer, bestselling authors Seth Godin and Malcolm Gladwell, Food Network host Duff Goldman, South Bronx activist Majora Carter, renowned author Paulo Coelho, and many others.


Innovation
It became apparent that the people interviewed in this section had been very playful in childhood where they were encouraged in their youthful creative pursuits by family, friends, and teachers. That encouragement had an impact on developing each person’s ability as an adult to take an idea, create multiple iterations of solutions, and ultimately deliver an idea that solved a business problem.


SETH GODIN (Author/Speaker/Entrepreneur)
Play: is scenario planning.

As a boy, Seth’s strategy was never to rely on one plan of attack.

At work:
At 44, now a father to his own sons, Seth Godin helps others conquer the business world. Fostering others’ ability to react to the unexpected is how Seth plays at work.


TOM KELLEY (General Manager, IDEO)
Play: is mobility and freedom.

In his boyhood, inventing, building, and taking things apart helped Tom and his brother understand their world. Riding bicycles allowed them to explore their world and broaden their horizons.

At work:
His brother David Kelley cofounded IDEO in 1991. Tom describes himself and David as “cross-pollinators”: people with great intellectual curiosity, people who are always taking in new information and are eager to share it with others.


MAJORA CARTER (Executive Director, Sustainable South Bronx)
Play: is being part of a community.

As young as six years old, she learned how to be a “team player,” sharing the rope her mom cut from an old clothesline.

At work:
For Majora, community is her play. She helped her community find its voice and develop a rallying cry for environmental justice.


JAMES McLURKIN (Robotics Engineer)
Play: is a passion for building things.

LEGO met her standards. LEGO dominated as a pivotal toy.

At work:
MIT graduate James McLurkin is still playing. He is one of the world’s leading designers of robot “swarms” – groups of robots that work together for a greater purpose. James says that robots are just part of his grand, lifelong procession of toys. A fun fact: James + androids = a very special opportunity to contribute to the hit movie I, Robot released in 2004.


CARLOS “MARE139” RODRIGUEZ (Sculptor/Graffiti Artist)
Play: is resourcefulness.

Many times, armed with stolen spray-paint cans, the young Carlos and his friends set out to paint the subway trains in 1970s New York City.

At work:
As a sculptor and Web designer, Carlos’ work is now seen by audiences worldwide.


Results
TINKER HATFIELD (Vice President of Design and Special Projects, NIKE)
Play: is problem solving.

Hide. Run. Shoot. Acting and reacting are all in a day’s play.

At work:
In his design studio on Nike’s sprawling corporate campus in Portland, Oregon, Tinker is surrounded by sneakers he helped design: Air Jordans. Cross trainers. Tinker’ favorite days? ASAP.


MARC HACKER (Designer and Architect, Rockwell Group)
Play: is tinkering.

At work:
With a background in product design and design education, Marc relishes his role as an advocate for Rockwell’s diverse designers.


IVY ROSS (Executive Vice President of Marketing, GAP Inc., North America)
Play: is visualization.

At work:
By fueling her active imagination with the season’s garments plus the retail space ideas her designers create, Ivy finds the common thread that ties seemingly disparate styles together in a unified, emotional message.


Teamwork
In these profiles, you will come to understand how hangin’ out with a select group of peers, mimicking adult social behavior at an early age, being a member of a sports team, and creating imaginary communities were all fantastic learning environments for the future endeavors and success of the men and women profiled.


DWAYNE “The Rock” JOHNSON (Actor/Former Professional Wrestler)
Play: is igniting the imagination of others.

Baseball, football, wrestling, army games, cops and robbers… The young Dwayne was always running, leaping, playing with other kids. No matter how many times his family moved house, this only child jumped right into his new community and made new friends immediately by playing sports and games with the other kids.

At work:
Be it the sports stage or the movie set, he has learned that a great performance depends upon the team’s willingness to strategize, practice, have a great sense of timing, and ability to always deliver moments of surprise together.


MEL YOUNG (Founder, Homeless World Cup)
Play: is bringing out the best in others.

At work:
As an adult, Mel’s belief in the importance of teams and community extends to the world around him. He dedicates himself to helping solve the problem of homelessness, first as an editor of a Scottish homeless newspaper, and then as a cofounder of an international soccer tournament for homeless people – the Homeless World Cup.


PREMAL SHAH (President, Kiva)
Play: is intellectual creativity.

During freezing cold winters in a suburb of Minneapolis, there was nothing the young Premal loved more than an unstructured weekend with his LEGO set.

At work:
As president of Kiva, a unique Web site that helps people make microloans to small business entrepreneurs in developing countries, Premal’s work is his play.


LARRY ROSENSTOCK (Founder and Chief Executive Officer, High Tech High)
Play: is creating imaginary worlds.

In college, Larry was drawn to film studies. He learned the art of filmmaking, a form of building imaginary worlds. He developed a lifelong fascination with creating environments for people and seeing what is possible when all the right elements are in place.

At work:
Larry Rosenstock never stopped building worlds. He has taught carpentry in urban high schools, served as staff attorney at the Harvard Center for Law and Education, and headed up the Rindge School for Technical Arts, among other noteworthy achievements.


TITO LLANTADA (Global Fellowship Team, Ashoka)
Play: is being resilient.

Playing catch in the backyard with his dad became a cherished activity for both son and father.

At work:
As a member of the Global Fellowship team of the social entrepreneur organization Ashoka, Tito utilizes his excellent team skills every day. His primary roles with the Global Fellowship team includes helping build and maintain the infrastructure behind a global network of more than 1,600 fellows.


Leadership
Leadership is part tactical, part analytical, part situational, and a BIG part understanding humanity. Great leaders understand the human dynamic/factors that can affect an organization.


DELANO LEWIS (Business Leader/Former U.S. Ambassador to South Africa)
Play: is being nimble on your feet.

At work:
Delano has always stayed close to the arts in order to feed that playful, dynamic part of himself his mother nurtured in his childhood.


GEORGE BODENHEIMER (President, ESPN)
Play: is a team of friends.

Each year he and his friends played on sports teams together: baseball, football, ice hockey. From Little League all the way through his high school playing days, this boy nurtured friendships through sports.

At work:
A much beloved leader, George has been president since 1998.


AWISTA AYUB (Founder and Director, Afghan Youth Sports Exchange)
Play: is sports.

At work:
That small beginning grew into the Afghan Youth Sports Exchange, an internationally recognized and award winning nonprofit organization dedicated to preparing Afghanistan’s young girls with the leadership skills they need to promote athletics in their schools and communities. Her program has helped to empower the girls to break down gender barriers in their country.


DUFF GOLDMAN (Owner, Charm City Cakes)
Play: is challenging what’s possible.

From two common forms of concocting everyday creations – cooking and LEGO – he learned the fine arts of improvisation, problem solving and experimentation.

At work:
If you’ve ever tuned into the Food Channel and caught Duff Goldman and his Charm City Cakes team in action on Ace of Cakes, you know Duff is somebody who has made his work his play.


Curiosity

PAULO COELHO (Author/Alchemist)
Play: is skill and instinct.

The young Paolo found the repetition of shooting marbles into holes absorbing. At some point in a long-ago afternoon of playing, he became the marble, the target, the motion and sound of THWACK, flicking the marble with his thumb.

At work:
To write, he uses that same mix of instinct and discipline he learned from playing marbles.

BusinessSummaries.com is a business book summaries service. Every week, it sends out to subscribers a 9- to 12-page summary of a best-selling business book chosen from among the hundreds of books printed out in the United States. For more information, please go to http://www.bizsum.com.