Final Presentation "The Importance of Play"

As a final presentation, I explained about the importance of "play". As I presented, I would like to post the handout and presentation here.

Henry Ford said, “When we are at work we ought to be at work. When we are at play we ought to be at play. There is no use tying to mix the two.”

This saying was true in the last century, but now the situation is upside down.

Take the air business for example.

South Airlines

South Airlines is one of the most successful companies. The company’s mission statement says, “People rarely succeed at anything unless they are having fun doing it.”

South Airlines is not just one company that is including Play in its work ethic. Wall Street Journal shows more than fifty European companies think highly of play in working place. Such as Nokia, Daimler-Chrysler, Alcatel…

For now, I show you the structural element of play, that is…

Game

Humor

Joyfulness

First, Game. If I say,” Leadership skill is essential when we are playing game”, can you imagine that? Actually, some games like role-playing games require players to know the identity of a character and to navigate them into a virtual world.

One study shows that playing games enhances the right-brain ability to solve problems that require pattern recognition. Moreover, another study found that playing games at work can increase productivity and enhance job satisfaction.

So, experiences with simulation games can give rehearsals for the social interaction of our lives.

 

The Second factor is humor. Good leaders use humor as the management skill. Because it reduces hostility between people, relieves tension, improve moral, and helps communicate difficult messages. George W Bush had a sense of humor a lot, for example.

Humor can be destructive in organizations, of course.

However, used skillfully it has much greater effect than just an entertainment. 

Finally, this is the most important factor, joyfulness. Please take a look at this picture. These people are laughing together. Then, what is they are laughing at? In fact, they are laughing but they are not thinking anything in their mind. They are laughing for no reason.

This is the picture of a laughter club. Dr.Kataria in India started the first laughter club. He believed the power of laughing is so good. So, in 1995, he went to a public park and started asking people if they wanted to laugh with him. He had only five people but they continued and laughed each following day and they all were feeling good.

In the very beginning of a laughter club, people told some jokes together to laugh but now Kataria combines yoga with laughter to make laughter yoga. The goal of his club is “thought-free” laughter. He says, “ In laughter clubs, the source of laughter is not outside the body; it is within us.”

A lot of study shows the positive effect of laughter. Such as…

l  Laughter can decrease stress hormones and increase the human immune system.

l  Laughter activates the cardiovascular system (心臓血管機能), increases the heart rate, and pumps more blood to internal organs.

l  10 minutes of activity on home exercise machine = 1 minute of laughter

It is the best medicine for human.

Situation around laughter club is becoming more interesting. Laughter club in working place. Kataria says,” businesses believe that serious people are more responsible. That’s not true. Laughing people are more creative people. They are more productive people. People who laugh together can work together.”

Laughter Yoga is introduced into the workplace by small and large companies. The benefits are reducing stress levels, increasing efficiency and team building, and creating a happy atmosphere.

Corporations such as UBS and Emirates Bank, IBM, Hewlett Packard, YPO (Young President Association), SAS and Emirates Airlines, Volvo Automobiles, Glaxo Pharmaceuticals have own laughter club within company.

In fact, we can find a laughter club near ICU. Kichijoji laughter club.

Just plain laughter can lead joyfulness. And it can lead to greater creativity.