Firefly News Flash, June 2018, The Firefly Group

Your ETR (Estimated Time to Read): 10 minutes
Your ETII (Estimated Time to Implement Ideas): 5 weeks

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Say It Quick!

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June 2018
Fun is Where You Find It

Say It Quick a thoughtful message in exactly 99 words	Discoveries bits of serendipity to inspire and motivate	Ideas fuel for your own continuous learning	Activities tips and tricks you can try today
Stewing and Grumbling - Make any day fun	Ten Points for the Planet - Fun with big goals	Take a Playful Approach - Fun and positive outcomes	Ten Points for Gryffindor - The fun of arbitrary scoring

Say It Quick

Just to get through the complexities and complications of the day can be an effort. Sometimes it's enough to hope for a chance to take it easy before the day closes. But why wait until the end of the day for a little fun? What if we found enjoyment at unexpected times throughout the day? Explore some ways to do exactly that - and discover the positive benefits for learning, motivation, teambuilding, and more beginning with this 99-Word Story.

Stewing and Grumbling
Several members of the morning aerobics class were soaking their tired muscles and creaky joints in the hot tub at the gym. They traded complaints about the day ahead: kids to ferry after school, work reports, car repairs, doctor appointments, and other tasks that build the stress of a typical day.

When Jean was ready to leave, she called out cynically, "Hope you all do something fun today!" Her point? If you complain about everything, you will definitely have a deadly dull day.

Why not expect fun? Then, even among the serious, you may discover joy.

Discoveries

Ten Points for the Planet
My wife and I bought an electric car. Now whenever we drive, we grow trees.

Depending on how aggressively we stomp on the accelerator, the car monitors our driving efficiency by lighting a series of LED lights on the dash. If we drive calmly, the LEDs accumulate and a triangular tree takes shape. Keep it up long enough and a small forest grows across the instrument panel toward the speedometer.

At a public building I frequent, the drinking fountain has a spigot to fill your water bottle. But it also has a counter which, for the past two years, has been keeping track of the number of disposable plastic containers that users didn't have to buy because they refilled one of their own. To date, 6,543 bottles have been saved.

The car and the drinking fountain are both subtle examples of gamification - making something more appealing by making it fun.

Some organizations spend many hours and many dollars inventing gamified versions of their new employee orientation, the promotion of a product, or the application process for a service. They build a website, create a compelling storyline, and design rules, scoring schemes, leaderboards. But you don't have to expend money and months to get similar results. As these examples show, with a simple counter and some playfulness, you can provide the feedback that promotes positive behaviors.

My wife and I constantly ask each other how many trees we are growing as we drive around town. Yet in the car, there is no instruction, no indication of what is being measured, and no tally over the long term. There is not even a specific goal. Instead we are motivated by the greater vision of improving the planet by driving more. (Ignore the irony of this statement, please.)

The water fountain also does not state an explicit objective. But a very lofty goal is implied. The digital readout can count up to 99,999,999 bottles saved. At the current rate of usage, I estimate that it would take 30,567 years to save 100 million bottles! As much as I'd like to be the one to push that bottle counter over the 100 million threshold, it's enough, for now, to watch the numbers climb by 20 or 50 each week.

Driving my car or filling a water bottle, I am reminded of the joy in a simple activity when approached playfully and with a greater purpose.

Ideas

Take a Playful Approach
The 99-Word Story reminds us to expect fun if we want to create a life filled with enjoyment.

The discovery of fun whether driving an electric car or drinking from a water cooler shows that engagement happens when actions are tied to a greater goal.

Hey, it looks like we are starting a list of reasons we should take a playful approach to our daily lives! Here are more:

By looking for fun we can…

Expose Meaning - Individual actions are connected to the Big Picture
Inspire Greatness - Sure, I can help save 100 million plastic bottles!
Stretch the Imagination - How can driving help the environment?
Promote positive behaviors - I will drive a little slower
Spark a conversation - How much space does 6,543 plastic bottles use in the landfill?
Add a positive spin to mundane necessities - If I have to drive, at least I'm not polluting
Teach - I am learning how to drive efficiently
Motivate - I'll remember to bring my reusable container to the office

We can surely discover more ways that doing something fun during the day can have positive outcomes. We just need to expect it and take a playful approach.

Activities

Ten Points for Gryffindor
Recently I was leading a training with an unenthusiastic crowd. Though the workshop was only two hours, the topic was required, uninspiring, and heavy while the weather was bright and sunny beckoning us to a beautiful Friday afternoon. The participants were restless.

After a break, I spontaneously said, "Thank you all for coming back. I realize you could have stayed outside on this gorgeous day so give yourself 10 points!" People smiled proudly at each other. We moved on with the lesson.

The incident reminded me of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books. At the wizarding school of Hogwarts, the teachers would award points to student's academic houses - ten points for Gryffindor! These awards were unplanned and totally at the whim of whichever professor was momentarily pleased. Of course, points could also be taken away with no thought of due process.

But what's good for the wizarding world might also be good for us muggles. Why not give yourself 10 points? What a nice way to have some fun during a deadly dull day.

You remembered to finally make that dentist appointment - and it's on your calendar already - 10 points for you! You finished writing a sensitive email - 10 points!

Better yet, spread the wealth and enjoy the reactions. A colleague volunteers to help with your project - 10 points for her! Everyone has now arrived for the meeting - 10 points for us!

Whenever you award points, make it spontaneous and unconditional; simply because you want to take a playful approach.

Arbitrary? Yes. Absurd? Yes, again. Fun? Definitely!

Did you try this activity by yourself or with your team? - and give yourself 10 points!

If you like what you have read in this issue, I would like to bring the same innovation, creativity, and playfulness to your next meeting or learning event.

Whether you need a keynote speaker, or help with strategic planning, performance improvement, or training facilitators and trainers in your organization, I look forward to your call (802.380.4360) or .

-- Brian

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