As I mentioned in a previous update , we are using a process inspired by design thinking for the Hackathon Pilot. Some of you will already be familiar with design thinking principles, but just in case the concept is new to you, I thought I’d write a short design thinking primer. What is design...
So much of the leadership conversation centers around the question “how do I get more out of my people?” I don’t think I’ve been at a conference or sat in on a conversation with business leaders where the subject—and that exact phrase— hasn’t come up. Now, without a doubt, bringing forth the full...
Our thanks to those MIXers who have given us their thoughts, in 140 characters or less, about how to take the work out of work. From Play-doh and musical instruments at meetings to praising risk-takers, you've crammed a lot of good suggestions into a tiny bit of space. Each one of these is a great...
How many times have you heard of an ex-employee saying “It just wasn’t fun anymore?” That’s a refrain all leaders ignore at their peril. There is a rich body of research and philosophy that argues that the psychological experience of play is a fundamental ingredient in engagement and satisfying,...
Here at the MIX we believe that great ideas can come from anybody and anywhere in the world—as long as you're open and clever enough to ask for them. We're not sure how clever we are, but we're asking. We want YOUR great ideas when it comes to reinventing management. That's what the MIX is designed...
We're all for smiling at work—that is, until we start losing. Just watch what happened when the Arizona Cardinals quarterback Derek Anderson was caught smiling and laughing during the Cardinals 27-6 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night football. A short video clip of the lighthearted...
Sir Alexander Fleming won a Nobel Prize for his work in discovering Penicillin, perhaps one of the most important discoveries in history. He was elected to the Royal Society in 1943, knighted by King George VI in 1944 and shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine in 1945. And he loved to...
Happy Holidays! As we close out 2010 and look forward to the New Year, let’s take a look at a well honored tradition – the New Year’s resolution . Celebrating the New Year is perhaps one of the oldest traditions we know of. Over 4000 years ago, the ancient Babylonians celebrated the new moon on...
Hack: 21 Types of Fun - What's Yours? Jonathan Winter introduces an interesting taxonomy to help take the work out of work. A different look in to why people enjoy things that can help make the workplace more fun. Check it out http://www.managementexchange.com/hack/21-types-fun-whats-yours
In the fourth century BC, Plato suggested that "what is serious should be treated seriously, and what is not serious should not.... Every man and woman should spend life in this way, playing (paivzonta) the most beautiful games (paidiavi)" (803c).ii Meanwhile, Merriam Webster defines laughter as "...