Welcome to work it’s time to play! Not what you are expecting to read on a business blog huh? As fun as it is I’m not suggesting you go out on a swing set, visit the batting cages or waste a little time with a computer game. No, I’m talking about a frame of mind that doesn’t have to go away with age or even responsibility. You may have heard people say something like, “Kids these days are just smarter when it comes to technology.” That’s not true. It’s not a matter of being “smart” or how much you know. It’s a matter of how much you want to know and are willing to take some risks in the learning process.

That’s the issue. The more of life we experience the less inclined we are to take on risk of losing something. That may very well be a good idea when it comes to finances as we have all been advised to have a less risky portfolio the older we get but that should never be the mindset when it comes to learning and innovation.

One of the best visual examples of “good playing” involves computers. I have taught and also done tech support in the past for people and though I am inclined to say most are a generation or so older than me I have dealt with people of all ages who have had great fear and were afraid to “touch” icons or menu items on their computer screen at the risk of doing something wrong. Whereas the people who often excel and appear to be “smarter” are doing nothing more than having a willingness to explore, see what happens and enjoy the process.

You obviously don’t want to go “playing” or experimenting on company owned equipment beyond your permissions but have you explored all the features of things like your digital camera, how about your word processing program? Have you criticized something without trying it out first? Social Networking services like Twitter and Facebook come to mind as things I have heard people say incorrect or misleading things about but if asked I often find out they are not into those things the “kids do” and have not actually tried them. One reason I do try a lot of this stuff out is because it is what the kids are doing and I want to be in the loop. The kids today are embracing new technologies that may very well be the norm when they are adults.

Want to know a secret? About 12 years ago I found out about something called, “web design.” I was fascinated by something I almost perceived as “magic” and started playing around with it right away. Back then a lot of people thought it was a waste of time and just didn’t get it. Today a significant portion of our earnings come from helping other companies grow their business through the medium. What things have you played around with that eventually became serious business or a means of making your life more productive? Remember when you go play a little baseball you are not going to hit a home run or always get a hit but you won’t ever get a hit if you don’t try to begin with.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008 at 11:17 am and is filed under Innovation, Tips, social networks, web design, web development. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.