The difference between existing, playing, and winning

A while ago, I attended the Swiss Innovation Forum in Basel. That year the motto was “Play”. The guiding thought is that we could all be more innovative if we played more and allowed for more playfulness. 

Too many teams and entire organisations are simply existing than playing.

What do I mean by this? Well, if the guiding idea of any member in an organisation is to get through the workday and the workweek, then we are merely existing. This is about surviving the workday in order to thrive in private life (if at all). 

Too many organisations are on this “existence level”: as a leader, just do enough so that people stay and do their work.

The “play” state is already significant progress: people like what they do and they like to see it as a “game”, in the most positive sense. People are cheerful and truly support each other. These organisations are not only more productive than the “existing” ones, but also more innovative and agile. 

However, this state is hardly enough to thrive in today’s tough business environment. Rather, what is needed is a team that is primed to win, based on playfulness and high moral standards.

The winning team mindset is fundamentally different to the average one.

People and teams with a winning mindset settle for nothing less than being the best in the field. They set higher standards than the rest and do everything to live up to them each day. 

Does this mean less fun? Yes, sometimes. But this is dramatically outweighed by the sense of meaning and the joy of achieving truly great results in life and business. I think that’s worth the effort.