Be Different or be dead

June 8, 2015

Why playful organizations actually have a competitive advantage

Source: Unsplash

Why do organizations that ‘play’ have a competitive advantage?

Most organizations search for ways to differentiate themselves from their competition at a very high level: operational excellence, technology and products. Some actually believe price is a differentiator but I won’t spend nanosecond on the subject.

There is one dimension that rarely gets included in the conversation - playfulness.

It seems that organizations that are playful and have fun seem to do well against their ‘tight’ competitors.

Playful businesses allow their employees to express themselves as individuals; to talk to their customers in an informal way as opposed to following a script crafted by someone in a staff group somewhere in head office.

They expose the office fun to their customers. The banter that goes on among employees ‘when no one is watching’ is presented to their customers with no hesitation.

On Westjet all of the flight attendants are introduced, and ‘the lovely Marsha’ in the mid-cabin section always gets a deserved round of applause.

Employees of playful organizations step out of their formal role and do something unexpected of them.

I recall the pilot of a Westjet flight introducing himself to the passengers before stepping into the cockpit and giving us the details of the upcoming flight in person as well as their plan to introduce new streaming video technology to replace the traditional way of viewing movies.

He said he liked to do things differently than others.

Very unexpected and memorable. I have never seen any pilot from any other airline do this (and I don’t expect I ever will).

Playful organizations inject humour in carrying out their official tasks. Ever hear a Westjet flight boss give pre-flight safety instructions? Their speech covers the required details but it is laced with a casual humour that makes the process of seeing once again how to fasten a seat belt more interesting and enjoyable.

Playful organizations seem more human than others, and are rewarded with customers who care about them and stay with them through thick and thin.

Sounds like a #CompetitiveAdvantage to me…

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 6.8.15 at 04:10 am by Roy Osing
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