The Power of Purposeful Play

David Purdy
Sep 2
4 min read

Updated: Oct 31

I've been trying to write a play about a guy named Bob going through a midlife crisis. He quits his job at a startup in Boston and goes on a vision quest, wandering toward New York City. As he does, he uses an AI Bot — AthenaLM — to explore the history of places along the way. At first, he’s humbled by all that Athena knows. But, he starts to realize it’s up to him to discover the meaning of his quest. Athena is great at finding facts; but he’s great at living his story, authoring it with others as he goes.

Putting All Our Humanity to Work

You may think that the term “play“ is about as countercultural as it gets in our workaday worlds. All children play. And, when we become adults, we put play aside and go to work.

But, should we?!

For generations, America’s culture has been driven by the Protestant work ethic, grounded in Stoic philosophy from ages past. But, as we enter the Age of AI, we would do well to double down on our unique value proposition as humans. Indeed, if we partner with the Bots, each of us doing what we do best, we’re more likely to thrive.

So, let’s embrace the power of play rather than suppressing this vital and joyous instinct. Only humans can playfully embody our creativity in a given moment. So, let’s put it to work!

Entering the AI Age

You’ve read the stories and even felt the fear of how AI might change the world. I’d argue that if we hunker down into our comfort zones the Bots might well come for us. But, if we reclaim what makes us uniquely human, we will be more likely — not just to keep our jobs — but to fully achieve our potential as humans. But, it’s going to take a new approach. And, Purposeful Play offers such an approach, helping us to earn the attention of others in a meaningfully memorable way so compellingly that it can actually drive behavior change, arguably the holy grail of effective leadership. (See my posts on Generative Communication for more.)

Using Play to Co-create Our Stories with Others

So, we reclaim our ability to play well with others. Now what? We are meaning-making creatures and we use storytelling to do it; both for ourselves and with, and for, others. When we’re fully present, aware, open and engaged playfully with others, we create a space where mutual trust can flourish. That can empower us to share our most meaningful stories. That sense of connection can help us create a shared vision. And, such a vision can actually drive change. That is critical in a world that so obviously needs it. To flourish in the AI Age, we need to recapture and develop our creative capacity. The capacity to play is a critical part of our skillset if we're to work with the Bots and not be pushed aside by them.

Bridging Business and the Humanities

Purposeful Play combines strategic mastery from business communication theory and practice. First, master your material by building your arguments with the best research available. Next, craft your message in a way that is likely to resonate with your audiences. That’s the strategy part. Then, embody that message with all the vitality and confidence that improvisatory play can teach. That’s the play part. But, this approach is more than just using traditional theatrical improvisation to build interpersonal communication skills.

The approach draws on a full range of the arts beyond theater — from movement to painting to music. It also employs tools from each that provide a foundation for enhanced presence and reduced anxiety. And, along the way, these theories and practices can heighten self and other awareness. Such a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach can actually help even the most introverted among us achieve our potential as leaders.

So, do the strategic work — including mastering emerging AI best practices — and bring the power of play to what you do. Doing so will enhance your ability to think on your feet and heighten your collaborative capacity through improv’s ‘Yes, and’ ethos. You’ll also learn to heighten your embodied sense of self, team, potential allies and clients, making it possible to adapt your messages on the fly in a win-win way.

An Endnote on the Science of Play

The great neurophysiologist Dr. Jaak Panksepp noted that we have evolved with a primordial play impulse that drives creative problem-solving and interpersonal bonding. Playing helped our species thrive. By pretending to be machine-like, we have too often failed to use all of our humanity in business. As artificial intelligence threatens to beat us in our ability to think, revisiting purposeful play can ensure that we thrive in partnership with the machines.

In subsequent posts, I'll lay out the following aspects of Purposeful Play