If we accept the premise that companies are people (*cough*), then in what spirit do people make their best decisions?

Each of us makes decisions in one of two states of mind: fear or excitement.

When we operate out of fear, we never put forth our best work.

An employee who is stressed about their paycheck is unlikely to give us brilliance.

A panicky manager watching sales charts go down is unlikely to come up with a novel solution.

But when we are free? When we are expansive? We come up with truly crazy ideas that no one has ever thought of before that just might work.

As leaders, we must cultivate play and curiosity in those who work for us. We must pay people to have fun and be creative as part of their job. Regardless of the mission stakes, an overly serious workplace will never produce the magic spark needed to change the world.

And I don’t for a second buy that we must always be serious in order to achieve serious results.