Customer Reviews

The Death of the Playground: How the lof 'Free-Play' has affected the Soul of Corporate America

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As a woman, business professional and Gen Xer I found the "Playground" refreshingly honest and right on the money. It is unfortunate that the simple lessons of our childhood are often lost as our career's develop. For those of us fortunate enough to have enjoyed the luxury of 'free-play' the "Playground" reminds us that we have the responsibility to pass on these teachings to those around us. The soul's of today's corporations could be revived if only the lessons of the "Playground" were embraced by its leaders. I plan to give the "Playground" a voice in my future staff meetings and would encourage others to do the same. Easy to read and definitely a resource I plan to re-visit whenever I feel its teachings getting too far away!

A superbly written roadmap for the lessons corporate america has been missing as the last generation of bootstrap sleeves up CEO's has retired. Fond memories and funny stories remind me of the simple leadership lessons and basic behavior that are lacking in today's business leaders. These are the basic lessons that sadly no MBA program seems to cover.

I picked up this book because of the intriguing title and was very impressed by the author's wonderful connection of the simplicity of youth in the 60's. The Playground had such an important impact on my formative years and it set the stage for so many real life decisions and behavioural patterns of my adult life. He threads the two together so well, anyone who grew up during that time and had a playground to go to will certainly read this book with fond memories of that time. It also makes one think about where we are going as a society and what little thought has been given to the importance of the playground in a figurative and literal sense.

Reading this book allowed me to think back to my own "Playground" in a Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood. Playing wallball, halfball, and stickball, where first base was "Old Man Schaeffer's Chevy"... Those were the days. The friendships, mentoring, and lessons learned in "free play" have been invaluable to me personally in the workplace. I'd like to thank the author for taking me back to those simpler times.

Even though I am a girl, I read this book and it brought up all the great memories I had hanging with the guys in my neighborhood. I was just one of the guys- a tomboy. I remember getting up on a Saturday morning, taking off on my bike and the only rule was you had to be home by dark...Awww, the freedom....You could feel yourself growing up and taking on the responsiblity that your parents were giving you to be on your own...It was great. The guys in neighborhood did allow me on the playground..so I guess they broke one of the "rules". The lessons learned on the playground are exactly as described...you had to stand on your own two feet and especially for me..prove I deserved to be there. There are many times in today's business world that the time spent on the playground and the lessons learned then has me hold my ground and survive in a "man's" world...I truly enjoyed the book and would recommend it as a very good read and reference book for all those who remember the great time of "free play"..