A big part of why I love working with agile teams is because over time they find that work becomes fun again. Every sprint is a new journey, another chance for collaboration, another opportunity for leaders to emerge. Watching previously dysfunctional relationships turn into close group work is extremely motivating! Sure, there is discipline, too. But the discipline is just a facet of a group of professionals working together. Professionals can also have fun while they work hard. In fact, for many, it makes for a better, more enjoyable day.

Remember the days when you were a kid playing cops and robbers, or monopoly, or in my case "playing business" (I used to charge rent and write receipts to the kids next door, you know, for fun). But think about how you played: you threw yourself into it. You suspended all disbelief and BECAME the evil villain, the landlord, the t-rex. You ran around the yard dressed up in crazy costumes. You weren't afraid to talk in a different accent to play up your character, or wear a cowboy hat. You would chase your friends around the neighborhood on horses (um, bicycles) and play freeze tag until the last rays of the sun retracted beneath the horizon. Your parents had to water you down with a waterhose because at the end of the day you were too dirty to even come inside the house to get a bath, and this felt like they were washing off the fun. You were sad that the day was over! You slept so well, and woke up early just to do it all over again. When your neighbor friend was sick, you were sad, bored, kicked around the dust, wondered what to do with life. It was no fun not having someone to pretend with.

What happens to us between those long summer days of childhood and now, when we're all grown up? What changes? Bitterness of life, of experience? Disappointment of expectations? We grow older, we get stressed, we break down. We forget how to smile, how to laugh, how to throw ourselves into a situation with unabashed wonder and happiness. We become too self-critical, too self-aware, too self-absorbed, too stiff.  We forget how to poke our friends in the ribs and yell "You're it!" and dash off running. We play hide-and-seek in the business world, not for fun, but for survival.

I challenge each and every one of you to have fun today. Play freeze tag in the office. Step out for ice cream (with gummi worms) with your team. Go bowling. Go to the park for a picnic. Heck, play cops and robbers if you want. Lighten up. Have fun. Bring the enthusiasm of childhood, innocence and play into your daily work life. Stop taking everything so seriously. Make a business card that says "Expert Hide-and-Seeker" or "Terrifying T-rex of Technical Development". Put up yellow caution tape around your cube. Put a picture of your family on your taskboard. Say hello and MEAN IT when you're walking down the hall. Offer a candy bar to someone you've been struggling with lately. Wear a silly hat. Do a silly walk. If you're not having fun building new products, what are you DOING?

TAG: You're IT!