The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast The Business Case for Play at Work
Mar 26, 2026
Piera Gelardi, entrepreneur and Refinery29 co-founder and author of The Playful Way, champions play as a strategic mindset. She discusses the science of play and resilience. She outlines play archetypes, practical exercises to spark creativity, and how playful experiments shaped Refinery29 and company culture.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Play Enhances Work Performance
- Play integrated into work boosts innovation, relationships, and resilience rather than being a reward after work.
- Piera Gelardi observed playfulness in her family and saw it produce better ideas and problem-solving across life and business.
Play Deprivation Harms Problem Solving
- Play deprivation reduces resilience, solution-orientation, and intrinsic motivation.
- Neuroscience shows playful, experimental mindsets reshape neural pathways and keep people open to learning from setbacks.
Multiple Play Archetypes Exist
- Play has many modes beyond humor: curiosity, visionary dreaming, physical movement, etc.
- Piera defines eight play archetypes and stresses valuing different playful strengths rather than only the 'class clown' type.
