Fun Should be taken Seriously

Just came out of a New Persuasion staff meeting where we talked about the fine line between having fun and being professional.  I don't really get why it has to be one or the other - why not both?  What makes me really happy is that FUN is slowly being recognized as important in all aspects of our lives, including (and especially) work. 

Kathy Sierra over at Creating Passionate Users is a believer in fun: 

Never underestimate the power of FUN to keep people engaged...The act of having fun is also an emotion, so anything associated with fun has a greater chance of being remembered.

And Influx Insights points to Douglas Ruskoff's blog (about his book on innovation called Get Back in the Box):

Fun is not a distraction from work or a drain on our revenue; it is the very source of both our inspiration and our value. A genuine sense of play ignites our creativity, eases communication, promotes goodwill and engenders loyalty, yet we tend to shun it as detrimental to the seriousness with which we think we need to approach our businesses and careers.

If we can switch our orientation to fun, and see it not as an anarchic threat that needs to be quelled but rather as the core motivator and source of meaning for all human thought and behavior beyond basic survival, we will enable ourselves to reach levels of success that were previously unimaginable.

Take that professionals.