Carroll's (Red Rubber) Ball Game

NEW YORK For Kevin Carroll, inspirational speaker, former Nike executive and frustrated cellist, it all comes down to the red rubber ball.The 49-year-old married father of three spends much of his time talking up the value of play as a force for creativity. Founder of the Katalyst Consultancy, Carroll is also a partner and "katalyst" at TAOW Productions, a marketing company based in Portland, Ore.Carroll talks about incorporating play into work, telling stories of hope and inspiration and what the Philadelphia 76ers (where he was once the head athletic trainer) can do to improve. Q: Your new book, What's Your Red Rubber Ball?! Discover Your Inspiration and Chase It for a Lifetime, is due in 2008. This follows your 2006 book Rules of the Red Rubber Ball. What is it with you and red rubber balls?A: It was the saving grace for me in my youth in growing up. Metaphorically, it's whatever you're chasing and inspires you. That's the whole notion around it: Everyone should have something that inspires them to go after goals. For me, it was a red ball, a playground and sports that put me on the journey. You spend a lot of your time trying to convince corporations to encourage more play and, therefore, more creativity in the workplace. What excuses do you hear from companies about why they can't do that?It's how we've been conditioned. We hear the word play and we think frivolity and childishness. I flip it on people and try to get them to think that it's purposeful. I present empirical research and talk about how innovation and creativity are born out of playful moments. I smack people in the face with research from Michigan State University where scientists, including four eventual Nobel Prize winners, were interviewed about the value of their avocational hobbies. Many of them talk about having breakthroughs while practicing their hobby. If it's good enough for Nobel laureates, we should at least pause to think about it.Is there any downside to workplaces that are more like play spaces?Many of the things being demanded of us require us to tap into our imaginations. There's more problem solving and a need for more agility and nimbleness in our thoughts. The speed of business requires the speed and agility of children. Through the process of becoming an adult and education we've received we've begun to atrophy that area. More organizations recognize that play can be purposeful. For example, Stanford University has the d.school [Stanford Institute of Design, known as d.school]. What they're trying to do is encourage business leaders to recognize that if you want to embrace creativity and innovation you have to embrace the question of how do we create a culture that supports and encourages that. What better way than by in a playful manner?What's one insight into human behavior you've gained from speaking appearances?No matter where I've gone globally, everyone wants to know that there's hope and possibility out there. It never fails that people always have a level of respect and admiration and they want to know that there are stories of triumph and people pulling themselves up by their bootstraps and also giving back. The human element within the business is so powerful and profound; it's always going to be about people. It's never about systems and processes. We all want a little bit of inspiration and a little bit of hope. Not when it's hokey, but when it's true and an authentic, genuine inspiration.Who has had the greatest influence on you?My best friend's mom, Phyllis Lane. She taught in Philadelphia for 30 years. She was my life teacher, and she became my mom when my mother wasn't there for me. She continues to be a part of my life. I've had a key to her home since I was nine.When you worked at Nike from 1997-2004, your title was "katalyst." What did you do?I got to create my own role. When I thought about chemistry and what a catalyst was, a change agent, I wanted to be a human change agent. I worked across the company.You were one of the people behind the Live Strong bracelet. What's one thing about them that people don't know?That phenomenon ended with 80 million-plus bands out there. I looked at it differently. That's 80 million stories of cancer and triumph. It actually made the world smaller. If I see someone with a yellow Live Strong on, I can walk up and ask why and they'll tell you. That's what people missed. It humanized us and gave us a chance to tell a story. Storytelling will always be at the root of what we are as human beings. What's the smartest business decision you've ever made?Listening to Phil Knight [then president and CEO of Nike] when he told me my destiny was outside of Nike. He said he's only told two other people that. He said, "There's something bigger out there for you rather than just serving us."And the dumbest?When I joined the Air Force [1980-90] and I was going be a security policeman. When I joined, I wanted to leave the city, and I said give me whatever you have. When I went there to see what the job was, I said, "There's no way I'm watching fences all day long." I got out of it and got into being a language translator. I speak Serbian and Croatian, and I read Russian, Czech and German.Your words have appeared on Starbucks cups ["The human catalysts for 'dreamers' are the teachers and encouragers that 'dreamers' encounter throughout their lives. They are invaluable in the quest to turn ideas into reality. So here's a special thanks to all of the teachers—especially my teacher, Miz Lane!"]. Any advice for people who want their own words on a coffee cup? You can go in and do it. I got approached because I spoke at one of their marketing events. You can submit your own through their Web site.What is a book that you didn't work on that has inspired you?The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream by Paulo Coelho. It's got that beautiful Joseph Campbell hero's journey, it's lyrically written and allows you to paint these beautiful images in your mind. I really related to it because all of us have an opportunity to go on a hero's journey, but you have to know your calling.Is the inspirational market oversaturated?Everybody has their own way of sharing. I just hope everybody is being authentic and are the embodiment of their message. That's the litmus test for buying their book. Are they living it every day or is it just some spiel they're putting out there. Each of us will dine at the table of inspiration in a different way. You always need a nice variety and not people taking advantage of the fact that people want hope and inspiration.One of the tenets of your marketing agency, TAOW Productions, is that consumers seek out companies that work towards positive social change. Is that really true given the number of people who continue to smoke, drive gas-guzzlers and eat junk food?We focus our attention on those things because they're newsworthy. Anyone who is paying much closer attention, you're seeing and hearing from the next generation coming up that they're aware of and paying attention to these things. They're going to be change makers. That's a big part of what we're focusing on. Not just people who write checks but those whose checks influence people. Child obesity is a big deal, but are we paying attention to all the programs created by young people to fight it? Tell us a story from your Nike years.I got to know many of the people at Wieden + Kennedy [Nike's main agency], and we would spend time chatting. One day I had a conversation with them about how adults don't recognize the value of play anymore. Play is just as important as eating, drinking and sleeping. There will be deleterious effects if you deprive yourself of play, and I said, "Why aren't we as an organization the embodiment of play?" They came up with the idea of the campaign "Play." [One of the three spots in the campaign, "Tag," won the Grand Prix at the 2002 Cannes Lions]. You were the head athletic trainer for the Philadelphia 76ers from 1995-97. They've struggled over the past few years. What would be your motivational advice to them?Honor your past and recognize there was an amazing commitment of respect to the organization. Bring back some of the old guard. It's important to instill wisdom and knowledge with new players. I was there with Allen Iverson; I was sad to see him move on. That's one of the things with Philadelphia. We always lose our sports stars: Dr. J, Randall Cunningham, Eric Lindros. We have to find a way to value those treasures while we still have them. We have to find a way to maintain our heritage and build a new one.What is your creative maxim?Human potential is boundless and endless. There are no boundaries to what the human spirit can accomplish and we can be inspired up to our last breath.Who is someone you're dying to work with?Paulo Coelho. I'd love to write a book with him. We've talked about doing a business parable together.When you're not reading or writing inspirational books, what kinds of books are you reading?Sports books. I have an amazing collection of sports fiction and non-fiction. I have shelves and shelves of sports books.You're were in New York this fall working on a pilot. What's it about?We're shooting a TV pilot that looks at play in any community in the U.S. and internationally and why people play and the value of it. We want to see who is the best of the best in the city by creating a series of challenges that focus on speed, jumping and strength but in an urban environment. For example, we may use a construction site and have contestants see who can carry concrete sacks the fastest. I'm the host, but there's no title yet.

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Carroll's (Red Rubber) Ball Game

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