Overview
What if play isn’t a distraction from meaningful work, but the very thing that makes it better? In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, host John Jantsch sits down with entrepreneur and Refinery29 co-founder Piera Gelardi to explore how a playful mindset can unlock creativity, strengthen relationships, and drive innovation in business and life.
Drawing from her new book The Playful Way, Gelardi explains why play is not something we earn after work, but a powerful tool that enhances how we work. From neuroscience insights to real-world business applications, this conversation reframes play as a strategic advantage rather than a frivolous activity.
Guest Bio
Piera Gelardi is an entrepreneur, speaker, and co-founder of Refinery29, a global media company focused on modern women’s lives across fashion, wellness, and culture. She helped grow the company from a small startup into a global brand with over $100M in revenue and 500+ employees. Gelardi is also the author of The Playful Way, where she explores how play can transform creativity, leadership, and resilience.
Key Takeaways
- Play is a Performance Enhancer, Not a Reward
Play isn’t something you earn after work. It is a mindset that improves creativity, problem solving, and relationships while you work. - Play Deprivation Has Real Consequences
A lack of play leads to reduced resilience, limited perspective, and decreased intrinsic motivation, making work feel rigid and uninspiring. - Play Unlocks Innovation Through Divergent Thinking
A playful mindset allows people to explore multiple possibilities instead of defaulting to safe, repetitive solutions. - There Are Multiple “Play Personalities”
Play is not just humor or goofiness. It includes curiosity, imagination, movement, and visionary thinking, each valuable in different contexts. - The Playful Way vs. The Pressured Way
Pressured means rigid, outcome focused, and driven by fear of failure.
Playful means open, experimental, resilient, and idea generating. - Small Moments of Play Beat Forced Fun
Integrating play into everyday work, not one off activities, builds authentic culture and engagement. - Experimentation is Play in Action
Reframing initiatives as experiments lowers risk perception and encourages innovation, which is key to marketing and growth. - Leadership Sets the Tone for Play
Leaders must model vulnerability and playfulness to create psychological safety for teams.
Great Moments (Timestamps)
- 00:01 – The Big Idea
Why play might be the missing ingredient in meaningful work and creativity. - 01:30 – A Playful Upbringing
How Gelardi’s early life shaped her belief that play and productivity can coexist. - 02:54 – The Science of Play
Research on play deprivation and how play rewires the brain for growth and resilience. - 04:32 – The Misconception of Play at Work
Why play gets dismissed and how different forms of play show up in business. - 06:57 – Innovation Through Play
How a playful mindset leads to breakthrough ideas instead of recycled thinking. - 09:32 – Practical Play Exercises
Simple tools like shake breaks and curiosity questions to unlock team creativity. - 12:28 – The Refinery29 Story
From startup blog to global media brand and how experimentation fueled growth. - 14:14 – Avoiding Forced Fun Culture
Why play must be integrated into daily work, not treated as a gimmick. - 16:56 – Play in Marketing
How experimentation and low risk testing led to the viral success of 29 Rooms. - 19:50 – Reconnecting With Play as Adults
Why we lose playfulness and how to rediscover it through small actions.
Memorable Quotes
“Play is not the opposite of seriousness. It is what makes seriousness bearable.”
“When we think of something as an experiment, it stops feeling so high stakes, and that is when creativity opens up.”
“Playfulness creates the most innovative ideas, the best relationships, and the resilience to work through problems.”
Where to Learn More
- Book: The Playful Way available at major booksellers
- Website: pieragelardi.com
- Instagram and Substack: @pieraluisa
