Philosophy

Essential Tools

These are the five tools I use to intentionally create a powerful & positive learning environment to influence the way people feel and amplify the results of whatever they are trying to get done.

1. FUNN (Functional Understanding Not Necessary)

A potent tool that invites people to engage & participate

People are drawn to participate when what they’re doing is fun. That’s why laughter, play and shared enjoyment sit at the heart of every playmeo program – captured in Karl Rohnke’s whimsical acronym FUNN: if it’s fun, I want to be a part of it.

2. Honouring Choice

No one is forced to participate

Every person chooses their own level of participation – always. Within an atmosphere of care and support, people consistently surprise themselves by accomplishing things they never thought possible.

3. Goal-Setting

Setting clear expectations & the reasons for meeting them

Goals motivate as much as they guide. Research shows groups consistently achieve more when their energy is focused on a shared, clearly-articulated objective.

4. Learning Through Reflection

Transferring learning & skills to the ‘real’ world

Doing activities is not enough. The real learning happens when a group pauses after a meaningful experience to reflect on what just occurred – and consider how it might transfer to the world beyond the program.

5. Leveraging Full Value

Everyone has something to contribute

A set of agreed behavioural norms that invites every member of a group to squeeze the fullest value from themselves and the experience they share. It’s the antithesis of a devaluing atmosphere – because everyone has value to contribute.

Bottom Line

The most significant outcome of a program developed from the extensive resources of playmeo will be to invite individuals to interact and share at a level that they feel comfortable, to have fun, and feel a valuable part of the group.

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The ‘Difference Model’ Philosophy

The key to the success of any program or curriculum is the sequence of its activities, or in other words, using the right activity at the right time. This means that the language used throughout playmeo necessarily acknowledges a group’s needs at all times.

I have codified this sequence to be called The Difference Model, a simple philosophy initially described in my book Serious Fun and then expanded on in No Props No Problem.

This sequence is modelled and reflected in all of playmeo’s content. The four steps of the model are:

1. Plan: Needs Analysis – articulating the difference you wish to make.
2. Prime: Setting The Tone – creating a fun, safe & supportive environment to invite interaction
3. Pump: Doing The Work – developing the necessary levels of engagement & skills to promote growth
4. Peak: The Difference – leveraging your group’s potential to do work that matters.

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The ‘Play to Grow’ Model

If the Difference Model describes how I sequence a program, the Play to Grow model describes what participants actually experience as they move through it – the developmental arc that turns a group of strangers into people willing to stretch, take risks and grow together.

Refined over decades of practice and informed by the research of Dr Stuart Brown, among others, the model traces a five-step progression:

1. Play – the invitation that generates energy, joy and the psychological safety without which nothing else is possible.
2. Interact – play opens the door to interaction, where belonging and initial connection take root.
3. Share – interaction creates the conditions for genuine sharing, always offered willingly, never forced.
4. Trust – sharing deepens into trust, which is nurtured rather than declared.
5. Grow – only then can a group be invited to step into their Stretch Zones, repeatedly, until those Comfort Zones expand.

The model has not yet been captured in a book, but it underpins every program designed on playmeo.

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