4 Old-Fashioned Childrens’ Toys That Teach Modern-Day Business and Entrepreneurial Lessons!

4 Old-Fashioned Childrens’ Toys

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That Teach Modern-Day Business and Entrepreneurial Lessons!

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An original Business blog article by Yonatan Maisel

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Ah childhood! Those memories of times gone by. The carefree life. No job. No obligations. No commitments. Just playing!

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But now in my forties, and in the 2nd full-year of my freelance writing business, the idea struck me today like a freight-train…those silly little childrens’ games weren’t so silly after all.

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Certainly, once-upon-a-time, Donald Trump, Sir Richard Branson, George Foreman and J.K. Rowling were just little kids, merrily-at-play with their rather low-tech toys. But maybe, just maybe they were more than just toys? 

Perhaps a few of these iconic items have a lesson or two that we as people trying to navigate the dog-eat-dog world of Business can glean. On Entrepreneurship? On business-acumen? On the principles inherent in leading our businesses to success and profitability!

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Here is my list of History’s Greatest Low-Tech "Entrepreneurial-Toys" (No batteries required!)

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1) Weebles:

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The Toy: A product of Hasbro‘s Playskool Division, those iconic little guys took the toy world by storm beginning in the summer of 1971. Whether alone or in their Flying Circus, Haunted House or the myriad of other "play-sets," they never failed to live up to the old jingle "Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down!" 

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 The Entrepreneurial Lesson: Weebles were both egg-shaped and bottom-heavy. You could hit them, smack them, knock ’em head-over-heels and drop them. And…they would always, always land right-side-up.

In the Business world, it’s about resiliency and perseverance. It’s about overcoming obstacles and potential setbacks. It’s saying to others…and to ourselves…

"I might fall all the way down, but bet your ass I’ll pick myself right back up, brush myself off and try again!" It’s the never-say-die attitude which can separate those businesses which survive the rat-race and thrive from those which become statistics.

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2) Lego:

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The Toy: A product of the Danish family-consortium Lego Group, these building blocks appeared on the market in the 1940s and took the world by storm! The word "LEGO" is a derivative of the two Danish words "leg" and "godt" which mean "play well." These interlocking bricks can be used to make a skyscraper, a fire-truck, a castle, a robot…the only limitation is the child’s imagination! 

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The Entrepreneurial Lesson: Here it’s about connecting. It’s about linking to others to create networks, partnerships, relationships and connections! 

The English poet John Donne (1572-1631) said "No man is an island." Well, if that’s the case, I say "No business is an island." Whether referrals, strategic alliances, or with Social Media tools such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, only by connecting to others, and having others connect to us, can we maximize the potential which doing business in the electronic-age affords. We and our businesses are but links in a chain, ready to be linked to others.

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3) Toy Blocks:

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The Toy: 17th Century England is where experts agree these oldies but goodies originated. And ever since, children the world-over have been using them to learn, build and improve dexterity, and both physical and social skills. It doesn’t get more basic than square, wooden blocks.

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The Entrepreneurial Lesson: Blocks are probably the first forum in which children learn the consequences of trying to build upwards without a stable foundation: things come tumblin’ down! But, make yourself a proper foundation and things, seemingly miraculously, stay up!

In Business, decades on from our childhoods, the lesson is no less dramatic. Skimp or make a mistake in the early stage of a project…or take that risky shortcut, and you might watch everything which is based upon your initial shortcoming crumble down.

But take the time and effort to do things correctly, methodically and meticulously, and build a work which is stable, strong and stands both the test of time and the client’s expectations!

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4)  Crayons:

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The Toy: The word "crayon" (a hybrid of the French words for chalk and earth) can be traced back to the 1600s, but it is only more recently that the notion of a wax coloring pencil has come into existence. There have been over 500 modern manufacturers of crayons (the best known being Crayola), and in the ensuing years, children the world-over have drawn billions upon billions of bright, colorful, imaginative pictures!

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The Entrepreneurial Lesson: It’s about IMAGINATION! It’s about seeing something in the mind’s-eye and bringing it to fruition and realization! It’s about trying. Drawing and re-drawing. Fixing and perfecting. Cars, houses, planes, trains. It’s about making dreams visible.

I’m going to say it here and I’m going to say it loud: a child drawing with crayons instilled the spirit of creativity which led to…The Internet, the computer, the cell-phone, emails, blogs, Social Media, airplane designs, and almost every other modern invention we take for granted.

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Child + Toys + Curiosity + Imagination = Business Skills!

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Image Credits: Globe: imba.nccu.edu.tw; Weeble: 3.bp; Lego: brandimpact.files.com; blocks: 4.bp.; crayons: sweetpeatowels.com 

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Yonatan Maisel is a Business blogger, history buff and author. He specializes in all aspects of Business writing.

From speeches to resumes, from corporate bios to research, from blogging to website content, from articles to ghost-writing, he provides the highest level of quality at a very reasonable price.