My 2 cents on Gamification for Business

Can we have an honest conversation about gamification ?

If you think about it, it is nothing new ! Don't believe me? Ask your mum. She is the expert at turning anything she wanted you to do into a game. Clean your room ? Do the dishes ? Dress up ? Get good grades ? Sound familiar ?

The Era we live in is the most brutal, competitive and selective period humanity have ever faced. although the opportunity is tremendous, the emotional state of most workers is constantly challenged on a daily basis.

We shifted from get a degree, get a job, and work for THE MAN to you can be whoever you want just because you want it.

There is a big confusion about the state of things. Life is not what you want it to be, Life is what you make out of it. Adversity, pain, failure, rejection and self doubt are a big part of Life, for some people it's even the only part of Life.

Today, In order to counter the effect of that on productivity, big companies AKA The Man, have developed what is called #Gamification in education, to make education more fun, productive and easy to achieve. Somehow it has some effects of mass productivity. There is an increase in results for companies. This is absolutely normal and consistent with our human nature. We consistently work without tiring at anything that is pleasant and fun.

The problem with the current approach, is that the overload of simplification and Game philosophy, doesn't build resilience and tough minds. It underestimates most aspects of business and conveys the Idea, that if we all smile and go positive, life is gonna be easier to live. It's simply not true.

Treating your employees like kids is definitely a wrong strategy on the longterm. As business leaders we have a responsibility towards our teams. A moral obligation to leave them with a better acumen than the one they had joining us.

Now I agree, adults do get to play and have fun too, so I implore you to put self awareness on the menu in your company.

Develop activities that raise the self awareness level of your managers, and leaders. It is the ultimate Game !

• Reward winners Only ! give constructive feedback, coach, manage and mentors those who loose. Not achieving results is not a fatality. Even world champions lose games.
• Promote discipline and humility. Superstars that are bullies to their coworkers need to be fired. 
• Hire Optimism. Trusting that adversity is part of the game and remaining focused and committed is optimism. Believing that everything is going to be awesome no matter what is Illusion. 

At the end, we are all work in progress. Understanding that, will definitely bring some humility into the game and help us achieve.

If you're lucky, you'll be able to do what you love. However if you do not do what it takes, you will definitely remain Unlucky.

your Thoughts ?

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