The Work-Game: Any Suggestions?

[Jack7]

I suspect this will be the best forum for this thread. But if this thread needs to be moved to the Media and Miscellaneous forum I completely understand. It's a toss-up to me.


Recently I've been receiving a lot of business coaching. Much of which has been excellent.

One of the ideas suggested to me was to turn my work into a game. I already have some ideas in this regard but then I began to wonder if anyone else here (it seems a logical place to find people with such experience) has ever done the same or a similar thing.

Have you ever turned your Work into a Game, and if so how, and how effective was it? Did it improve your work, or did it distract from or hamper your Work?

What I'm looking to do is turn my work into an actual Game. Not to be played separately from my Work, but to be played as my Work.


I guess before proceeding any further I should tell you a bit about my Work.

I divide my Work into 3 separate but related enterprises. First is my Business. I am a non-fiction writer, a freelance writer, and a copy-writer. I am also an inventor but my writing is my chief form of business income at the moment (although I hope to soon expand my invention operations). I run my business with my wife who is a public speaker, trainer, coach, and is in media. (My wife also has a career as a singer, and in a few weeks she goes to cut her first CD.)

My second form of Work is my Career as a fiction Writer. My Career I consider a separate enterprise, but is related to my business in many ways. Because of my business, and how busy it keeps me I don't have as much time for my Career as I'd wish, but I'm expanding my efforts in this regard as soon as possible.

Lastly is Work I do because I have a deep interest in it, and/or because I have prior experience at it, such as occasionally working Cold Cases, conducting investigations, business brokerage, and that sort of thing.

I consider all three of these enterprise-types my Work.

I'd like to integrate all three of these forms of Work into my Work-Game, or whatever one wishes to call it.

As I said I already have some ideas of how to go about this, but I'd like to solicit your opinions on the matter if you have any. How would you go about transforming or formulating or (re)designing my Work into a Game?

I might not be able to use any particular idea but no idea will probably be too ridiculous for me to consider. After all even if it is not directly applicable the idea may very well be able to be modified for my purposes.

So if you'd like to suggest an idea or a design concept then I'll certainly listen.

I'd very much like to, in the future, develop a sort of general design frame work for which anyone's work could be transformed into a Game-format (in case you have ideas on that front), including a game format for my wife's Career, but for now I'll settle for a format that can handle my Work - Business or Career, or ideally both.

Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions.

Jack.

 

[Jack7]

By the way these are some of the general topics or categories I've already considered in developing such a Game:


Actual Work Methods and Procedures

Business

Career

Charity and Philanthropy

Employees

Expertise/Education/Degrees/Certifications

Growth and Expansion/building Strongholds and Keeps

Leadership/Loyalty

Marketing and Networking

Money/Rewards/Treasures/Treasure Hoards/Investment and Reinvestment

Progress and Measuring Progress/Advancement

Reputation

Resources - Human/Informational/Physical/Capital

Skills Development

Work Projects as "Adventures and Missions and Quests"

 

[Jack7]

One idea I had this morning was possibly dividing out my Work into fiefdoms, and running it like a Baronage, and giving fiefs and "landgrants" (only these would be Work-territory grants) to partners and employees.

They would be totally responsible for their Work Grant, especially during a muster (for a large project), but they could also keep a percentage of all profits generated above and beyond a set pay scale (if they worked on a pay scale).

 

[Janx]

thinking more simplistically, games usually have goals and criteria for victory conditions

that easily translates into completing objectives, tasks on the list, etc.



I have 25 features on my list. I have until 9/12 to get them done. How many can I get done a day?

I win if I get the list to zero before the 12th.

not as sexy as jack7's example, but applicable.

 

[GSHamster]

I think you and your coach might be thinking about "game" in different ways. I would wager that the coach expects something more like:

You have 6 activiities you could do. Each activity is worth 10 or 20 points. Try to get the highest score.

This concept is generally known as Gamification.

While an elaborate boardgame mimicing feudal structure sounds pretty cool, I'm not at all sure that's what your coach intends.

 

[Jack7]

I have 25 features on my list. I have until 9/12 to get them done. How many can I get done a day?

I win if I get the list to zero before the 12th.

not as sexy as jack7's example, but applicable.

That's exactly what I'm talking about to a degree, and that idea will definitely be a part of getting certain objectives met.

You have 6 activiities you could do. Each activity is worth 10 or 20 points. Try to get the highest score.

This concept is generally known as Gamification.

While an elaborate boardgame mimicing feudal structure sounds pretty cool, I'm not at all sure that's what your coach intends.

I don't intend a board game or a role play game either, though it might have elements of both, such as markers, and role play training, etc.

I want to go beyond typical gamification though and into the area of real rewards, promotions, increasing productivity and creativity in work projects, re-delegation (maybe by setting up fiefdoms), spurring innovation, etc.

I don't want to develop a lot of rules or complexity of operations though, just game-like methods to increase productivity and innovation, but with real and tangible rewards (such as percentage shares, stakes, stock holdings, monetary gain, and increased responsibility and control of projects) attached to success.

So I want to eschew rules in favor of actual results. And so what I really want are the most clever and workable methods anyone can think of for spurring real achievement combined with excellent systems of attached rewards.

But I think you've both got the general idea. I just want to go beyond those typical method and reward systems to restructure my business to become a rewards and innovation type undertaking which is as enjoyable as a Game.

But instead of leveling up and getting gold pieces, you progress in your work and career, gain greater control over your work, and share profits more fully.

 

[Jack7]

Maybe I should better explain this by saying I want to avoid setting up a pseudo-rewards or artificial/fake currency system and instead develop real and tangible rewards for real Work achievements.

The fake currency systems are mildly interesting to some, for a small period of time, but to me real rewards for real achievements are far better motivators and far more fun to achieve.

And to me artificial systems have never been very impressive.

 

[Jack7]

One thing you guys just made me think of though was this:

Perhaps you could have a real feudal economy.

A person is successful in a project and beats deadline. He might choose to take his reward, in the form of a performance or production bonus, or he might decide to take a percentage share of overall profits as the project develops, or he might decide to use his reward to buy stake in a fiefdom in which he could gain greater responsibility and a promotion, which would allow him higher shares in future projects.

He wouldn't be stuck with assigned rewards but his potential rewards for excellent productivity could be fluid and, to a degree, self-determined.

So it would be feudalistic in that he could work his way into greater control of his work, but it would be merit based in the fact that he would profit by merit and behavior, not by nepotism or nobility.

 

[Jack7]

One other thing I just thought of, and then I gotta hit the hay.

Some time ago I developed a real world Character Development Sheet for myself and my family.

It's sorta like an RPG Character sheet but with a different point. The CDS is designed so that people can track their real abilities, interests, educational background, job history, personal relationships, networks (personal and professional), major achievements, etc.

The point of the sheet is to have an easy to read over reference sheet for your own personal "Character Development." That is, it is a sheet to both track your prior/current achievements and abilities, and to define your future goals and objectives, and thereby to use it as a reference tool for "developing your own character" (and capabilities).

Perhaps a modified tool of this general kind might also be useful for the Work Game (though I really need a better title for this project than, the Work Game).

 

[Wild Gazebo]

The method you are speaking of is a motivational and morale enhancement tool. The increase of motivation and morale increase productivity through increased workload and percentage of productive work time (meaning your productivity margins are higher due to better than average quality work).

The tool itself doesn't increase productivity. The tool increases morale and motivation. If you are self employed...or have very few employees this method will become a burden. All aspects of the game will become a burden...extra work

What you are describing, to me, seems like a method of reducing productivity. Even more so if you are trying to incorporate this into some kind of organizational scheme: all outcomes will become tangential as you apply the gamist outcome to the actual result.

But, perhaps, I'm missing something. Do you have several employees?