In The Power of Play: The Game Design Approach to Transforming Employee Engagement, the Managing Director for Willow Ventures - a global insurance innovation leader - George Kesselman, delivers a one-of-a-kind and exciting take on employee productivity and engagement. He dives deep into increasing divergence between work and how we approach motivation, and moving beyond the gamification of work, exploring the motivational and behavioural elements behind the “fun” kind of problem solving we find in games and showing you how to apply them to your workplace.
In the book, you’ll discover how to apply the principles of game design to the professional environment so you can realize higher levels of motivation, productivity, and creativity from your teams. You’ll also find: - Strategies to make your workplace more enjoyable and improve talent recruitment and retention - Practical insights into tapping into your employees’ intrinsic motivations to create a more satisfying work experience - Discussions of how to identify core motivations, combine them with clever design, and help your employees achieve “flow states” of extraordinary productivity
Perfect for managers, executives, directors, entrepreneurs, founders, and other business leaders, The Power of Play is also a can’t-miss resource for human resources and other people professionals seeking effective strategies to retain, motivate, and inspire their team members.
Table of Contents
Preface vii
Introduction: Let’s Press Start ix
Part I Work- Off: the Brief History of Work and a Sneak Peek Inside Our Heads 1
1 Trapped in the Cycle: The Woes of Enforced Gamification 3
2 The Journey to Work 1.0 19
3 The Industrial Revolution: Hello, Work 2.0 29
4 Work 2.5 and Getting Stuck 41
5 Work 3.0: The Internet Work Revolution 51
Part II Who Said It Can’t Be All Fun and Games? 63
6 Designing Fun: The Magic of Games 65
7 Games Give Us a Ray of Hope 73
8 Game Time, Game Type 87
Part III the Science of Motivation 117
9 Motivations 119
10 Forced Mindfulness: Why It Removes the Power of Freedom and Choice in Enjoyment 141
Part IV the Intersection Between Games And Work 153
11 How We Learn 155
12 Embracing Open Source: Unleashing the Power of Collaboration 169
13 Esports Work: Blurring the Lines between Play and Profession 177
Part V Level- Up Work 185
14 Level 1 Skills: Breaking Free from the Skills Trap 187
15 Level 2 Skills: Testing 201
16 Level 3 Skills: And the Future of Work Is. 213
About the Author 223
About the Book 225
Acknowledgments 227
Index 229