Don’t hate the player, hate the game!

Apr 6

Hello, Gamestormers! How are you?

New York recently made vaccines available to those of us 30 years or older; I received my first dose last week. While I experienced some side effects, they were mild compared to the pain of scheduling the appointment.

Here’s how it happened for me:
Monday, March 29 Read New York Governor Cuomo’s announcement that the most computer savvy generation living in the largest and most competitive city in the United States could begin scheduling appointments for the long-awaited pandemic vaccine beginning 8am the next day.
Clear Tuesday morning calendar.
Tuesday Wake up & queue in digital line, start refreshing browser at 7:55am, in case they release appointments early.
Compete for coveted appointment slots: click on available dates & times, fill out digital application forms, reach final summary screen only to learn on ‘submit’ the appointment time or date is no longer available. Repeat this loop a maddening number of times.
Wednesday & Thursday Repeat Tuesday. Also: begin to follow Twitter bots announcing in real-time additional appointment releases; read Reddit threads to learn any tips, tricks or hacks for scheduling an appointment; take the advice of a friend to stay up just past midnight when many private pharmacies add new appointment availability to their site. Still no luck.
Friday Finally secure an appointment for more than two months away.
Sunday (Easter, and a lovely New York spring day) On a hunch that many people would be away from their computer, try the Walgreens pharmacy website.
Yes! Schedule appointment less than 48 hours away.

Everything is a game
People ask all the time how to sell Gamestorming to their colleagues and clients; they fear words like “games” sound unprofessional and fluffy.

And that’s understandable. Words matter. You might try not using that word. But that won’t make it not a game; even the things we don’t explicitly call games are games. That meeting you have every day where no one makes an agenda, no roles are assigned, only a few people talk, no one takes notes, no decisions are made and no follow-ups are sent out? That’s a game.

New York's Governor Cuomo didn't announce the Vaccine Game, but that's what it was. We're playing games even when we're not Gamestorming.

So how can you make sure you’re playing better games at work?

Choose Your Words Wisely
One approach is to abandon the trigger words and focus more on the benefits; teams leave Gamestorming meetings with outcomes that are: aligned, inclusive & designed. There’s clarity and commitment on purpose and next steps.

If you want to discuss process, Gamestorming involves design thinking, systems thinking, visual thinking, improvisational thinking and complexity thinking. While still provocative, these phrases maintain a professional veneer.

If you want to support your claims with research showing the benefits of increased design, collaboration and creativity at work, we shared some in the last newsletter.

Take small steps
You don’t have to organize a full-on Gamestorming workshop to show it works. Introduce small changes to make your meetings better and you’ll have colleagues asking for more. Some ideas:
Plan the meeting using the 7Ps framework
Set an agenda and send it before the meeting, giving attendees enough time to review it
Use a timer to keep to the agenda
Assign roles at the start of the meeting (facilitator & visual scribe, to start)
Ask people for their meeting expectations at the top of the agenda; write each large enough so they’re visible to all attendees, and take a status-check midway through and at the end of the meeting
For each meeting topic or question, provide attendees a few minutes of reflection before breaking into group discussion
Instead of an open group discussion, have people talk to the person next to them, then report out to the larger group
Try an Empathy Map for a key stakeholder or customer

David Mastronardi

Don’t hate the player, hate the game!

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