Imagine going through a training program that gave quizzes unexpectedly, allowed you to gain points when you passed certain markers of information and included videos as mental breaks. This was the beginning of increasing the art of gaming in the training process. When I went through such a training, I understood its purpose. I liked the videos as they were humorous, yet the quizzes felt like ambiguous spacers as many were obvious fill-in-the-blank questions to help everyone accumulate points. I quickly realized this is a new way of engaging the learner. Nice!
I had no idea it would make itself at home in every aspect of life.
Specifically, Disney. Wow! Between the Disney experts, the Disney apps, The Disney Bluetooth bracelets you wear, and all the rules and hoops to learn how to dine out and do what you want to do - I’ve never been so overwhelmed by such a big new game.
The first week of May I will find myself absorbed in all things Disney World with my two young grandkids. This will be the 2nd time in my life to go to Disney World and this time has turned out to be so much different. Disney has gamified how you experience your time in the park.
There are game pieces to use, such as the magic band you can wear that lets you into your hotel room, park, and purchase things. These magic bands hold all your credit card information and access limitations. For example, when I stay with friends for two nights in their deluxe resort, I will have access to the park after hours. All via my magic band. When I am staying with the rest of my family in our value suite, I will not, as it will be limited via the magic band.
There are secret things to purchase such as the Genie pass. All the ways to use it are within the Disney app you must use to do anything Disney. The Genie pass is something you can purchase for the days you want to grant you access to the short line for a specific ride. You can put that ride in your genie pass anytime between midnight and 7 am and at 7 am, you and the rest of those up at that hour, can push ‘reserve my spot’ and you will get a line time. Magic or mischief? Not sure. There is a reservation system for restaurants, shows, and various experiences and that is a game within itself. Timing is everything.
When all this started and the Disney expert was educating me, my first thought was, when did Disney get gamified? And is this a game I want to play? How do you win? Is there a simpler way? I will let you know in June.
That posed another line of thought for those I coach. What do you do in your life that would be more enjoyable and efficient if you gamified it? Gamifying anything simply is the act of creating steps that make things easier and more enjoyable to accomplish. And we have done a great job of including it in life.
For example:
Working out? We have biotech things to wear to motivate us to climb one more set of stairs or walk one more lap around the block.
Book consumption? We have audio apps, podcasts, kindle, and many other ways to consume reading material than ever before.
Hand, eye coordination? Video games out the wazoo.
Could we apply this to work? Could we create a personalized way of:
Getting to and from work in a timelier manner?
Making sure you have conversations with your people?
Holding meetings in shorter time spans with more effective results?
Everything is open to be a game, an adventure, and a win. What will you create?
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