Top-5 #Gamification fallacies

TOP-5 Gamification -fallacies Don't START a Gamification project with these
Fallacy #5: Leaderboards #5
Leaderboardsaremainlyabout monitoringprogress. Itisamazingthatstillmostofusthink thatwearemotivatedjustbybeingplacedon aleaderboard. Thevalueofaleaderboardisitsabilityto providegreatfeedbackabouthowwearedoing comparedtoothers.But-mostoften-that's it:Justagreatwayforfeedback.Atthe sametimeitalsoproveshowslow&bad feedbackwithinorganisationsnormallyis. Ofcourseleaderboardsarebetterthan nothingbutthatdoesn'tmeantheyarethe bestsolutionatall.Iwouldalwaysprefera goodfeedbacksystemthatenhances collaborationoveragreatfeedbacksystem thatenhancescompetition. #5
Trap #4: Just take a solution off the shelf. #4
yes...weareallthesamespeciesbutthere isnosecondindividuallikeyou. Gamificationmeanstothinkhuman-focused ratherthanactivity-focused. Thedifferenceisthatyouhavetoputthe userinthecentreoftheactivityand everythinghastobebuildaroundhim,or better,aroundhispsychology.Yes,thismakes itverydifficulttosimplyscaleit,right? Ofcourse-attheend-theactivityhasto leadtothewishedoutcomes,likecompany- goals,ROI,andsoon.Butthat'stheWHATand nottheHOW. WHATtodo-->activity-focused HOWtodoit-->humanfocused #4
Design for the easy win. Trap #3: #3
but...winningwithoutfailingbefore ismeaningless. Ifyoulookatmostofthecurrentloyaltyprograms, customer-bonusprograms,andsoon,thereseemsto beonecommonrulewhichtheyareallfollowing: Theyaredesignedfortheeasywin. Butletmetellyousomething:Thisstrategymakes senseonlyifyouwanttoobtainashort-term attention,notareal,lastingloyalty. Lastingloyaltyistheconsequenceofbeing emotionallyinvolvedwithsomething.Andingeneral, humansmeasurethevalueoftheirinvolvement dependingonthetimeandefforttheyhadtoput intoit. "IfIhavealreadyputsomuchworkintosomething, ithastobeworthit." #3
Trap #2: Add Points & Badges. #2
EvenifIearnedthe'Master-badge'ina dullactivity,theactivitystillremainsdull. Thisisprobablythemostcommonfallacy. Ofcourse,pointsandbadgescanbegreattoprovide feedbackandtovisualisepersonalachievementsbuttheir roleandweightonhumanmotivationistotally misinterpreted. ThesecretpowerofGamificationisitsabilitytobe abletofocusontheactivity-thejourney-ratherthan justtheresults. Anditmakessensetodoso:Ifyourstrategyisto motivatebyachievements,youarecreatinganenvironment wherepeoplewillalwaysthinkabouthowtogetthe 'badge'asfastandaseasilyaspossible. Iftheactivityitselfisdullandrepetitivethiscould makesensebecauseyoucan'tchangeitscharacteristic. ButIbetthatmostofacompany'svalueiscreatedby cognitiveworke.gfindingbetterwaystosolvea problem.Hereyouhavetowatchthejourneyofaperson insteadofjustrewardingthematthefinishline. Don'tstartyourGamification-design-processwithpoints &badgesbutfinishitwiththem. #2
Trap #1: Fun can be commanded. #1
but...fun'sworstenemy istobetoldtohavefun, OftenGamificationisbeingcalledanewwayto manipulatepeopleintodoingsomethingthattheydon't wanttodo.Butthat'sjustnotpossible! Gamificationaimstocreateandprovideconditions wherewe,ashumanbeings,havethebestchanceto achievethestateofFlow,thatisthemost promisingmentalstatetoexperiencefun. Oneoftheindispensablecharacteristicsofthe Flow-stateistodosomethingvoluntarily. Whilereverse-engineeringthecompany'sconditions toenhancethisengagingexperience,wealwayskeep inmindthatactinginavoluntarywayisthe number1-law. "Ifyoutellyourpeoplethattheyhavetotakepart inagamifiedactivityyouwon'tachievewhatyou arelookingfor!" #1
While engineering is the secret power of an industrialized society, Gamification has the potential to become the secret power for a knowledge society. Engineering meets Enjoyneering. @RomanRackwitz CEO Engaginglab Partner Enterprise Gamification Consultancy www.engaginglab.com www.enterprise-gamification.com Roman Rackwitz