Matthew Richter posts daily comments in LinkedIn—well, almost daily. You can follow him and join the conversation by going to http://linkedin.com/in/matthew-richter-0738b84.
For the benefit of our readers, we decide to compile and reprint some of his provocative pieces from the past. Let us know what you think.
Begin with the Goal
Many friends, colleagues, and clients call us to get a new game. That’s the upside and the downside of being identified as game guys. But we always stop the conversation with the following, “Before we offer an activity, let’s take a step back. What exactly do you want people to do differently as a result of this course?” We annoyingly make them get really specific. A few times, friends have threatened my very existence if I didn’t just give them a game already. But one should never design an activity first, in the absence of a goal. I have been horribly guilty of this in my youth. I used to pick my favorite Thiagi (Sivasailam Thiagarajan) games and run them in spite of not knowing clearly the objectives. Oops. This used to drive Thiagi crazy. But, I learned, eventually. Start with the end in mind. Get clarity of outcome. Then, design the proof that participants will meet that outcome. And, then, only then, design the game that gets them there.
Five Simple Steps
The key is alignment. As a designer, I follow these simple five steps Thiagi (Sivasailam Thiagarajan) taught me.
What do you want people to do differently as a result of the course? In other words, the outcome or objective.
How will you get evidence the outcome was achieved? In other words, design a performance test.
What activities and content do you need to prepare participants to pass the test? In other words, design or teach to the test. And, be sure you align your activities and content that test and to the outcome.
Design activities and leverage existing content when possible. In other words, don’t design content, design activities using the content already available.
And, finally, evaluate how people perform on the test and tweak your design until the day you die.
Managers’ Job Is Simple
Sort of. Your job is to enable your employees to succeed. That’s it! Every decision, every action, every time you open your mouth, you should filter through this single principle. Ask yourself, is what you are about to do going to support your employee accomplishing the objectives? Ask yourself, is there anything you can do to better support them? When disciplining an employee for being late, ask yourself is this the best action to take to ensure we succeed, or is it simply making your ego feel better to scold someone? When delivering feedback, is your motive truly to enable goal completion and development, or because someone told you to do so in a management training course? When adding more work to the team, will you overwhelm them, or keep them in the challenge zone? Whatever you do, follow this easy principle: Enable your employees to succeed!