Viewpoint Advantage
Improving Organizational Performance Through Game-based Team Learning
About ViewPoint Advantage
- The Viewpoint Advantage program using game-based learning to highlight how systems thinking can lead to improved performance, streamlined processes, and greater innovation.
- Research shows that active learning is more effective than lecture-based formats for retaining new concepts, improving critical thinking, and sharpening problem-solving abilities. Through the immersive experience of game-based learning, participants gain tools and techniques to boost personal and organizational performance.
- The program includes playing Friday Night at the ER®, an internationally acclaimed serious game. The game challenges players to manage patient flow in a busy hospital during a 24-hour period. While set in a hospital, the learning points are universal and apply to any organization in any sector.
- The program is fun and effective for team building, strategic planning, and leadership development.
"It's about collaboration...about seeing your department as one piece of an enormous mosaic. I bet there was a department manager in a dry room on the Titanic who went down thinking 'It's OK, my department is dry.'" - William W., Johns Hopkins University
Team-building and Organizational Insights
This is not your typical training or strategic planning session. Not a lecture, not irrelevant activities, but a stimulating way to see your organization and yourself from a new perspective. The immersive experience of playing the game helps the concepts stick. Viewpoint Advantage provides a pre-session consultation, expert facilitation for gameplay, a debrief discussion to connect the learning points to your organization, and all game materials.
Program Benefits
Delivered in one 4-hour session, the program provides benefits for any organizational level and any industry. Benefits include:
- Breaks siloed-thinking and improves collaboration.
- Strengthens understanding of shared responsibility for organizational performance.
- Reveals how mental models inhibit innovation.
- Demonstrates how organizational structures drive behavior.
These Organizations have Already Played
Industry: Disney, Pepsi, Intel Corporation, Johnson and Johnson, Hewlett-Packard, Marriott.
Government: FEMA, U.S. Bureau of Census, U.S. Postal Service, IRS, Department of Veterans Affairs.
Academia: John Hopkins, Dartmouth, Emory, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, Boston University.
Healthcare: Kaiser Permanente, Mayo Clinic, Ortho Pharmaceutical, Quest Diagnostics, GE Healthcare.
"You can see how effectively a team communicates, how they work together under pressure, how risk-averse they are. Do they play by the rules or are they looking for creative and innovative ways to solve common problems? It's amazing all that can be discussed during a debrief with the team. I see it as a fit for any organization and any composition of players." Lisa B., GE Healthcare
Players and Pricing
Each game board accommodates four players. To stimulate interesting comparison of experiences during the debrief discussion, we recommend between 3-5 games be played simultaneously, or 12-20 players.
The delivery cost for sessions with up to 20 players is $4,000. Pricing for larger groups is available on request.
"The program provided a wonderful opportunity for our managers and directors to gain insights into the direct impact that teamwork, communication, and 'thinking outside the box' have on their success as leaders. And they had fun!" - Patricia M., Kaiser Permanente, San Fransisco
Frequently Asked Questions
What will my team learn from Friday Night at the ER?
Friday Night at the ER demonstrates Systems Thinking principles, including how parts of a system are interdependent, how actions have multiple-order consequences, how mental models influence our actions, and how structure drives behavior. These learning points have direct application for improving personal and organizational performance.
How can playing a game benefit my organization?
Games, or simulations, create active learning. Learning through experience, coupled with reflection and discussion, improves retention and provides a shared experience and common language for your team. Applying the concepts learned in the game to your organization can improve performance, just as it does in the game.
How much time does it take to play the game?
Gameplay is one hour. The session includes game instruction before play, a debrief discussion after play, and an exercise to translate gameplay learning to real world circumstances.
Does the game require exactly four players at each table?
The best game play is with four players per table, but if your group is not divisible by four, some tables can have a fifth player. The game is not suitable for only three players.
What are the room requirements?
Ideally, the room will have one table and 4 chairs for each game board, with several feet between each table. Good table sizes to fit the game board are two 24” x 60” tables, two 18” x 72” tables, or a 5’ diameter round table. In addition, there should be a monitor at the front of the room for displaying presentation slides.
What does Viewpoint Advantage provide?
Viewpoint Advantage provides a pre-session consultation with leadership to determine relevant points and organizational priorities to emphasize during the debrief, expert facilitation, and all game materials.
Karen Marsh, Expert Facilitator
Karen provides expert facilitation to meet your organizational needs.
Karen has led international projects in management consulting and manufacturing, and has created national programs in the U.S. federal government. She has worked with large multi-national companies and with small non-profit organizations.
Karen received her B.A. in Sociology from Princeton University and her M.B.A from IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain.