· Aren’t business games more about fun than serious learning?“ Well, not if they are designed to successfully get learners learning! When facing possible objections to games, I often use the phrase “sophisticated business simulation disguised as a board game” to get into the executive suite. I’ve found that if I can get a senior executive engaged in a demonstration of one of our “games”, objections disappear pretty quickly. For example, I was recently able to take the CFO of a major company through a shortened version of one of Paradigm’s business acumen simulations and he got so involved in the experience that his perspective changed 180 degrees. He saw that the game was an easy – and fun- way to convey some very sophisticated financial concepts. In fact, it was as if a light bulb went off. “This is what I’ve been attempting to get people to understand with my PowerPoint presentation for years!” So, one trick is to use your best persuasive approach to get past the initial objection so that you can get your executives playing the game you want to use.

·We’ve developed a program internally and think it’s fine – Ownership pride is hard to overcome! Recently, a training director I know took a risk and persuaded two senior finance managers to “just take a look” at a business acumen game. The game would be an alternative to a program that they had developed themselves (A Powerpoint program, what else! ) Her persistence paid off. The two finance managers decided that they should have been using the game all along and said “this is not really a game after all! ”. They became such advocates that they acted as subject matter experts for customizing the program to their financial metrics. So, sometimes, it’s about being willing to take a risk in order to make your case.

·Can a complex subject really be taught in a game? – This is another common concern, especially around subjects like business acumen. Actually, complex subjects can often be learned faster and with much higher retention when they are presented in a game format. Learners are more motivated to learn, they have fun learning, and they are learning along with others. There have been studies showing, for example, that a discovery learning approach can improve retention by 70-80% over traditional learning methods. Games involve learners and make them think. They even exert a certain amount of “peer” pressure, since games are usually designed to be played with others in a time-compressed environment. So, what I’ve found is that using information from studies about the effectiveness of games and simulations and sharing the successes of other organizations can help overcome this objection.

So I’m curious, have you had struggles getting games accepted for use in your business? What have you done to overcome objections?