Ask Agger, CEO, Workz This presentation was given at the 2016 Serious Play Conference, hosted by the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. How do we turn strategy into a shared project? How can we build trust and collaboration across international corporations? How do we enable leaders to navigate the accelerating complexity of modern matrix organizations? The short answer is involvement. In this session we take a closer look at how physical board-games can accelerate trust, collaboration, and learning as engaging talking-pieces. Hear about the Scandinavian approach to leadership and why global industry leaders like Maersk, ISS, and Novo Nordisk ¬– whose CEO Lars Rebien Sørensen was selected last year by Harvard Business Review as the best-performing CEO in the world – are using board-games to train leaders, strengthen culture, and accelerate strategy execution. The session will be in two parts: first a presentation with specific cases and insights from Workz’s development processes, and second a workshop part where we get an opportunity to try Gamechangers™, a leadership simulation on strategy execution and stakeholder engagement that won gold at last year’s International Serious Play Awards.

1. CHANGE
THROUGH
INVOLVEMENT
Ask Agger
aa@workz.dk
@askagger
www.workz.dk

3. Source: Norton, Michael I.; Mochon, Daniel; Ariely, Dan (2012). "The IKEA effect: When labor leads to love". Journal of Consumer Psychology 22 (3): 453–460.

4. Source: Norton, Michael I.; Mochon, Daniel; Ariely, Dan (2012). "The IKEA effect: When labor leads to love". Journal of Consumer Psychology 22 (3): 453–460.

5. Workz A/S © 2016 – www.workz.dk

6. Workz A/S © 2016 – www.workz.dk

7. GROWING INTEREST FOR THE NORDIC APPROACH
TO LEADERSHIP, INNOVATION AND COLLABORATION…

8. SHARED PURPOSE, BUILDING TRUST AND
REFLECTIVE LEARNING ARE KEY
INGRIDIENCES IN THE SCANDINAVIAN
RECEPE…

9. SINCE BEFORE THE VIKING AGE GAMES HAS
BEEN USED TO TRAIN COLLABORATION AND
SHARPEN LEADERSHIP SKILLS

10. CASE:
NOVO
NORDISK
Workz A/S © 2016 – www.workz.dk

11. Novo Nordisk is a global pharmaceutical
company with focus on diabetes,
haemophilia, growth disorders and
obesity.
The company employs approximately
41,600 people in 75 countries and
markets its products in more than 180
countries.
Workz has worked for Novo Nordisk for
more than 10 years, designing involving
solutions within a multitude of areas -
from leadership, sales and compliance
training to quality assurance,
onboarding and trail materials for
families.
Workz A/S © 2016 – www.workz.dk

12. EXAMPLE:
DIABETES MARKET SIMULATION
A business simulation designed to help top
managers discuss the near future competitive
landscape in Novo Nordisk’s five sales regions.
The game simulated regional scenarios covering
the years 2013-2017. Divided into teams, each
representing a competitor to Novo Nordisk, the
participants competed for participants competed
for market share growth.
In each round of the game the participants would
focus on different strategic and tactical actions
that would either help the uptake of their new
products or defend the market share of existing
products. Actions could be adjusting a sales focus,
introducing new services, increasing customer
support and adjusting prices.
Workz A/S © 2016 – www.workz.dk

13. EXAMPLE:
CHANGING DIABETES TRAINING TOOL
Under the headline “Changing Diabetes” Novo Nordisk is
involved in a number of global initiatives to support the
fight against diabetes – from Team Novo Nordisk, the
world's first all-diabetes professional cycling team, to
the Cities Changing Diabetes partnership .
Earlier this year we helped Novo Nordisk to develop a
training tool to support the implementation of the
Changing Diabetes strategy and toolkit within the global
organization.
Workz A/S © 2016 – www.workz.dk

14. EXAMPLE:
BUILDING TRUST AND ALIGNMENT
A business simulation aimed at strengthening the
internal collaboration in Novo Nordisk between
professionals within Market Access and Public
Affairs.
The playing ground was a fictional country with
certain health care issues typical for many
emerging economies. The case also described two
sets of stakeholders: Internal stakeholders at Novo
Nordisk and external stakeholders, e.g. a key
opinion leader, a policy maker, and a head of a
health technology assessment agency.
The game demonstrated the importance of
building trust and alignment among stakeholders
and how this can help make Novo Nordisk's
products available to more people with diabetes.
Workz A/S © 2016 – www.workz.dk

15. CASE:
ISS
Workz A/S © 2016 – www.workz.dk

16. EXAMPLE: ISS STRATEGY GAME
ISS is a leading global provider of
facility services, offering services on an
international scale. With over 510,000
employees across 77 countries the
organization is one of the largest private
employees in the world.
The ISS Strategy Game is a business
simulation with focus on creating
awareness and dialogue about the
global strategy and business model of
the company.
In the game three teams compete in an
open market on how to attract and
retain the right portfolio of customers
through the delivery of a strong value
proposition. The game emphasizes the
importance of a commercial mindset,
strategic alignment, and a deep
understanding of the customer’s
purpose and needs.
The game materials combine magnetic
boards and 3D printed models with
physical action cards and game pieces.
Workz A/S © 2016 – www.workz.dk

17. "Despite the many benefits of online solutions, ISS treasures the
benefits of a physical design where the participants interact face to
face in the same room. Good games function as “talking pieces” that
facilitate meaningful discussions between the participants who get a
unique opportunity to share insights and experiences. The ISS
Strategy Game is currently being implemented across the global
organization – from the top management team to talent programs
and local management academies. The feedback from participants
has been overwhelmingly positive."
- Christian Lauritzen, Head of Group Learning and Development, ISS
Workz A/S © 2016 – www.workz.dk

18. KEY LEARNINGS ON USING PHYSICAL GAME-BASED SOLUTIONS TO
ACCELERATE INVOLVEMENT, ALIGNMENT AND CABABILITY BUILDING
1. Everybody likes to be involved as active
and contributing participants. The joy of
play and games transcend cultural
boundaries, nationalities, age groups and
job functions.
2. Designing good games is like designing
conversations. The best tools functions as
visual dialogue pieces that facilitate the
exchange of knowledge and ideas
between participants.
3. Beware of the complexity. Don’t try to
simulate everything at the same time.
4. Gamification can significantly accelerate
learning, motivation and alignment but
only if the content and context is relevant
and if there is time for reflections that can
anchor new insights and learnings.
5. By creating a safe sandbox, where new
approaches can be tested and where
mistakes can be made without real-life
repercussions, a simulation can help to
address difficult issues and build trust.
Workz A/S © 2016 – www.workz.dk

19. Executing strategy
Workz A/S © 2016 – www.workz.dk

20. www.workz.dk
Ask Agger
aa@workz.dk
@askagger