When the Rules are Changing and Chaos Breeds Innovation: Recapturing the Value of Constructive Thinking and Play in Simulat... Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 26, 1999 WHEN THE RULES ARE CHANGING AND CHAOS BREEDS INNOVATION: RECAPTURING THE VALUE OF CONSTRUCTIVE THINKING AND PLAY IN SIMULATION TRAINING Adrienne Gans, Ph.D., Whole Parts Organizational Consulting ABSTRACT Simulation training tools must prepare organiza- tions to operate effectively in a global workplace characterized by continuous acceleration, change, and pressure to innovate. PlaySolvingSM is a hands-on method for portraying complex situa- tions, analyzing them, testing potential solutions, and developing concrete execution plans. This process uses tools of creative, kinesthetic, and visual thinking combined with structured project planning and verbal analysis. Case studies are presented to illustrate use of the tool in actual business situations and to frame the discussion. INTRODUCTION In a world of change it is the flexibility, creativ- ity, and emotional intelligence (Goleman, 1998) of people that will spin the wheel of evolution towards innovation and progress, often in discon- tinuous leaps. Historically, many business simu- lation and training tools have been optimized based on well defined situations with predictive outcomes. However, today’s business climate is characterized by acceleration requiring decision making under conditions of greater ambiguity, operating within “fuzzy” rather than logical rules, and requiring skilled interpersonal communica- tion to execute on new business alliances and or- ganizational change. SCENARIO SIMULATION WITH PLAY- SOLVINGSM The PlaySolving Method PlaySolving is a method developed by the author from several traditions in psychology to meet the pragmatic requirements of business for creativity, new insight, solution testing, and execution plan- ning. PlaySolving is a three-stage process in which: 1) business scenarios or situations are portrayed using a hands-on environment consist- ing of real-world miniature objects and props; 2) a new solution or vision is constructed through progressive iterations in this environment; and 3) analytic project planning is used to implement new insights and solutions systematically in the workplace. The first two stages of PlaySolving are based on research using Lowenfeld’s World Technique, Jung’s idea of active imagination and Dora Kalff’s technique of sandplay (Chodorow, 1997; Ammann, 1991), but significantly modified for business problem solving. PlaySolving allows the player to create a microcosm reflecting the rich- ness and complexity of a real world situation in a way that is easy and then gain perspective by verbally analyzing it “from the outside.” The use of miniatures representing people from diverse cultures and historical periods, objects in the ur- ban and natural environment, as well as mythical, pop-culture icons and action figures allows mul- tiple layers of meaning to be “simulated” closely. Additionally, the process affords rapid and safe insight into corporate culture and dysfunctional organizational patterns with an immediate oppor- tunity to develop and test solutions “in-vitro,” before investing resources. As such, PlaySolving is a simulation for managing transition and chaos, where existing rules and even best practices have become barriers to growth and innovation. The process is suited for: • Developing new business strategy & organ- izational identity. • Coaching in executive development & management training. • Aligning cultures during alliances, mergers, & organizational change programs. • Project-based team building. • Sales training. 284 Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 26, 1999 • Conflict resolution and stress management. Illustrative Case Examples Three different business and training case studies illustrated the use of PlaySolving: business strat- egy decision making by a CEO of a technology consulting firm; maintaining cohesion and cus- tomer-focus following downsizing; and fostering life/work balance under the stress of rapid growth in a small business. Details of how individuals gained new insights, were able to articulate per- sonal or logistical barriers and implement new solutions were described. DISCUSSION Cognitive Perspective on PlaySolving Constructive and play-based activity ventilates thinking and brings incubating ideas to the sur- face. Support for this approajch comes from the work of Piaget who views constructional games as combining sensory-motor and symbolic thought in an adaptive way. “... Making a house with plasticine or bricks involves both sensorimotor skills and symbolic representation…and is a move away from play in the strict sense, towards work, … towards spontaneous intelligent activity…There are practice games, symbolic games, and games with rules, while constructional games constitute the transition from all three to adapted behaviors” (Piaget, 1962, p.164). Further, action-based PlaySolving alleviates the limits and discomfort of initial disclosure through verbal speech. Rather than relying exclusively on speech as a “front end” elicitation process, verbalization shifts to a “back end” synthesis of the objective and personal issues involved in the situation. Simulations such as PlaySolving that reflect a multiple intelligence approach by using several sense modalities, kinesthetic information, and analytic thinking (Gardner, 1983) are likely to enerate more integrated solutions. g Simulating Emotional Intelligence Skills According to Goleman (1998, p.31) “emotional competencies are found to be twice as important in contributing to excellence as pure intellect and expertise.” Such competencies include personal dimensions of self-awareness, self-regulation, and motivation as well as interpersonal factors of empathy and social skills. Simulations that elicit the objective and subjective layers of meaning in a business situation develop the emotional intel- ligence needed under real conditions of change, and even brief periods of chaos. The process helps externalize the situation, allowing the indi- vidual(s) to gain distance and perspective on both logistical and “hot button” barriers. The gap be- tween the logic of a business strategy and its real world implementation is bridged by tools like PlaySolving which can simulate and test solution options for productivity even under stressful, ac- celerated time frames. Execution of business and professional goals by individuals and teams skilled in emotional com- petencies will characterize the innovative, resil- ient organization that can “think in the future tense” (James, 1996). REFERENCES Ammann, R. (1991). Healing and transformation in sandplay: Creative processes become visi- ble. Chicago: Open Court Press. Chodorow, J. (1997). Jung on active imagination. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Gardner, H. (1983) Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic Books. Goleman, D. (1998) Working with emotional in- telligence. New York: Bantam Books. James, J. (1996). Thinking in the future tense: Leadership skills for a new age. New York: Simon and Schuster. Piaget, J. (1962). Play, dreams and imitation in childhood. New York: W. W. Norton & Com- pany, Inc. Correspondence should be addressed to Adrienne Gans, Whole Parts Organizational Consulting, 3637 Sacramento St., Ste. F, San Francisco, CA 94118. (415) 440-0087, agans@ix.netcom.com. 285 mailto:agans@ix.netcom.com Table of Contents Volume 26, 1999 ABSEL's Historical Research Interests Back From the Future: An ABSEL Merlin Exercise for the Year 2005 The Contributions of ABSEL During the 1980's ABSEL's Contributions to Experiential Exercises in the 90's ABSEL's Contributions to Experiential learning/Experiential Exercises: The Decade of the 1970's Business Simulations - Algorithms and Model Enhancements: A 25 year Review A Study of the ETS General Field Test as an AACSB Assessment Tool and the Impact of Experiential Exercises and Simulation on Learning A Framework for Assessing the Competencies Reflected in Simulation Performance Developing A Learning Culture: Assessing Changes in Student Performance and Perception Financial Simulation Using Distributed Computing Technology Analyzing Managers' Judgements and Decisions with an Educational Business Simulation Understanding Your Business through Home-Made Simulator Development An Examination of a Reanalysis of the Impact of a Market Leader on Simulation Competitors' Strategies Applying Shocks to TE Simulations: A Demonstration Increasing Efficiency of Management Skill Assessment A Testbank for Measuring Total Enterprise Simulation Learning Developing Leadership Skills - Video Live! LEADSIMM: Collaborative Leadership Development for the Knowledge Society A Team Approach to Producing Multi-Media Laptop and Video Formatted Presentation Tinkertoys Revisited: Exploring Trust Based Relationships Overall Dominance in Total Enterprise Simulation Performance Success or Bankruptcy: The Relationship between Personal and Goal Orientation and Simulation Performance Assessing the Effects of Feedback: Muti-method and Muti-directions in Multi-pedagogical Courses The Missing Ingredients in Experiential Learning Purpose and Learning Benefits of Business Simulations: A Design and Development Perspective Building Capabilities for Change through Laboratory Simulations Modeling Innovation as a Process of Design in Educational Business Simulation The Need to Measurer variance in Experiential Learning and a New Statistic to do so Assessing Effectiveness of an Experiential Oriented Course Over Time Developing Participant Satisfaction Models of Experiential Exercises in Business Education Perceptions of Learning in TE Simulations Students' View on the Use of Business Gaming in Hong Kong Management Gaming's Lost Opportunity: Meditations about the Russian Experience and Prospects for the Future Unanticipated Enhancements in the Business Strategy and Policy Game when Running in Windows 95 Using a Business Game to Demonstrate Broad Business Concepts A New Model for Business Courses (Getting the Student Connected) Seeing the Forest and the Trees: Integrating Knowledge Using Large Scale Simulations in Capstone Business Strategy Classes Is It Here To Stay? A Roundtable Discussion of the Inter-Group Interaction Interactive Tools Used in Applying Financial Concepts Strengthening Essential Skills through a Finance Exercise: Calculation of Beta A Model of Currency Exchange Rates Understanding Currency Exchange Rates: A three-part Exercise Student Experiences in the World Intercollegiate Business Game Competition Student Experiences in the International-Collegiate Business Policy Game Competition Using Boards of Directors in Simulation Environments: Comments From Board Members Sharing Best Practices: Teaching Smarter, Not Harder Star Power: A Simulation for Understanding Power and Empowerment The Marketing Game: A Marketing Principles Simulation Alexander Islands: GSSM Tiny Business Simulator on the WWW Putting Strategy into Strategic Business Games Industry Analysis, Porter's Five Forces Model and Strategic Group Maps in the Business Strategy Game Simulation The Use of Concept Mapping to Improve Student Performance and Understanding of Strategic Management Concepts: A Comparison of Techniques Transformational thinking in the Organizational Behavior Course: The Use of Metaphor as an Assessment Tool Creation of a Virtual Learning Community for the Global Virtual Enterprise Project Inter Institutional use of Educational Resources: Joint Use of Management Simulation Games Business Insights: Theory and Practice with the Aid of a Business Simulation Progress: An Experiential Exercise in Development Marketing The ABC's of teaching the Theory of Constraints to Undergraduate Business Students Demonstrating Principles of Organizational Purchasing Behavior through an Experiential Exercise The Virtual Manager: A Different Simulation for Managing Complexity When the Rules are changing and Chaos Breeds Innovation: Recapturing the Value of Constructive Thinking and Play in Simulation Training The Pitfalls, and Potential, of Actual Events as Problem Drivers Using Business Games to teach Environmental Awareness and Green Management: The International Experience with the ENSIM Game A Review of my ABSEL-Related Work Simulation of Government: A Workshop Using GEO Creating Internet-Based Games Using Perl and JavaScript Who's on First? Exploring the Concepts of Problem-Based Learning, Experiential Learning, and Lifelong Learning Students Learn Customer Service and Selling while Conducting Research So You Want to Run an NFL Football Team–An Honors Interdisciplinary Project Supervised Internship: The Employer's Perspective Using Computer Assisted Simulation to Teach International Business Strategy: A Case of the Multinational Management Game (MMG) Multi-Cultural Experiential Learning: A Computer Simulation in China An Appreciative Stance on Diversity as We Move into the 21st Century: A Timeline Exercise to Identify Key Experiences in Good Work Relationships between Black and White Peers A Day in the Life of an Interactive, Real Time, and Internet Delivered Course: A Demonstration Comparing Internet Search Engines: An Experiential Learning Exercise Total Enterprise Simulations and the Internet: Assessing Student Perceptions and Preferences Teaching Accounting Information Systems in a Practicum Format Providing Experiential Learning in Accounting through a Field Study Payroll Project A Spreadsheet Based Business Simulation Game Computer-Behavioral Simulations Training for Project Managers Simulation Scenarios - Rationale and Illustration