Four factors: Beliefs, Needs & Aspirations, Goals, Partnerships, have contributed to “Serious Games” becoming an autonomous idea; a brand, an innovative leader development solution! How did it all begin?

BELIEF My conviction that games are an effective teaching tool came from observing my son Karthik’s obsessive interest in them, resulting in my gamifying daily events. A Serious Game proposal to Infosys followed.

Needs The pivotal need of Infosys was to succeed the founders. So, I explored with senior leaders where the biggest opportunities lie for a serious game? This combined with efforts to obtain the critical resources for game development. The primary concern is to create a pipeline of leaders. The common, and overwhelming, focus, and effort: Succession Preparedness

Goals Infosys, to this end, had already created the Infosys Leadership Institute to develop a stream of able leaders capable of exercising ‘Ethical Influence’ to increase our client relevance.

Goals ILI is committed to rigorous, research driven, assessment and training protocols to identify potential, and to create personalized leadership-development plans and vehicles. One such vehicle, Grandmasters Of Influence effectively hones leaders’ persuasion skills by providing a safe environment for leaders to learn, try, test, and perfect strategies and ideas through trial and error.

Goals The fact that this Serious Game is based upon longstanding and time-tested Infosys Leadership dimensions, reinforces its credibility to the leaders.

Partnership: Grandmasters of Influence simulates business bottlenecks and problems actually troubling the leaders and teaches them to apply the leadership behaviors to their resolution. I have consciously, and actively, involved the leaders- the game's customers - in creating Grandmasters of Influence to increase its relevance and immediacy to their jobs.

Partnership The game’s content and play environment emerged from the continuous refinement of case studies drawn up from leader’s interviews into which the Infosys Leadership Dimensions were incorporated to closely reflect reality.

In sum: beliefs, goals, partnerships and the satisfaction of pivotal needs and aspirations establish Serious Games as a brand and an innovative leadership development solution.

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The Serious Game at ILI:

• Integrates physical world and virtual world contexts

• Entrenches learners (leaders) in realistic situations

• Enables leaders to learn in a socially facilitated context