FLOW is Good Business - A Short Overview

Csikszentmihalyi’s
FLOW is Good Business™
the ultimate leadership simulation game
and blended learning solution
Version: v4.0
Date: 20 January 2016
© ALEAS Simulations, Inc., Los Angeles

FLOW is Good Business
Leadership
Csíkszentmihályi
Online simulation
Skill development
Blended Learning
Serious gaming
Innovation
California
Creativity
Interactive learning
Sonoma Valley
Personalfeedback
Multimedia
Being in the zone
Balance between challenges and skills
Increasedperformance
Positive
psychology
Making of meaning
Strategic thinking
Motivatingothers
Clear goals
Leading change
Leading teams
Entrepreneurship
Enhancingselfesteem
Competences
©2012 ALEAS Simulations, Inc., California

Why FLIGBY®?
Learning by Doing – For anyone who understands that “being fully engaged”
is a key ingredient of the future of business, games are the definitive model.
People learn better when they don't know they are learning.
“Flow” Makes Your Business Stronger – Flow is one of the most crucial
conditions for good leadership and sustainable business today. When Flow is
achieved by its stakeholders, company will generate more profit.
FLIGBY Saves You Money – 180-days complex leadership development
experience with great blended learning possibilities.
©2013 ALEAS Simulations, Inc., California

What?
Definitions
1.1.1. “FLOW is Good Business™” (FLIGBY®)
1.2. FLIGBY Blended Program
1.3. FLIGBY Reporting Module
What exactly is “FLIGBY®”?

• „Csikszentmihalyi’s FLOW is Good Business™” (FLIGBY®) – FLIGBY is an online game-based
Leadership Development Simulation. This is the official Flow program for decision makers,
developed by Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and ALEAS Sims. The simulation helps to
discover Flow in simple steps: first by understanding the role of Flow, the joy and positive
business outcomes it provides; then by learning ways to facilitate it. The simulation allows
you to test your leadership skills, provides a unique Flow-based self-assessment
opportunity and guides you on a path towards optimizing a "Flow-centric" corporate
culture.
FLIGBY is software which delivery method is SaaS (“Software as a Service”) that provides
access to the software and its functions remotely as a Web-based service. FLIGBY is
accessed by End-Users using a thin client via a web browser with Flash Player.
• FLIGBY® Blended Program – The Blended Program is the Solution Provider’s methodology
closely connected to the Simulation, which includes special trainings and workshops. Its
role is to underline the message of the Simulation in a personal way, to put it into a classical
Organization/Leadership Development context and to integrate it into other types of
learning processes (such as coaching).
• FLIGBY® Reporting Module - Web-based solution connected to the Simulation with the
function of storing and analyzing End-user data (their performance during the learning
process).
Definitions
5www.fligby.com - www.facebook.com/fligby

Why?
Trends of Professional
Leadership Development
2.1. Developing the 21st-Century Leader
2.2. Business Drivers That Affect Training
2.3. Using Games to Change
2.4. Less Tell: More Games and Gamification
2.5. FLIGBY’s Formula for Growth
Factors justifying the renewal of leadership
development programs and the application of
game-based and blended approach
2.

Developing the 21st-Century Leader
www.fligby.com - www.facebook.com/fligby 7
Major business challenges driving the
need for effective 21st-century
leadership
Attracting talent
Changing buying patterns
Changing methods of distribution
Controlling healthcare costs
Corporate social responsibility
Cost pressures
Current competitors
Diversity in the workforce
Driving sales growth
Employee productivity
Enabling business growth
Environmental responsibility
Ethical leadership
Expanding into new markets Gaining access to capital
Insufficient number of leaders
Improving customer satisfaction
Insufficient talent overall
Integrating new technologiesLack of trust among leaders and employees
New competitors
Operational excellence
Regulatory environment
Retaining talent
Succeeding with mergers and acquisitions Technology challenges
Virtual workplace structures
Source: Achieveglobal
A multi-level analysis of global trends
in leadership challenges and
practices
2010

Business Drivers That Affect Training
Growth
Revenue and market growth
are essential for
competitiveness and long-
term shareholder value. For
Leadership Development the
key is to develop new
capabilities that can enable
the business to expand.
Globalization
As business becomes
increasingly global,
companies should improve
their ability to build and
manage a global leadership
force. Management should
consider creating learning
environment in which global
and virtual teams can thrive.
Cost pressure
Companies are under
constant pressure to reduce
costs.
Talent
Having the required talent is
critical to business
performance and growth.
The changing workforce
requires new talent
management capabilities in
leadership development.
Innovation
The days of relying on a
small, elite group of
innovators are over. Leading
companies are developing
new ways to help their
employees collaborate and
share information and create
a more innovative culture.Emerging
technologies
New technologies such as
social media and mobile
devices affect
training/development in two
ways. First they enable to
deliver learning content
more efficiently. Second they
enable to access learning
services 24/7 from
anywhere.
Source: Global Business Driven HR
Transition, Deloitte Consulting

Using Games to Change
Socializing
Game interfaces facilitate
social interaction and
involve conversations.
Gamers expect and are
comfortable with
discussion, group action
and group conflict.
Competition
The most obvious social
motivation is
competition. It’s friendly
and meant as an
opportunity to optimize
individual contribution by
pitting one’s talent
against others.
Experimentation
The speed of games
encourages “Trial and
Error” as a reasonable
and the best way to learn.
It redefines risk, an
important ingredient for
innovation in business.
Achievement
Gamers like to see
themselves at the top of
leader boards, and
generally prefer games
that have lots of
opportunities to advance.
Immersion
Players motivated by
immersion like trying out
new characters with
different personalities.
They like good metaphors
in the game and
emotionally appealing
stories.
How games support
complex Leadership
Development programs
Results
Any player who performs
well has a chance to
advance. Leadership is
bestowed on those who
are doing well now, and
it’s not predetermined by
a résumé of past
accomplishments.
Games enable to use the Power of Entertainment in the development process.

1. Less desktop and more mobile...but
not that fast.
2. Fewer full-sized courses that require
large chunks of time to complete in a
single sitting. More learning snacks.
3. Less focus on the LMS. More focus
on Tin Can API.
4. Less Click NEXT or Tell. More games
and gamification of learning.
5. Fewer PPT-focused lectures. More
use of interactive tools within
lectures.
6. Less focus on training employees.
More focus on encouraging
employees to develop informal
learning strategies and personal
knowledge networks.
7. Less trainers and more community
managers and content curators.
“Less Tell: More Games and Gamification”
Source: Sharon Boller – Bottom-Line
Performance,: Learning Trends,
Technologies, Opportunities, 2012
EMERGING TRENDS AND TECHNOLOGIES
Play is not the opposite of work.
Play is an extremely serious concept that is critical for learning.

FLIGBY® – Meeting the Challenges

Based on what?
FLIGBY®’s Theoretical
Background
3.1. “Good Business”: Researches behind FLIGBY
3.2. The “Happy Professor”
3.3. Flow and Business
Researches related to FLIGBY’s Development
3.

“Good Business” – Researches behind FLIGBY®
The FLIGBY concept was developed in close cooperation with
Professor Csikszentmihalyi who is one of the greatest psychologists
of our age. He earned his fame by defining and providing a detailed
description of the Flow state and is known as the father of Positive
Psychology.
Main messages and key learning points of FLIGBY are based on the
Professor’s book titled “Good Business” and related researches.
These offer predictable but sound guidance to business leaders:
know oneself, set clear goals for employees and consider the
consequences of business decisions.
By conducting extensive interviews during the researches, the
Professor collected the secrets of successful business leaders,
including the Body Shop CEO Anita Roddick; McDonald's chairman
and CEO Jack Greenberg; and AOL Time Warner's Ted Turner.
Under personal supervision of the Professor, the FLIGBY developer
team systematized practical methods and solutions to achieve vital
managerial/leadership skills (“FLIGBY Leadership Skillset”), which
secure the creation and conservation of Flow and the sustainable
growth of a company. It is an efficient set of tools which prepares its
users for taking new directions in an era of modern organizations.

The „Happy Professor”
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, born in 1934, is one of the
greatest living psychologists of our age. He earned his
fame by defining and providing a detailed description
of the Flow state. He has been seeking an answer for
the great question of our everyday life: finding
happiness.
In the recent years, various management development schools
have been discovering and rediscovering the theses of
Csikszentmihalyi, Professor of Claremont Graduate University,
California.
The reason for this is the fact that organizations capable of
fostering and sustaining long-term Flow for their employees can
count on increased performance standards in the long run.

Flow and Business (1.)
✗Flow is the mental
state of operation in
which a person in an
activity is fully immersed
in a feeling of energized
focus, full involvement,
and success in the process
of the activity.
Flow is characterized by
intense concentration,
loss of self-awareness, a
feeling of being perfectly
challenged and a sense
that "time is flying”.
Flow is an intrinsically
rewarding experience and
it can also help one
achieve a goal or improve
skills. Anyone can
experience Flow in many
different regards, such as
play, creativity and work.
To experience Flow, one
needs to have the
relevant level of
challenges for their
particular skillset.

Flow and Business (2.)
Flow is one of the most crucial conditions of
good leadership and sustainable business.
The „Flow is Good
Business™” simulation
teaches managers how to
become leaders who
effectively create an
environment in which
Flow can flourish.
Flow-based organization
promotes employee
engagement and
positive attitudes in the
workplace.
Done well, it helps to
reduce costs, employee
complaints and makes
the company a place
that people enjoy being
a part of.
Good Business
Good Leadership
Flow state of the company’s stakeholders
(employees, managers, costumers…) generates more profit.

What’s for?
FLIGBY®’s Learning
Objectives
4.1. Learning Objectives of FLIGBY
4.2. Mapping FLIGBY to Real Work
4.3. Leadership Skills Tested by FLIGBY
Objectives and results of the FLIGBY program
4.

Role-play simulation games are one of the most
powerful experiential learning strategies.
The simulation will help
you discover Flow in
simple steps: first by
understanding the role
of Flow, the joy and
positive business
outcomes it provides;
then by learning ways to
facilitate it. The
framework simulation
story takes place in a
winery in California. The
user is to bring careful
and mature decisions of
operation as the
manager of a winery.
Learning Objectives of FLIGBY (1.)

• To become a more effective leader –
FLIGBY helps to learn how to build,
participate in and lead teams more
effectively.
• To create motivating working
environment – FLIGBY helps managers
create a workplace environment in which
Flow can flourish – a workplace that
promotes employee engagement and
positive attitudes.
• To use the Power of Flow – FLIGBY
helps to discover Flow in simple steps: first
by understanding the role of Flow, the joy
and positive business outcomes it provides,
then by showing you ways to facilitate it.
• To meet a powerful catalyst to your
personal change – FLIGBY provides a
precise measure and displays the resources
used, solving time and the reactions of
superiors or employees.
Learning Objectives of FLIGBY (2.)
1. You will be a more pro-active and at the
same time, thoughtful leader;
2. You will gain practical experience of
planning and execution of change
management processes;
3. You will take part in business decision
making more consciously;
4. You will learn how to handle situations
less structured and more unclear;
5. Your motivation techniques will improve
and you will recognize the drives
influencing the behavior/attitude of
your colleagues;
6. You will handle the workplace conflicts
more effectively;
7. You will be a more successful leader and
participant of team work;
8. You will learn to use and apply the
power of Flow for the benefit of the
organization.
From
Learning
Objectives
to Personal
Results

Mapping FLIGBY® to Real Work (1.)
O*NET is a large-scale
collaborative project
sponsored by the U.S.
Department of Labor
(www.onetonline.org).
It publishes and
maintain a list of over
eight hundred
different occupations
to help prospective
workers match their
skills to defined jobs.
Even the most
complex senior
management jobs can
be encompassed by
choosing an ensemble
of activities from this
list.
List of O*NET work categories that can be directly linked to challenges
integrated in FLIGBY gameplay:
1. Getting information: observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining
information from all relevant sources;
2. Processing information: compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating,
tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data;
3. Evaluating information to determine compliance with standards: using
relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether
event or process comply with laws, regulations, or standards;
4. Monitoring processes or surroundings;
5. Estimating the quantifiable characteristics of products, events, or
information;
6. Judging the qualities of things, services, or people: assessing the value,
importance, or quality of things or people;
7. Making decisions and solving problems: analyzing information and
evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems;
8. Updating and using relevant knowledge: keeping up-to-date technically
and applying new knowledge to your job;
1.
Based in the Idea: Byron Reeves, J.
Leighton Read: Total Engagement,
2009

9. Developing objectives and strategies: establishing long-range objectives
and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them;
10.Scheduling work and activities: scheduling events, programs, and
activities, as well as the work of others;
11.Organizing, planning, and prioritizing work: developing specific goals and
plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work;
12.Interpreting the meaning of information for others: translating or
explaining what information means and how it can be used;
13.Communicating with supervisors, peers, or subordinates: providing
information to supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates by telephone, in
written form, e-mail, or in person;
14.Communicating with persons outside the organization: representing the
organization to costumers, the public, government, and other external
sources;
15.Establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships: developing
constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and
maintaining them over time;
2.
FLIGBY tasks based on
O*NET’s list of
occupations.

16.Assisting and caring for others: providing personal assistance, emotional
support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers or
customers;
17.Selling or influencing others: convincing others to buy
merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions;
18.Resolving conflicts and negotiating with others: handling complaints,
settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts or otherwise
negotiating with others;
19.Coordinating the work and activities of others: getting members of a
group to work together to accomplish tasks;
20.Developing and building teams: encouraging and building mutual trust,
respect, and cooperation among team members;
21.Training and teaching others: identifying the educational needs of others;
22.Guiding, directing, and motivating subordinates: providing guidance and
direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and
monitoring performance;
3.
O*NET’s list of
occupations.

23.Coaching and developing others: identifying the development needs of
others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve
their knowledge or skills;
24.Providing consultation and advice to others: providing guidance and
expert advice to management or other groups on technical, system-
related, or process-related topics;
25.Performing administrative activities: performing day-to-day
administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing
paperwork;
26.Staffing organizational units: recruiting, interviewing, selecting, hiring,
and promoting employees in an organization;
27.Monitoring and controlling resources and overseeing the spending of
money.
4.
O*NET’s list of
occupations.

Leadership Skills Tested by FLIGBY®
The extensive research which was part of the development of FLIGBY®, partly on the basis of
the Professor Csikszentmihalyi’s book titled “Good Business”, identified the leadership skills
contributing to create and maintain the Flow-state. These 29 skills were named “FLIGBY
Leadership Skillset”.
The course and the decision points of the game were built up to test these leadership skills.
1.
Active
listening
2.
Analytical
skills
3.
Assertive-
ness
4.
Balancing
skill
5. Engage-
ment and
trust
6.
Business-
oriented
thinking
7.
Commu-
nication
8.
Conflict-
mana-
gement
9.
Delegating
10.
Diplomacy
11.
Emotional
intelli-
gence
12.
Empower-
ment
13.
Enterpre-
nuership
14.
Execution
15.
Feedback
16.
Future
orientation
17.
Information
gathering
18.
Intuitive
thinking
19.
Involvement
20.
Motivation
21.
Organizing
22.
Prioritizing
23.
Timely
decision-
making
24.
Applying
personal
strengths
25. Social
system
thinking
26. Social
responsi-
bility
27.
Strategic
thinking
28.
Teamwork
29.
Time
manage-
ment

How it works?
FLIGBY®’s Game Features
5.1. Basic Components of FLIGBY
5.2. Player’s Feedback System
5.3. Reporting (What the Player Cannot See)
5.4. FLIGBY’s Skills and Company’s Competences
5.5. Narrative Context – The Turul Winery
Ingredients of FLIGBY that help to solve
business problems and why these features
work
5.

The Basic Components of FLIGBY®
FLIGBY Game
Engine
(Rules and
Feedback System)
FLIGBY
Interactive User
Interface
(Story Videos,
Decision Points,
Media Library)
FLIGBY
Data Base
(Storage of
End-user’s
Data)
FLIGBY Leadership
Skills Engine
(Evaluation System)
FLIGBY
Reporting
Module User
Interface
(Report
Generation)
System elements used during the gameplay by the End-user
FLIGBY® Online Simulation
FLIGBY® Online Reporting Module
System elements used during the evaluation by the Solution Provider
The FLIGBY online system has been developed to be suitable for the summarization and evaluation
of the users’ results on individual and on group level beside the game itself.
Directs the story and operates
the evaluation according to
user’s decisions
FLIGBY is hosted through
the Amazon Cloud Services
The comparison of the decision
alternatives chosen by the user
and the leadership skill values
belonging to them.

Player’s Feedback System
FLIGBY provides a unique Flow-based self-assessment
tool on three different levels to the Player:
1.FLOW-Gauge – The performance of the player
(the appropriateness of decisions) is measured from
several perspectives. The actual Flow-state of the
employees as well as the Profitability of the company
both serve as continuous feedback.
2.Mr. Fligby – In the event of mistakes in the
decision making process, Mr. Fligby, the virtual coach
of the simulation gives us advice holding back no
punches. As the player’s personal consultant, he helps
the interpretation and resolution of complex conflicts.
3.Spirit of the Wine Award – The real aim of the
game is the harmonization of goals connected to
business and organizational development. The goal to
be reached by the end of the game is to win the
prestigious international "Spirit of the Wine Award"
using Flow-based management practices.

28
Reporting - What the Player Cannot See
This part of FLIGBY®’s feedback system is for professional use: Several Leadership Skills are
tested at the same time at the Strategic Decision Points of the game. If the player makes a right
decision the system raises the values of the skills belonging to that certain decision point on the
player’s assessment sheet. This means that the „relative strength” of the certain skills in the players’
leadership styles can be concluded from the decisions they make.
The strategic decision points test
several relevant leadership skills at
the same time.
The game tests each
skill on the basis of
several decisions. This
multiple testing
ensures the reliability
of the feedback.

Company’s
Leadership
Compe-
tencies
FLIGBY’s Skills and Company’s Competences
1.
Active
listening
2.
Analytical
skills
3.
Assertive-
ness
4.
Balancing
skill
5. Engage-
ment and
trust
6.
Business-
oriented
thinking
7.
Commu-
nication
8.
Conflict-
mana-
gement
9.
Delegating
10.
Diplomacy
11.
Emotional
intelli-
gence
12.
Empower-
ment
13.
Enterpre-
nuership 14.
Execution
15.
Feedback
16. Future
orientation
17.
Information
gathering
18.
Intuitive
thinking
19.
Involvement
20.
Motivation
21.
Organi-
zing
22.
Prioritizing
23.
Timely
decision-
making
24.
Applying
personal
strengths
25. Social
system
thinking
26. Social
responsi-
bility
27.
Strategic
thinking
28.
Teamwork
29. Time
Manage-
ment
Tracking, testing and
analyzing relevant skills
(No. 2, 6, 16, 25, 27)
Example: The company wish to improve its change management capability
FLIGBY
Leadership
Skillset
Strategi
c
thinking
skills
Analytical
ability
The ability
to make
sound
decisions
Commu-
nication
skills
Influence
and
persuasion
Ability to
manage
diversity
Delegation
Ability to
develop,
talent Personal
adaptability
1.
2.
FLIGBY Leadership
Skills Engine
3.

Narrative Context – The Turul Winery
Good Games have Good Backstories
The backstory has several important psychological advantages that help keep people engaged:
• Business case studies work best as stories – We love to hear and tell stories. You can’t just give facts. You need to place them in the
context of events sequenced with a beginning, middle, and end, some tension about how things will resolve, and detail about the
people involved – that will engage audiences in something that becomes real because they can imagine themselves in the same
narrative space.
• Narratives tell players what to do – Game narratives give players hints about what to do, and that helps with execution and tactics
applied to larger goals. Game stories are designed as unfinished frameworks where players complete the narrative by living it.
• Narrative increases Excitement and Attention – The uncertainty that all good stories have, creates excitement and tension that
sustains player involvement, and it focuses players on resolution and release (players attempt to reduce this excitement, especially if
its source is a conflict).
• Stories are effective – It’s easier to remember information when it’s presented in a narrative format.
The player takes on the role of the General Manager of
the well-established and well-known Turul Winery, in
California and faces the challenging task of having to
achieve a state of harmony and co-operation in a team
significantly weakened by internal conflicts. Will it be
possible to win the international "Spirit of Wine
Award" as a direct result of leadership skills and
efforts?
Check out Turul’s website (www.turulwinery.com)

Contacts
For more information, please contact our FLIGBY® management!
Zsadany „ZAD” Vecsey
Managing Director
Mail: vecseyzs@aleasgroup.com
ALEAS Simulations, Inc., California
12121 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles,
CA 90025
www.aleasgroup.com
www.fligby.com

FLOW is Good Business - A Short Overview

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