In this podcast, Luke Hohmann talks with me about how to build better teams, engage employees and prioritize activities using games. You will be really surprised at how "serious games can help you do serious work, seriously better." The Founder and CEO of Conteneo Inc., Luke’s playfully diverse background of life experiences has uniquely prepared him to design and produce serious games.

Graduating magna cum laude with a B.S.E. in computer engineering and an M.S.E. in computer science and engineering from the University of Michigan, Luke studied cognitive psychology and organizational behavior under such luminaries as Elliot Soloway, Karl Weick and Dan Dennison.

An author of three books, Luke is also a former United States National Junior Pairs Figure Skating Champion. His work, which focuses on using serious games to engage citizens, has been covered in Businessweek and Financial Times.

In this episode, Luke Hohmann and I discuss:

• The occurrences that led Luke to create Innovation Games
• How games change behavioral expectations of people, allowing for more experiential, collaborative experiences
• Utilizing teamwork as a way of integrating different levels of thought for balanced vision
• How transformed people transform companies
• The different uses of Weave to create new habits and different ways of thinking
• Understanding how to make innovation a reality in your company
• Innovation as a spectrum rather than a single, abstract idea
• How Weave helps advance innovative ideas
• Observation as an invaluable method for understanding and utilizing your environments
• The usage of games as a structure to allow collaborative teams to progress toward the same goal

Resources mentioned in this episode:  

• Buy Innovation Games by Luke Hohmann
• Weave
• The Every Voice Engaged Foundation
• Conteneo Inc.
• On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights
• Simon Associates Management Consultants website