PLAY FOR PERFORMANCE: August 2003

Card Game

FIVE CARD SETS

Here's a framegame — actually a set of five framegames — that can be used as a review exercise for any training workshop. The game uses five different kinds of cards on the same content area. These cards can be won by performing five different types of activities. The first player to win a five-card set (one card of each kind) wins the game.

Purpose

To review, integrate, and apply previously learned materials.

Players

4 to 7 at each table. (Larger groups can be divided into groups of 4 to 7 and play at different tables.)

Time

30 minutes to 1 hour

Supplies

Decks of game cards. Each deck has 10 cards in each of the five categories:

• Compare-Contrast
• Beat the Clock
• Charades
• Draw It Out
• Roleplay

Instruction Sheets for playing each of the five categories of cards (see below)

Paper and pencil

One timer for each table

Preparation

Prepare decks of cards. Use a different colored index card for each category of cards. Create 10 or more cards in each category, using the instructions and samples given below:

• Compare-Contrast. Write two related concepts, issues, principles, rules, or steps on each card. (Example: Individual differences and Cultural differences)
• Beat the Clock. Write a single category label on each card. (Example: Business reasons for valuing diversity)
• Charades. Write a message, a word, or a phrase on each card. (Example: Do unto others what they would like to have done unto them.)
• Draw It Out. Write a message, a word, or a phrase on each card. (Example: Individualism)
• Roleplay. Specify “your” role and the “other” role, along with a brief description of a situation on each card. (Example: Your Role: A US American Project Team Leader. Other Role: Indonesian Project Team member. Situation: The team has failed to meet a critical deadline for a client. You want the Indonesian team member to apologize to the client. The team member finds this task to be distasteful.)

Set up the tables. FIVE CARD SETS is best played in groups of five, but it can be played in groups of any number from four to seven. Divide the players into groups of approximately equal size. Set up a play table for each group. Place a deck of game cards, pads of paper and pencil, and a timer at each table.

Briefing

Explain the nature of the game cards. Ask players to shuffle the deck of cards and pick one card of each color. Point out that each card has a category label and an appropriate item.

Explain the object of the game. Players win cards during the specified period of play, trying to win one card of each color. The game ends when a player has won a five-card set, each card of a different color.

Explain how to win cards of different colors. Distribute the instruction sheet for each category of cards and step the players through the procedure. Use the following sequence:

• Compare-Contrast
• Beat the Clock
• Charades
• Draw It Out
• Roleplay

Point out that in Charades and Draw It Out, two players may win cards at the same round.

Flow Of The Game

Activate the cards. Ask a player at each table to take back all cards from the others and separate them into five packets by color. Then ask players to turn the cards with the information side face down and shuffle each packet of cards. Place the five packets in the middle of the table.

Begin the game. The tallest player at each table takes the first turn. She picks up the top card from any of the five packets and plays the game according to the standard procedure for the category of the selected card.

Conclude the round. The player who picked the card — or some other player — may win the first card. The winner places this card in front of her with the category label on top. If no one wins the card, it is put in a “waste pile”.

Continue the game. The player to the left of the previous player now picks up the top card of any of the piles on the table. Use the appropriate procedure for the category of the selected card. Repeat this procedure to continue playing the game.

Conclude the game. When a player has won one card of each color, the game comes to the end. This player wins the game.

Flow of the Activity

Brief participants. Before your presentation, advise participants to pay careful attention to your talk and to take ample notes because you will be conducting a review exercise at the end. Make your presentation at a fairly brisk pace.

Identify a superlative. After the presentation, ask participants to review the notes and look for the most important point from the presentation. Encourage them to refer back to their notes.

Elicit a response. After a brief pause, invite any participant to announce what she considers to be the most important point. After the response, ask the participant to explain the logic behind the choice. Add your own comments to support the participant's choice.

Ask for alternative responses. Point out that there could be more than one correct answer to the question, “Which is the most important point?” Elicit alternative responses from different participants, one at a time. Invite other participants to comment on these choices.

Identify a new category. Ask participants to review their notes again and identify the most useful point from the presentation. Pause briefly while participants review their notes.

Ask partners to discuss their choices. Ask participants to find partners. Ask each pair of participants to share their answers to the question “What is the most useful point from the presentation?” If both partners have the same answer, ask them to discuss the reasons for their choice. If the partners have different answers, ask them to come to an agreement about which of the two answers contains the most important point.

Ask participants to present their choices. After a suitable pause, ask a pair of participants to announce the most useful point and the reason for its selection. Comment briefly to reinforce the selection. Ask for alternative choices from other pairs of participants.

Identify more categories. Repeat the procedure with other superlatives such as these:

• Most confusing
• Most controversial
• Most difficult
• Most surprising
• Most amusing
• Most unusual
• Most credible
• Most trivial

Conclude the activity. Congratulate participants for their in-depth analysis and understanding of characteristics and events associated with workplace violence. Explain that their choice of items that fit different superlatives may change from time to time depending on the situation.

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Handout01

Instruction Sheet: COMPARE - CONTRAST

What You See

The card specifies two concepts, issues, principles, rules, or steps.

What You Do

Read the two items aloud. Then place the card in the middle of the table so that all players can refer to it.

Set the timer for 1 minute and start it.

Ask everyone to think of the relationship between the two items and to write a list of similarities and differences. You should also write a list.

At the end of 1 minute, fold your list in half and place it in front of you. Ask the other players fold their lists in half.

Randomly select one of the lists and give that list and your list to a player without anyone being able to figure out who wrote which list. (One way to do this: Collect the folded lists from the other players and mix them up. Pick one of the lists, place it on top of yours, mix the two up, and give them both to any player.)

Ask this player to read the two lists, one after the other. After reading the lists, the player places both of them in the middle of the table so that everyone can refer to them.

What You Score

Ask the player who wrote the other list not to participate in the next selection activity. At the count of three, ask the other players to point to the better one of the two lists on the table.

Count the number of fingers pointing to each list. Determine which list got the most votes. The player who wrote this list wins the card. In case of a tie, you win the card.

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Handout02

Instruction Sheet: BEAT THE CLOCK

What You See

The label for a category

What You Do

Read the category label aloud. Then place the card in the middle of the table so that all players can refer to it.

Set the timer for 2 minutes and start it.

Ask everyone to write down as many items as possible that belong to the category. You should also write a list.

At the end of 2 minutes, fold your list in half and place it in front of you. Ask the other players fold their lists in half.

Randomly select one of the lists and give that list and your list to a player without anyone being able to figure out who wrote which list. (One way to do this: Collect the folded lists from the other players and mix them up. Pick one of the lists, place it on top of yours, mix the two up, and give them both to any player.)

Ask this player to read the two lists, one after the other. After reading the lists, the player places both of them in the middle of the table so that everyone can refer to them.

What You Score

Ask the player who wrote the other list not to participate in the next selection activity. At the count of three, ask the other players to point to the better one of the two lists on the table.

Count the number of fingers pointing to each list. Determine which list got the most votes. The player who wrote this list wins the card. In case of a tie, you win the card.

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Handout03

Instruction Sheet: CHARADE

What You See

The card has a message, a word, or a phrase.

What You Do

Read the card silently and keep it hidden from the other players.

Set the timer for 1 minute and start it.

Without speaking, use a series of gestures to convey the message.

The other players try to guess the message and shout out their guesses.

If a player shouts out the correct message, say, “Done!” and show the card.

What You Score

If you run out of time before anyone guesses the message, nobody wins anything. Show the card to everyone and put it in the waste pile.

If someone guesses the message correctly, you keep the card. The player who guessed the message correctly takes a card of the same color from the piles on the table.

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Handout04

Instruction Sheet: DRAW IT OUT

What You See

The card has a message, a word, or a phrase.

What You Do

Read the card silently and keep it hidden from the other players.

Set the timer for 1 minute and start it.

Draw a series of pictures on blank sheets of paper to convey the message. Do not use any text or numbers.

The other players try to guess the message and shout out their guesses.

If a player shouts out the correct message, say, “Done!” and show the card.

What You Score

If you run out of time before anyone guesses the message, nobody wins anything. Show the card to everyone and put it in the waste pile.

If someone guesses the message correctly, you keep the card. The player who guessed the message correctly takes a card of the same color from the piles on the table.

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Handout05

Instruction Sheet: ROLEPLAY

What You See

The roleplay card specifies your role, another player's role, and a situation.

What You Do

Read the roleplay instructions aloud. Then place the card in the middle of the table so that all players can refer to the instructions.

You play the role specified for you. Select any other player to play the other role.

Set the timer for 2 minutes and start the roleplay.

Begin playing the role. Interact with the other player.

Stop the roleplay at the end of 2 minutes.

What You Score

All of the players (including the one who played the other role) give a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” sign to indicate whether or not you gave an acceptable performance. If half or more of the players give you a “thumbs up”, you keep the card. Otherwise, place the card in the waste pile.

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Game Announcement

Two New Card Games

Here are two ready-to-play card games for playing the FIVE CARD SETS described earlier.

DIVERSITY DECK

The deck contains 10 (or more) cards of these types:

• Compare-Contrast cards with two related concepts from the field of workplace diversity (example: friendship patterns among men and women). Your task is to write a list of similarities and differences between the concepts. If your list has the most acceptable items, you win the card.
• Beat the Clock cards present a name of a category (example: discrimination against Asian Americans). associated with workplace diversity. Your task is to write down as many items that belong to this category as possible. If your list has the most items, you win the card.
• Charades cards contain a principle, a word, or a phrase associated with workplace diversity (example: ethnic jokes). Your task is to use a series of gestures (without speaking) to convey the item while other players shout out their guesses. You win the card if somebody guesses the item correctly within 2 minutes.
• Draw It Out cards contain a principle, a word, or a phrase associated with workplace diversity (example: respect for elders). Your task is to draw a series of pictures (without speaking) to convey the item while other players shout out their guesses. You win the card if somebody guesses the item correctly within a minute.
• Roleplay cards specify your role, another person's role, and a situation related to workplace diversity (example: Your Role: A white, male manager. Other Role: An Asian-American woman employee. Situation: As a part of the annual performance review, you suggest that the employee show more initiative during staff meetings. Much to your surprise, the employee reacts emotionally to this feedback and profusely apologizes for her “major mistake”.) You win the card if your roleplay performance receives “thumbs-up” from the majority of the other players.

You win the game any time you win at least one card of each type.

Diversity Deck comes with a Facilitator Guide booklet that contains general instructions for conducting the game and specific instructions for playing with each of the five types of cards.

Price: $10 + $3.50 shipping

Order through the Workshops by Thiagi online store at http://www.thiagi.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=WBTI&Product_Code=DIV. (If you're reading this from a printout, visit http://www.thiagi.com/ , click Products, and search for “diversity deck” .)

Human Performance Deck

The deck contains 10 (or more cards) of these types:

• Compare-Contrast cards with two related concepts from the field of human performance technology (example: behavior and performance). Your task is to write a list of similarities and differences between the concepts. If your list has the most acceptable items, you win the card.
• Beat the Clock cards present a name of a category (example: analysis strategies) associated with human performance technology. Your task is to write down as many items that belong to this category as possible. If your list has the most items, you win the card.
• Charades cards contain a principle, a word, or a phrase associated with human performance technology (example: subject-matter expert). Your task is to use a series of gestures (without speaking) to convey the item while other players shout out their guesses. You win the card if somebody guesses the item correctly within 2 minutes.
• Draw It Out cards contain a principle, a word, or a phrase associated with human performance technology (example: change agents). Your task is to draw a series of pictures (without speaking) to convey the item while other players shout out their guesses. You win the card if somebody guesses the item correctly within a minute.
• Roleplay cards specify your role, another person's role, and a situation related to human performance technology (example: Your Role: Performance Consultant. Other Role: Manager. Situation: A manager hires you to do a teambuilding activity for his or her employees. Your analysis indicates that the root cause for the problem is the untrustworthy behavior of the manager. Tactfully share this information with your client.) You win the card if your roleplay performance receives “thumbs-up” from the majority of the other players.

You win the game any time you win at least one card of each type.

Human Performance Deck comes with a Facilitator Guide booklet that contains general instructions for conducting the game and specific instructions for playing with each of the five types of cards.

Price: $10 + $3.50 shipping

Order through Workshops by Thiagi online store at http://www.thiagi.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=WBTI&Product_Code=HPD (If you're reading this from a printout, visit http://www.thiagi.com/ , click Products, and search for “human performance deck” .)

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Thought Experiment

Your Funny Life

Here's a short activity to increase participant's ability to find humor in ordinary, everyday events.

The best way to describe this activity is to provide a “transcript” of how I conduct this activity. You can adapt it to fit your personal style.

Part 1. Rounding up circular objects

Quick, look around you and count the number of circular objects. Count as many as you can within the next 20 seconds.

(Pause for 20 seconds.)

How many circular objects did you find? Actually, the exact number doesn't matter. The point I am trying to get across is that you did not create these circular objects. They already existed in your current landscape and you just found them. You simply chose to notice them and focus your attention on them.

First Debrief

By the way, did you “cheat” while performing the task? For example, did you include parts of noncircular objects that were circular as in the case of a circular knob in a rectangular radio? Did you count the same object twice as in the case of a round CD and a round hole in the middle of the CD? Did you treat an oval as a circle as in the case of the buttons on your telephone dial? Did you count multiple occurrences of the same object as in the case of all of the periods in a printed document? No, you were not cheating. You were just operating at at a higher level of vigilance.

Part 2. Laughing at Life

Let's now move on to the second part of the exercise. The circle exercise involved scanning your present landscape for a tangible physical element. The next exercise involves scanning your past timescape for an intangible conceptual element.

Here's how you do it. Close your eyes and think of everything that happened in your life last week. Count the number of funny things that happened. Choose to find funny things that already existed in your timescape during the last week. Be creative in coming up with laughable events. Pretend that you have a remarkable sense of humor and look at your life for comedy materials. Do some creative cheating and put a comic spin on your recent reality. Spend 30 seconds doing this.

(Pause for 30 seconds.)

Now focus on one of the funniest episode from your recall exercise. Make it funnier through creative editing, exaggeration, and distortion. Keep working on it until it becomes so funny that you have to burst out laughing. You have another 30 seconds for this exercise.

(Pause for 30 seconds.)

Now pair up with someone else and share the funny segment of your life. Be sure to laugh uproariously at your partner's story.

(Pause for 2-4 minutes. Roam around the room eavesdropping on different conversations.)

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Guest Gamer

Interview with Larry Lipman

Thiagi: Larry, when did you get started with games and how long have you been working with them?

Larry: Back in the 70's, I was teaching Algebra and Geometry. Somewhere between the Quadratic Equation and the Pythagorean Theorem, I lost their attention. I was desperate. I started using games and the kids loved them. And they learned a little math along the way.

Thiagi: What's your specialty area in gaming?

Larry: Team Building. I work with groups of 11 to 150.

Thiagi: How do people respond to your games?

Larry: They have a blast. And they learn. I set up the activity, facilitate it, and debrief it. The participants choose how to play. Once engaged, they usually choose to enjoy the journey, forgetting that how they play is how they do life. They get reminded with powerful, what-did-you-learn questions during the debriefs.

Thiagi: What was the most embarrassing moment you had in conducting games?

Larry: Easy! After a particularly successful and passion-filled “trust fall”, my group asked me to participate. I declined, as it was their event, not mine. They were unusually relentless. I finally said OK. My group was turbo-charged. The moment was electric. I fell into their arms from the platform. The quiet was immediately broken with a loud boom. I had farted. And worse, I couldn't blame it on anyone. They released me quickly, roared with laughter, and threatened to remember that forever.

Thiagi: What advice do you have for beginning game designers?

Larry: Don't wait until you are perfect. Watch and observe as many experts as you can. Then, jump in and start facilitating. Mistakes are inevitable; and in my belief system, that is how we learn and grow. And by the way, that is also how we gain immediate rapport with our participants…showing our human side.

Thiagi: What advice do you have on using games?

Larry: Be proficient, familiar, and an expert—in a select few. Know a few games really well, so that you can tweak them quickly and confidently to adjust to your group's changing needs. And the less props, the better (when the airline loses your luggage, and they will).

Thiagi: What advice do you have for facilitators?

Larry: Put your egos in your back pockets. This is their day, not yours. When surprises happen (and they will), follow their lead, not your planned outline. This takes guts, wisdom, and letting go.

Thiagi: What do you like in a training game?

Larry: I love games that:

• engage all the participants
• accommodate a variety of emotions
• radiate laughter
• incorporate surprises to both facilitator and group
• embrace juicy debriefs

Thiagi: What do you see in an ideal participant?

Larry: One who trusts herself. That means taking full advantage of the day by choosing to participate. If a particular activity is an obstacle, yes, it will be. If a particular activity is an opportunity, yes, it will be. The participant chooses.

Thiagi: What things do you dislike as a gamer?

Larry: I dislike those gamers:

• who look at their watches
• who never smile
• who have to be in control
• who never make mistakes
• who get the job I bid for

Thiagi: What types of games do you use most frequently?

Larry: I love outdoor Ropes Courses—both the lows and the highs.

For regular teambuilding of large groups, I like metaphorical self-discovery activities, human zipper, welded ankles, back-talk, and a dyad activity called “most outrageous.”

With small groups, I like gravity pole, blind birthdays, zoom pictorial, lycra tube, magic carpet, and the maze.

Thiagi: Who are your favorite game designers?

Larry: Those who love to share their stuff generously, passionately, and joyously (the same ones who love what they do more than making big bucks).

Thiagi: What do you predict about the future of training games?

Larry: The game facilitators who follow their passion and love what they do will make it. Period.

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Online Interaction

Two More OQs

In the previous issue of PFP, we introduced an online tool called OQ. This web-based tool presents an open question that requires reflection or creative thinking. The OQ page also provides you with a convenient form to type your answer and to submit it.

What makes OQ unique is an array of buttons on top of the web page:

• Scoring Key. When you click on this button, you are presented with a checklist for evaluating your answer—and other people's answers.
• Expert Answers. When you click on this button, you see the answers from one or more experts.
• Peer Answers. When you click on this button, you see earlier answers from other people. You can compare your answer to these answers.
• Comments. When you click on this button, you arrive at a discussion board. You can write a comment (or question) about the scoring key, expert answers, peer answers, and other people's comments.
• Exit. When you click this button, you return to your original web page location.

More OQs

Are you facilitator—or aspiring to become one? Here's an open question for you:

I have been asked to facilitate a strategic planning session at a high-tech company.

The 30 participants for the session form a motley group. They are employees at different levels and from different departments (including software engineering, sales, and HR). They represent different nationalities, religions, races, and language groups. Most of the software engineers are from Asia ( India , Pakistan , and the Philippines ) while all of the HR people are Caucasian US Americans. There is only one African and only three women (all from the HR group).

I have a lot of experience in facilitating strategic planning activities with Mid-West corporations where all participants are middle-aged white men. I am a little bit apprehensive about working with this kind of diverse group.

What advice do you have for me?

To respond to this OQ (and to check out other people's responses), click here.

Are you a performance consultant—or aspiring to become one? If so, here's another open question, just for you:

You are living far away from your mother. In the most recent letter, your mom wrote, “Now, tell me again exactly what you do for a living? I'm having great difficulty talking to our neighbor, Mrs. Finklestein, who keeps bragging about her daughter, the medical doctor. Can you explain, in plain English, what Human Performance Technology is all about?”

Write down exactly how you would reply to your mom.

(If your mom is a CPT and works as a Performance Consultant, our apologies. Write your response pretending that you are explaining HPT to somebody else's old-fashioned mom who lives in Pleasantville.)

After your response, please include your name in parentheses. Thanks!

To respond to this OQ (and to check out other people's responses), click here.

A Special Offer

Would you like to post an OQ and collect responses from your group? We will be happy to do that for you, free of charge. Send us an email note and we will tell you what we need from you to make this happen.

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Event Alert

NASAGA 2003: A Reminder

Bare facts: NASAGA 2003 Annual Conference will be held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada during October 15-18, 2003. If you register by July 31, 2003, the fee for the regular conference (November 16-18) is CAN$650 (which is approximately equivalent to US$475). For an extra CAN$250 (approximately US$185), you get to attend a full-day preconference workshop on October 15, 2003.

As we said in our previous issue, NASAGA 2003 is coming to Montreal this October. We are all excited about the conference, which begins on October 15. Visit http://www.nasaga.org/ for details of three stimulating pre-conference workshops and a variety of conference sessions featuring some of the leading designers and users of interactive strategies for improving performance.

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Bookshelf

Five Useful Books

(Click a cover to order that book from Amazon.com)

Benson, Herbert and William Proctor (2003). The breakout principle. New York, Scribner (ISBN: 0-7432-2397-7).

A book of practical advice based on scientific research. Benson has systematically studied why some people are devastated by stress while others thrive, turning it into brilliant achievement. The basic breakout sequence involves struggling with a challenge, pulling the breakout trigger, reaching peak experience levels, and returning to a new normal state. The breakout principle works equally effectively in a wide variety of areas including self-awareness, creativity, productivity, athleticism, rejuvenation, and spiritual transcendence. A sample practical suggestion from the book: People from the West think in an analytic fashion while people from the East think in a holistic pattern. To generate creative ideas, use the whole brain and achieve greater coherence of the brain's hemispheres by thinking both in your familiar way and in the unfamiliar, cross-cultural way.

Kostner, Jaclyn (2001). Bionic eteamwork: How to build collaborative virtual teams at hyperspeed. Chicago, Dearnborn Trade Publishing (ISBN: 0-7931-4834-0).

Best practices in face-to-face communication are too slow and ineffective in today's world. Kostner explains that virtual teams (that are dispersed around the world and connected by techology) go through the phases of being disabled (example: decisions and action are postponed until the next face-to-face visit) and being mechnical (example: out-of-control volumes of communication) before becoming bionic (example: high degree of rapport and excitement built by the way people communicate virtually). The author's major contention is that technology does not make a virtual team. Instead, it is trust and communication among people that makes the team. A practicel suggestion from the book: When preparing a newly-formed eteam, provide training focused on the human side of using the technology to create trust and collaboration.

Pfeffer, Jeffrey and Robert I. Sutton (2000). The knowing-doing gap: How smart companies turn knowledge into action. Boston , Harvard Business School Press (ISBN: 1-57851-124-0).

Based on the results of a field survey, the authors claim that the knowledge advantage is a fallacy. Companies frequently talk about intellectual capital and knowledge management but fail to take the vital next step of transforming knowledge into action. To prevent this tragic paradox of knowing too much and doing too little, executives should use plans, meetings, and presentations to inspire deeds and not as a substitute for action. in the final chapter of book, Pfeffer and Sutton provide eight practical guidelines for turning knowledge into action. Sample practical suggestion from the book: All action entail the risk of being wrong. If a company treats failures harshly and follows them up with analysis, meetings, and discussions, employees will be fearful of failure and afraid to take action. To encourage doing, a company should forgive failures and reward risk taking.

Sibbet, David (2002). Principles of facilitation: The purpose and potential of leading group process. San Francisco, The Grove Consultants International (ISBN: 1-879502-44-5).

This book is an excellent introduction to the foundation of the facilitation process. Sibbet defines facilitation as the art of leading people through processes toward agreed-upon objectives in a manner that encourages participation, ownership, and creativity from all involved. He presents a model for team performance and identifies the four factors of facilitation: attention, energy, information, and operations. The main part of the book presents and discusses ten basic principles for managing each of these four factors. Sample practical suggestion from the book: When in doubt, make it up. When you or the group is stumped or unsure, try something—anything. If it is right, everyone will catch on to it. If it is wrong, you will get valuable feedback in the form of pushback. Either way, you cannot lose.

Stringer, Donna M. and Patricia A. Cassiday (2003). 52 activities for exploring values differences. Yarmouth, Maine, Intercultural Press, Inc. (ISBN: 1-877864-96-X).

Values are deeply held beliefs that permit members of a group to differentiate what is “good, right, and normal” from what is “bad, wrong, and abnormal”. Stringer and Cassiday point out that understanding differences in values will reduce cultural clashes when two groups interact with each other. The authors have designed several experiential activities and assembled and adapted others scattered among different publications. Each activity is presented in a convenient format that specifies context, time, and risk level. Sample practical suggestion from the book: Maintain a balance among different approaches to training. Too much doing can result in too little understanding. On the other hand, too much thinking can result in too little application.

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Pithy Saying

Two Inequalities

My friend Harold Stolovitch has written a wonderful book, Telling Ain't Training. Just because you have made a presentation of facts, principles, and procedures to a group of people, it does not mean that you have taught them anything. There is a difference between telling and teaching. It is important to remind ourselves of this fact to prevent us from succumbing to the sage-on-the-stage delusion.

Training games and other interactive strategies will help us stop telling and begin teaching.

Just because you know how to do something, it does not mean that you are doing it. Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton have written a significant book, The Knowing-Doing Gap. (For a mini-review, check out this month's Bookshelf section.) We have to remind ourselves of this fact to force us to analyze why we are not using what we already know and why we should focus on application of new skills and knowledge when we conduct training sessions.

Training games and other interactive strategies will help us reduce the gap between knowing and doing.

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