Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Quality of Life Research Center, Claremont Graduate University

1. FLOW: Play and Creativity It‟s the Play that Makes Serious Play Serious Serious Play Conference August 21, 2013 Seattle, WA Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, PhD Quality of Life Research Center Claremont Graduate University Claremont, CA COPYRIGHT © 2013 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

2. Outline Why is Play Serious? • • • The Elements of Flow • What Makes Flow Happen • Flow at Work • Flow is Good Business Flow: The Experience of Play • The Making of an Interactive Simulation Game for Teaching Flow to Managers.

3. What Is Serious About Play? • Playfulness is necessary for personal development, from infancy to old age • Playfulness is a necessary component of creativity • Playfulness is an important component of cultural evolution © 2013 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

4. What is Playfulness? Playfulness is a quality of experience people feel when they do something they enjoy doing for its own sake, usually in games, sports, artistic activities, but also in work and other “serious” activities. • In what follows, I shall describe playfulness as the Flow Experience. • © 2013 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

5. DESCRIPTION OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE WHEN WRITING POETRY “You„re right in the work, you lose your sense of time, you‟re completely enraptured, you„re completely caught up in what you‟re doing…. there„s no future or past, it‟s just an extended present in which you„re making meaning…” Poet Mark Strand, 1991 © 2013 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

6. DESCRIPTION OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE WHEN DOING RESEARCH “To go into a dark room and look through the microscope and see these glowing objects which may be moving around or may be stationary, and in different colors – it's a video game, if you will. It's just beautiful…I can sit in front of a microscope for three or four hours at a time, just looking at the material and analyzing it….I can be very disconcerting to other people in the degree to which I can concentrate on something and not pay too much attention to what's going on around me.” Cell biologist Joseph G. Gall, 1991 © 2013 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

7. You Must Have Flow to Do Something Creative. But You Can Have Flow Even if You Work on An Assembly Line. So . . . What is Flow? © 2013 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

8. DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE (1.) – Attention is focused on a limited stimulus field. There is full concentration, complete involvement. © 2013 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

9. DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE (2.) “Concentration is like breathing: you never think of it. The roof could fall in and, if it missed you, you would be unaware of it.” Chess player (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975) © 2013 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

10. DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE (3.) – Attention is focused on a limited stimulus field. There is full concentration, complete involvement. – Action and awareness merge © 2013 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

11. DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE (4.) “You‟re so involved in what you‟re doing, you aren‟t thinking about yourself as separate from the immediate activity. You‟re no longer a participant observer, only a participant. You‟re moving in harmony with something else you‟re part of.” Rock climber (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975) © 2013 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

12. DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE (5.) – Attention is focused on a limited stimulus field. There is full concentration, complete involvement. – Action and awareness merge. – There is freedom from worry about failure. © 2013 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

13. DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE (6.) “You feel like…there‟s nothing that will be able to stop you or get in your way. And you‟re ready to tackle anything, and you don‟t fear any possibility happening, and it‟s just exhilarating.” Cyclist (Jackson & Csikszentmihalyi, 1999) © 2013 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

14. DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE (7.) – Attention is focused on a limited stimulus field. There is full concentration, complete involvement. – Action and awareness merge. – There is freedom from worry about failure. – Self-consciousness disappears. © 2013 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

15. DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE (8.) “You are not aware of the body except your hands….not aware of self or personal problems….If involved, you are not aware of aching feet, not aware of self.” Surgeon (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975) © 2013 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

16. DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE (9.) – Attention is focused on a limited stimulus field. There is full concentration, complete involvement. – Action and awareness merge. – There is freedom from worry about failure. – Self-consciousness disappears. – The sense of time becomes distorted. © 2013 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

17. DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE (10.) “Two things happen…. After it‟s passed, [time] seems to have passed really fast. I see that it‟s one o‟clock in the morning and I say, „Ah-ha, just a few minutes ago it was eight o‟clock.‟ But then while I‟m dancing…it seems like it‟s been much longer than it really was.” Social dancer (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975) © 2013 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

18. DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE (11.) – Attention is focused on a limited stimulus field. There is full concentration, complete involvement. – Action and awareness merge. – There is freedom from worry about failure. – Self-consciousness disappears. – The sense of time becomes distorted. – The experience become its own reward - auto-telic. © 2013 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

19. DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE (12.) “Do it for the satisfaction it gives….This is what I tell my students. Don‟t expect to make money, don‟t expect fame or a pat on the back, don‟t expect a damn thing. Do it because you love it.” Composer (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975) © 2013 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

20. TO SUMMARIZE: DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE – Attention is focused on a limited stimulus field. There is full concentration, complete involvement. – Action and awareness merge. – There is freedom from worry about failure. – Self-consciousness disappears. – The sense of time becomes distorted. – The experience become its own reward - auto-telic. …WHAT CONDITIONS FOSTER FLOW? © 2013 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

21. CONDITIONS OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE 1. There are clear goals every step of the way. 2. There is immediate feedback to one's action. 3. There is a balance between challenges and skills. © 2013 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

22. HIGH ANXIETY FLOW BOREDOM HIGH © 2013 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

23. High D E ANXIETY Flow C A B BOREDOM Low High © 2013 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

24. © 2013 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI high New Tasks, Learning Work Stress, Sudden Threats Favorite activity, Hobby, Work, Love Life Arousal Anxiety Flow Family Problems, Work Hassles Worry Driving, Work Control Apathy Relaxation Loneliness, TV Viewing Boredom Eating, Reading, Conversation Work, Household Chores low high SKILLS

25. Creating an interactive Flow tool for managers • 4 YEARS IN THE MAKING • A MULTI-NATIONAL TEAM • LONG EXPERIENCE IN DEVELOPING SIMULATION LEARNING TOOLS • CONCEPTUAL BASE: FLOW AND GOOD BUSINESS © 2013 BY MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

26. Csikszentmihalyi’s FLOW for Business™ the ultimate leadership simulation game and blended learning solution

27. Narrative Context – The Turul Winery 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? Good Games have Good Backstories Check out Turul’s website (www.turulwinery.com) 27 www.fligby.com - www.facebook.com/fligby ©2013 ALEAS Simulations, Inc. California

28. What is FLIGBY®? „FLOW for Business™” (FLIGBY®) is an online game-based Leadership Development Simulation. This is the official Flow program for decision makers. 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. ©2013 ALEAS Simulations, Inc. California

29. FLIGBY’s Screen Structure (Main User Interface) Virtual Time in the Story “Full Screen” Button Control Panel FLIGBY Media Library Flow Trophies Flow Gauge Button “Magic FLIGBY Button” Next Button Link to Turul Winery’s external website Subtitle Field 29 www.fligby.com - www.facebook.com/fligby ©2013 ALEAS Simulations, Inc. California

30. FLIGBY’s Screen Structure (Flow Gauge - 1) Changes in the Flow State Quick Links to Personal Profiles Profitability Index of the Winery FLOW Meter of the Winery “Flow Status / Personal Profile” Switch "Flow Meter" is the CORPORATE ATMOSPHERE METER of the TurulWinery which shows the average mood inside the organization. The PROFITABILITY INDEX shows how a player's decision impacts Turul Winery's revenuegener ating ability. 30 www.fligby.com - www.facebook.com/fligby ©2013 ALEAS Simulations, Inc. California

31. 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. 7. 1. 3. 6. 8. 10. Commu- nication Skill 5. Building Engage- ment Active Listening Assertive- ness Business- oriented Thinking Conflict- mana- gement Diploma- tic Skills 2. 4. 9. Analyzing Skill Balancing Skill Delegating 13. 20. 11. Enterpre- nuership Motivati- onal Skills 14. 16. Emotional Intelli- gence 15. 17. 18. 19. 12. Execution Skills Future- focused Thinking Feedback Skill 24. Realizing Personal Strenghts Information Gathering Intuitive Thinking Involvement Empower- ment 21. Organi- zing Skills 22. 29. Time Manage- ment Skills 28. 27. Prioriza- tion Skill 23. Quick Decision- making Teamwork Mana- gement 26. Social Responsi- bility Strategic Thinking 25. Social System Thinking 31 www.fligby.com - www.facebook.com/fligby ©2013 ALEAS Simulations, Inc. California

32. Professional Reporting 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. 32 ©2013 ALEAS Simulations, Inc. California

33. ”YOU CAN DISCOVER MORE ABOUT A PERSON IN AN HOUR OF PLAY, THAN IN A YEAR OF CONVERSATION” Plato, (c. 429-347 B.C.)