The Gamification Revolution Book Summary - The Gamification Revolution Book explained in key points

Listen to the Intro

00:00

The Gamification Revolution summary

Name: The Gamification Revolution
Rating: 4 (28 reviews)
Author: Gabe Zichermann and Joselin Linder

Gabe Zichermann Joselin Linder

How Leaders Leverage Game Mechanics to Crush the Competition

4 (28 ratings)

17 mins

Brief summary

The Gamification Revolution by Gabe Zichermann and Joselin Linder explains how to use game-design thinking to engage customers and employees in innovative ways. It presents real-life examples of companies and organizations that have successfully harnessed the power of gamification to drive business results.

Topics

Leadership Innovation Strategy

Table of Contents

The Gamification Revolution
Summary of 7 key ideas

Audio & text in the Blinkist app

Key idea 1 of 7

What’s in it for me? Learn why games are a MUST for your organization or company.

What does the word “game” conjure up in your mind? Chess, football, maybe tag, and playing cards? A set of rules, points to be scored and opponents to challenge? Structure and mental and emotional engagement? Couldn’t you use those qualities for more than a family Monopoly session?

Gamification takes winning to another level. Companies use game designs to increase customer loyalty or staff engagement, engineering game play to transform the way they do business.

The Gamification Revolution explains many different kinds of games, and how they can be used not just to engage with customers, but also to invigorate new employees or strategy meetings inside your organization.

After reading these blinks, you’ll know

why the architecture industry is so obsessed with games;
how Nike uses games to train new employees; and
how to introduce gamification into your company or organization.

Games are more important than you think.

What’s your favorite game? Is it a board game or a computer game? Have you ever stopped to think about how many games there are, and how often we play them?

You’re probably familiar with games like chess or Angry Birds, but what about gamification games?

Gamification means using games to get people together or solve problems. It’s widespread, and it can be very useful.

The annual McDonald's Monopoly game is an example of gamification. Customers are rewarded with Monopoly pieces every time they buy food or drinks. To get more obscure pieces and complete a set, they have to order bigger meals or visit more branches.

Gamification works by leveraging behavioral economics and design. Just think about all the situations where we collect points, where badges represent achievements, levels give us a rank, and leaderboards and scoreboards show how we compare with others.

Then there are grand challenges, which aim to solve specific problems. They’re usually highly publicized and offer prizes to the winners. Sometimes they can lead to great discoveries or inventions. In fact, a grand challenge led to the establishment of our system of longitude in 1714.

Gamification provides great opportunities for businesses and other organizations. It can even be critical for them.

Games can help you invigorate your brand, engage with customers and raise profits – just like the McDonald’s Monopoly. They can also inspire innovation and creativity within your company.

The main thing that makes games essential, however, is their ubiquity. A study by TNS Global found that over 60 percent of people in the Western world regularly play computer or video games. This is even more true for young people: about 70 percent of toddlers and young kids play them!

So if you want to connect with people in our modern world, you’ve got to do it through means that you know will hook them in: games.

Gamification lets you reach customers in new ways.

Gamification isn’t just about designing fun games. It’s also about relating to your customers in new ways, and ensuring they use whatever you’re putting out there.

This is the biggest advantage of gamification: it engages people. So what does that mean for a company?

Games can help people develop strategies for real life situations.

So how can gamification make a difference inside your company?

The first step is to gamify your strategy. Games can engage your employees just like they engage your customers.

Use games to motivate your staff.

Games come in many different shapes and sizes, and we’ve seen how they help people work. If you gamify your employees’ experiences, you can motivate them and improve their performance.

Even dull or dreary tasks can be spiced up with games. Nike tech reps, for example, go through a nine day camp where they live the history of Nike. It’s called “Ekin,” which is “Nike” backward.

Games can trigger innovation.

Nothing works better than games when it comes to innovation. But how?

There are three main ways to gamify corporate innovation.

Games can improve recruitment and training.

Games can help save money and time even in the nitty gritty aspects of corporate life, like recruitment and training.

Gamified recruitment saves money and attracts ideal candidates. Google did this when they put a billboard in Silicon Valley that read, “{first 10-digit prime found in consecutive digits of e}.com.” The ad didn’t even mention Google.

In the age of social media, gamification offers a bridge between companies and customers.

Social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook have massively impacted our society, and they provide great opportunities for businesses to engage with customers – especially through games. Games can separate you from your competitors, and help promote your brand.

Games encourage customers to share their experiences with your product. This made the difference between Foursquare and another location check-in company that preceded it, Dodgeball. Dodgeball allowed you to check in at places and show your friends. Foursquare, however, lets its users play games with their check-ins.

Want to see all full key ideas from The Gamification Revolution?

Key ideas in The Gamification Revolution

More knowledge in less time

Read or listen

Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.

Find your next read

Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.

Shortcasts ^New

We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.

What is The Gamification Revolution about?

The Gamification Revolution shows us why games are the answer to many of contemporary business’s major problems. From engaging customers in the age of social media, to inspiring employees to be more innovative, every business needs to add a little game play to its arsenal.

The Gamification Revolution Review

The Gamification Revolution (2013) is a book that explores the concept of gamification and its potential to revolutionize business and society. Here's why this book is worth reading:

It offers insightful case studies and examples from various industries, showcasing how gamification can enhance employee productivity and customer engagement.
Through practical strategies and tips, it empowers readers to apply gamification principles to their own organizations, driving innovation and growth.
The book presents a compelling argument for the power of gamification, demonstrating how it can motivate behavior change and create immersive experiences.

Best quote from The Gamification Revolution

Gamification presents the best tools humanity has ever invented to create and sustain engagement in people.

—Gabe Zichermann and Joselin Linder

Who should read The Gamification Revolution?

Managers and entrepreneurs
Anyone interested in consumer psychology
Anyone who wants to improve their business by turning it into a game

About the Author

Gabe Zichermann is the CEO of Gamification Co and Dopamine. He’s a leading figure in the gamification industry, and has written several successful books on business, including Gamification by Design.

Categories with The Gamification Revolution

Management & Leadership

Book summaries like The Gamification Revolution

Co-opetition

Barry J. Nalebuff and Adam M. Brandenburger

A revolutionary mindset that combines competition and cooperation; The Game Theory strategy that’s changing the game of business

16 min

3.9

Gamification for Business

Sune Gudiksen

Why Innovators and Changemakers Use Games to Break Down Silos, Drive Engagement and Build Trust

20 min

4.0

Beautiful Game Theory

Ignacio Palacios-Huerta

How Soccer Can Help Economics

The Art of Healthy Arrogance & Dreaming Big

18 min

Rational Ritual

Michael Suk-Young Chwe

Culture, Coordination, and Common Knowledge

13 min

3.8

Building a StoryBrand 2.0

Donald Miller

Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen

22 min

4.6

Heal Your Gut, Save Your Brain

Partha Nandi

Five Pillars for Gut Health and Cognitive Optimization

Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few

16 min

4.4

Boundaries

Henry Cloud and John Townsend

When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life

23 min

4.4

Mastering the VC Game

Jeffrey Bussgang

How to Get from Start-up to IPO on Your Terms

19 min

4.2

The Art of Reading Minds

Henrik Fexeus

Understand Others to Get What You Want

15 min

3.8

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Anonymous

A timeless tale of friendship, mortality, and the search for meaning

The Technological Republic

Alexander C. Karp

Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the Future of the West

16 min

Your Best Just Got Better

Jason W. Womack

Work Smarter, Think Bigger, Make More

The New Autobiography

Take Command of Your Business in 100 Days

The Japanese Method for Transforming Habits, One Small Step at a Time

The Secret of Your Success Is Determined by Your Daily Agenda

A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team

17 min

4.2

This Is Your Brain on Food

Uma Naidoo

A Guide to the Foods that Fight Depression, Anxiety, and More

Align your actions, values, and mindset to create lasting success

17 min

4.1

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff... and It's All Small Stuff

Richard Carlson

Simple Ways to Keep the Little Things from Taking Over Your Life

Managing Your Emotions - So They Don't Manage You

22 min

4.3

Buddhism – Plain and Simple

Steve Hagen

The Practice of Being Aware, Right Now, Every Day

Master the Art of Business

19 min

3.8

The Seven Tensions of Negotiation

Cash Nickerson

Breathe and Let the Opposition Make the Tough Decisions

The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google

Why Brains Learn Better Than Any Machine . . . for Now

16 min

4.2

Control the Narrative

Lida Citroën

The Executive's Guide to Building, Pivoting and Repairing Your Reputation

17 min

4.5

On the Origin of Species

Charles Darwin

By Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life

Time Management for Mortals

23 min

4.4

The End of Alzheimer's Program

Dale Bredesen

The First Protocol to Enhance Cognition and Reverse Decline at Any Age

21 min

4.3

The Almanack of Naval Ravikant

Eric Jorgenson

A Guide to Wealth and Happiness

How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life

23 min

4.4

Leadership Strategy and Tactics

Unlock the Power of Incentives to Get Things Done

16 min

4.0

Negotiation Made Simple

John Lowry

A Practical Guide for Making Strategic Decisions, Finding Solutions, and Delivering the Best Deal

16 min

4.4

The Stress Paradox

Sharon Horesh Bergquist

Why You Need Stress to Live Longer, Healthier, and Happier

My Battle With Europe’s Deep Establishment

For the Sisters, Misters, and Binary Resisters

The Path to Deeper Connection Through Growth, Kindness, and Compassion

22 min

4.5

Predictably Irrational

Dan Ariely

The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

Things You Wish You Were Taught in School

Living a Quiet Life in a Noisy World

The 4000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam

27 min

4.2

Invention and Innovation

Vaclav Smil

A Brief History of Hype and Failure

21 min

Flip It

Michael Heppell

How to Get the Best Out of Everything

16 min

4.5

Working with Emotional Intelligence

Daniel Goleman

The Crucial Role of EQ in the Workplace

A Brief History of Humankind

28 min

4.3

People ❤️ Blinkist

Sven O.

It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.

Thi Viet Quynh N.

Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.

Jonathan A.

Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.

Renee D.

Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.