The Gamification Revolution: How Leaders Leverage Game Mechanics to Crush the Competition

INTRODUCTION

Theodore Roosevelt once said, “When you play, play hard; when you work, don’t play at all.”

It probably comes as no surprise that Teddy Roosevelt believed in a tough work ethic. He was a strict task master despite his image as an outgoing, jovial man for whom they named the teddy bear. In fact, he himself was an overachiever who went from meek asthmatic to Nobel Prize winner. His legacy as one of the most highly regarded U.S. presidents is rarely challenged.

The idea that work and play cannot coexist is still a widely accepted truth. Throughout many of our own childhoods, we were taught the rules about when we could unbutton our metaphoric top buttons. The line between work and play was plain. It was defined, and it was very, very ...