IBM: Good Gamers Make Great Leaders

IBM (whom you've probably heard of) and Seriosity (whom you may not have heard of) have conducted a series of studies focused on how the rules of multiplayer online games could apply to business in the real world.

Here are the specific game concepts that businesses should adopt to enhance productivity, innovation, and leadership in the workplace:

• Incentive structures that motivate workers immediately and longer term
• Virtual economies that create a marketplace for information and collaboration
• Transparency of performance and capabilities
• Recognition for achievements
• Visibility into networks of communication across an organization

Smart organizations are recognizing and rewarding employees who play online games and apply what they've learned online to their real ife jobs, according to the study.

The games studied were more of the World of Warcraft vein than the Three-Eyed Bingo type, but, based on what they've uncovered, I think many of the same concepts apply to the kinds of games we play. What do you think? What have you learned playing online games that you think the business world could benefit from?