5 things you should know about gamification

What people generally think of is crystallized intelligence, the knowledge that’s often tested in IQ tests. The other kind, which is what really helps people innovate and solve problems, is fluid intelligence.

People can increase their fluid intelligence by challenging themselves, thinking creatively, seeking novelty, doing things the hard way, and networking. That’s precisely what a lot of games do, Zichermann told an audience at Ragan Communications’ Employee Communications, PR, and Social Media Summit at Microsoft headquarters.

It doesn’t even matter if you’re good at playing the game or not. Simply the act of playing can boost brain power, he said.

Companies can and do take advantage of the opportunity that games present for connecting and communicating with employees. Gartner Group predicts that by 2015, roughly 70 percent of large companies will use gamification to spur innovation. But that doesn’t mean you can make everything you do into a game.