Strategy

Abstract

Saskia had been rather quiet. ‘What did you think of your role in the game?,’ I asked her. We were evaluating a playtesting session at VGZ, a Dutch health insurance company. The challenge at hand was promoting a healthier lifestyle for their clients and Saskia was representing the role of the caregiver, the friend or family member who supports a person who is trying to adopt a healthier lifestyle. ‘To be honest’, Saskia said, Tthought my role was a little odd.’ ‘How so?’ I asked. ‘Well, all the other players had money to spend on measures that promoted a healthier lifestyle. But I only had all of these time coins. So everyone kept coming to me when they were running short on time, because I had more than enough of it.’ The group fell silent for a moment, as they processed her comments. Then Ron, who represented the municipality in this session, said: ‘Isn’t that exactly what happens in our healthcare system? That we collectively lean on the caregivers, people in the client’s social environment, to fill up the gaps when the money runs out?’ There were nods as Leonie, the client lead for this project, said: ‘That could be a real risk factor. If the caregiver collapses, so does the whole house of cards.’ A weakness in the system had been identified and the group was now ready to start discussing a strategy for dealing with it.