Spiritual Game Planning Charting the history of a board game that changed the workplace. By Liz Simpson When a small group of individuals moved to a remote and barren caravan park in Findhorn Bay on the Moray Firth in the 1960s, little did they suspect it would soon become a famous center for the burgeoning New Age movement. Or that, 30 years later, their work exploring ways of living a more spiritual existence which transformed that wilderness into a thriving international community offering courses, retreats and conferences would result in the development of a powerful, interactive development tool for business people. In order to condense the 'Findhorn experience' and make it accessible to those who couldn't visit personally, a group Of committed individuals with backgrounds in therapy, counseling, personal development and human relations devised The Game of Transformation. This board game is a sort of spiritual Monopoly where you acquire self-awareness - instead of property and cash - and gives players the chance to discover how all experiences, supportive or painful, offer opportunities for growth and development. Because of its success in facilitating change, demand arose for the same team to develop a business version. Thus Frameworks for Change was launched in 1993, using the same basic principles but couched in language more finely tuned to organizational needs. For example, instead of the 'Angel cards' acquired by players in Transformation, Frameworks players pick 'Mentor cards', each outlining a quality such as Partnership, Vision, Purpose, Innovation or Risk. They are then invited to think about how these qualities currently help them at work or could be demonstrated to a greater extent in their lives. Starting at an individual level, players move around the board or 'work path', landing on squares with symbols relating to insights, intuitions, setbacks and other reflective issues. Each player comes to tile game with a predetermined 'intention' or issue they want to resolve, that often reflects their desire to shift dysfunctional attitudes and behaviors that affect the way they operate at an individual, team, or organizational level. During tile game most players draw cards and land on squares that offer the precise insights and experiences they need to help them realize the intention they brought to the game. Joan Browne. a UK Frameworks, says that this highly structured but accessible interactive exercise can be a valuable tool within HR for building team spirit which, lets face it, is an aspect that business generally spends little time developing and then wonders why a group of disparate individuals can't achieve team goals. 'Played over two and a half or three days, Frameworks for Change enables players quickly to transform the way they work, building trust, co-operation and mutual support in a way I haven't experienced in other training methods,' says Browne, whose background is in organizational behavior and 'personal development with a spiritual slant'. She adds: 'By acknowledging the spiritual dimension in human relationships, teams and individuals are encouraged to be more open, communicative and sharing with all the attendant benefits these qualities bring to the workplace.' She has introduced Frameworks for Change into a variety of organizations, including a 'think tank' project team within a local Council, an IT company in Holland, plus various voluntary sector groups working with the Young and unemployed in London. One major American investment bank based in London used the game as a means of 'bringing people together around a group identity, as well as demonstrating the importance of personal change'. The executive responsible for introducing it into the organization says: 'It's one of those processes where the more you throw yourself into it, the more you get out. It wasn't everyone's cup of tea but those that did embrace it found the game enabled them to communicate more clearly with colleagues. This self-expression caused them to become happier in themselves, which gave them a lot more personal power. Several years ago, Wessel Ganzevoort, chairman of the board at KPMG in I Holland who had played the game along with 60 colleagues, said: 'There is still a taboo in organizations like ours about discussing feelings and values. We think we're open but we're not really. It has to become normal to look each other in the eye and say what we feel.' Which is exactly what Frameworks for Change is all about - a tool for employees to learn how to navigate their way through the game or working life in as humanely and spiritually fulfilling a way possible.