We are proud to announce we have been awarded the Gold Award of Excellence by our peers at the Serious Play Organization for our recently released Diversity Inclusion and Equity Game. It's part of our wholesale rethink of what organizational skills training should contain. I have long believed, as many, that Diversity training was woefully inadequate, divorced from the mainstream of how we train our people and afraid to address issues like privilege and oppression head on for fear of upsetting people. An employee of a firm I know so well who went through three days of globally mandated diversity training recently told me, "It was one big nothing burger. I identify as Asian-American, and it literally addressed none of the issues that are so obvious everyone."

​This industry recognition is bittersweet too, as a major company we were working with towards launching the game was onboard, but decided at the last minute not to proceed, because, as their executive confided, with topics such as tokenism, they were just "not ready for it". I wonder if they are now.

We believe it's fundamental that Diversity Intelligence is coupled with Emotional Intelligence as a central part of how we ready people for leadership. As Dr. Claretha Hughes argues so rightly in her paper, Conclusion: Diversity Intelligence as a Core of Diversity Training and Leadership Development, "DQ arms them with the skill to not just understand emotional, cultural, and intellectual differences, but equips them to integrate people with different skill levels and cultural backgrounds to contribute at an optimum level toward meeting corporate goals." Hear Hear.

For a free trial of the Diversity Inclusion and Equity game, its imbedded videos and self directed course, get in touch... it's all part of our new ELEVATE Emotional/Diversity/Communications Intelligence program. (EQ/DQ/CQ) Join me in remaking this vital part of our people's development and their future.

Kevin Allen, Founder and Chairman
Contact us at citizens@eigames.com

A Gold Medal Win for E.I. Games | Diversity, Inclusion & Equity Game 

While the year 2020 has been marred with change and uncertainty, E.I. Games found a win at the Serious Plan Games Conference. The annual conference announced the 2020 winners of the Serious Play Awards competition including a top prize for the Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity game, imagined, designed and produced by E.I. Games. This marks the 4th year that E.I. Games medals and the third year to win the top prize. 

“We are incredibly honored to have our work recognized on such an international stage against impressive competition,” remarked E.I. Games founder and CEO, Karl Allen, “This validates our Emotional Intelligent approach to Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Social Justice and celebrates the efforts of our friends across the Miami LGBTQIA+ community who participated in this work.”

But how did we do it? What does it take to create a great product that can act as a training guide for corporate employees?

The E.I. Games Diversity and Awareness Project launched in 2018. Our Diversity and Awareness game took extensive and careful research to craft an interactive experience that was reflective of actual real-life experiences, was relatable and truly resonated with each personality and experience level of the potential player. Our efforts were recognized by the Miami New Times for the participation of Miami’s LGBTQA+ community in its creation.

S.E.A.S. Model
We knew exactly where to start - the S.E.A.S model. The two-part course is based on the S.E.A.S model, an emotional intelligent approach to diversity, inclusion and equity practices and divided into four elements:​

​Self-Consciousness - Understanding who you are. 
Empathy- placing yourself in someone else's shoes. 
Accountability- Committing yourself to concrete actions. 
Solidarity- Courageous in your support and celebration of others. 

This Game helps corporations and aspiring professionals realize their own bias’ as well as the importance of diversity in the workplace through open education and conversation about sensitive topics. Whereas efforts in the past focused on racial and gender diversity in the workplace, the contemporary organization must take into account areas of identity that were not focused on before. Inclusion shines the spotlight on the meaningful ways members of an organization participate in their day to day, while equity realizes that power, responsibility, and consequences need to be leveled out within an organization. 
What’s Next - E.I. Games Elevate Program
We are proud of the incredible work we’ve done - be we’re not finished. We feel that our Diversity, Inclusion and Equity is incredibly important and could be even more impactful as part of a well-rounded program. As we look to the future, take in feedback from our industry peers and clients, we have decided to move forward with our brand new program - ELEVATE. Elevate combines the following E.I. Games courses:

• Leadership (Course + Simulation)
• Diversity, Inclusion & Equity (Course + Simulation)
• Communication Skills (Course + Simulation)

While each of these stand alone courses are worthwhile independently, we believe the combination is the ultimate learning and development program. Visit eigames.com/elevate-program to learn more about how these three courses taken over 90 days can transform your EQ potential!