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Improving Performance - A Lesson from Wii Fit

By Eileen Koch

For those of you familiar with Wii Fit*, you probably love it or hate it. And as I sit here just having been chastised by my own Wii Fit, I wonder what Corporate America would be like with something similar in the workplace. Think about it. Whether you love it or hate it, Wii Fit is a fun tool that keeps us engaged in exercise type activities that we normally try to avoid.

There are several elements of Wii Fit that can teach us some good lessons that we can apply to improving the “business health” of ourselves and teams. Here are a few lessons that I think are noteworthy and the questions that it raises for those of us who want to improve our "business health" in Corporate America.

Good Metrics and Measurements

The Body Test in Wii Fit is a short and simple set of activities used to gauge your body's performance. After choosing a Mii™ - a virtual caricature unique to Wii - to represent you, use the Wii Balance Board to measure your center of balance, Body Mass Index (BMI), and body control. Based on these results, you can also determine your Wii Fit Age. The way Wii Fit sets metrics and measures them raises the following questions for businesses:

Do I have key metrics defined for my business?
Are there easy ways to measure those metrics?
Do we have easy tools and techniques to gather those measurements?
Do I have ways to visually demonstrate our progress on those key metrics?
Can I create ways for people and teams to compare the results and work together on improving?
If I had a Mii Caricature in the work place, what would it look like?

Goals and Progress Charts

The first time you play Wii Fit, you are asked to set a goal within a timeframe for yourself regarding your BMI. These goals readily appear so it's easy to see progress towards your goals. Do I have goals set for every metric in my business? The questions this provokes for businesses related to goals are:

Do I set goals and compare them to industry benchmarks (e.g., similar to the BMO benchmark)?
Do I track progress towards those metrics?
Do I have visual ways to monitor progress on achieving those goals?

Honest Feedback to Foster Improvement

The Wii Fit is based on direct feedback by talking to you in a direct and encouraging way and providing easy to read charts and pictures, like your Mii getting thinner. The feedback then helps you pick which areas you need to address to improve your health. The feedback helps you learn more about the exercises and skills that improve you fitness. The feedback questions raised include:

Do I get good feedback to help me improve?
Do I give good feedback to help others improve?
Can I develop ways to ensure honest feedback is common place?

Training through Exercises and Healthy Competition

Wii Fit includes four training modes that include over 40 exercises and activities. These are designed to help improve body balance and fitness and include games and visuals that make them fun and engaging. It also encourages you to compete with other Wii Fit players. Businesses can ask themselves the following questions related to training and development:

Do we have training programs that are directly tied to our metrics?
Do I actively coach my team by suggesting new ways to improve?
Will our training programs and coaching help us meet our goals?
Is the training and coaching fun and engaging?
Am I consistent with my training regimen?
Do I foster healthy competition amougst team members?

Rewards and Recognition

The Wii Fit tracks the activities and time you put into training. The game also accumulates credits for performance and celebrates all your successes, small and big. A business might ask the following questions related to rewards and recognition:

How well do I recognize good performance?
Do I celebrate successes?
Do we have good reward structures tied to metrics?

Hopefully, the people at Nintendo will read this article and create an awesome Wii Work for us. In the meantime, trying to use some of the unique approaches in the work environment and regularly reviewing the list above will have to suffice.

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