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FLIGBY® - Csikszentmihalyi’s “FLOW is Good Business™”���The Ultimate Leadership Skills Development Simulation Game

FLOW is Good Business™ The Official Game Guide

ALEAS Simulations, Inc. – Inside the Learning Revolution®

  The producer and owner of the "FLOW is Good Business™" (FLIGBY) concept and online Serious Game is ALEAS Simulations, Inc.

(12121 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 525, Los Angeles, CA 90025).

All materials contained in this Guide are the copyrighted property of ALEAS Simulations, Inc. “FLOW is Good Business”, “FLIGBY”, “Turul Winery”; and all logos, characters, artwork, stories, information, names, and other elements associated thereto are the sole and exclusive property of ALEAS Simulations, Inc.

All other trademarks are respectfully acknowledged.

This Guide is exclusively allowed to be used only along with ’FLOW is Good BusinessTM’ (FLIGBY) Online Simulation. If it is used together with the Simulation, it can be printed free. Any other usage is allowed only with the written permission of the owner.

The Guide can be modified only with the written permission of the owner.

©2013 All Rights Reserved.

Version 3.0, 25.11.13

www.fligby.com w www.aleasgroup.com w www.facebook.com/fligby

FLIGBY is a Gold Medal Winner of the “International Serious Play Award 2012” and is certified by the Serious Games Association.

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“a time machine... out of a DeLorean?...”  

Dear FLIGBY User,

Thank you for your decision of joining the FLIGBY Simulation and welcome to the world of the Turul Winery.

We have been working to create the ’missing link’ for the last four years. We have been concerned with how to incorporate Professor Csikszentmihalyi’s wonderful Flow theory into practical business leadership management policy. The added value of Flow in business is beyond dispute. If employees of an organization can experience the state of Flow from time to time, it has been proven that their performance improves.

How can this Flow Power be used in business life? We were looking for definite answers and we found them. And we built our experience into this simulation. You may remember the legendary ’Back to the Future’ movie. When Marty the young time traveler saw the masterwork of Doc, the time machine built in a sports car, they had the following dialogue:

Marty McFly: Wait a minute, Doc. Ah... Are you telling me that you built a time machine... out of a DeLorean?

Dr. Emmett Brown: The way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?

Well, we thought similarly. Why couldn’t a complex leadership development program be integrated in an exciting online game? We hope that FLIGBY will present you with at least as many valuable and instructive moments as the creation of it did for us.

Also, on behalf of Professor Csikszentmihalyi I wish you good luck in this intellectual challenge.

Zsadany „ZAD” Vecsey

President, ALEAS Simulations, Inc.

 

Back  to  the  Future™  is  a  trademark  of  Universal  City  Studios,  Inc.  and  Amblin  Entertainment,  Inc.  

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1. Introduction and Overview  

1.1. What is Flow?

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s flow theory is based on the interaction between the person and the environment. We are in flow state when we are totally devoted to one activity with no attention to anything else other than the task at hand. Our environment along with the activity itself provide us with feedback about our performance and progress, causing us to react. When we react, we are presented with newer feedback. This cycle of feedback and reaction causes our motivation to grow, step by step.

Flow is a subjective state, anyone can experience it: men, women, people of all ages from all over the world, if the person can find the activity (hopefully activities) which leads him/her to the flow “zone”.

Flow has three main conditions:

1.  Clear set of goals: we need to have clear goals when doing an activity so we have guidelines that lead our action and behavior.

2.  Balance between perceived challenges and skills: there is a high challenge but the person’s skills are high enough to fulfill that challenge, developing their abilities further.

3.  Clear and immediate feedback: it gives information about the person’s progress in an activity, providing clues for the next step.

 

Flow is characterized by intense concentration, loss of self-awareness, a feeling of being perfectly challenged and a sense that "time is flying”. Flow is an intrinsically rewarding experience and it can also help one achieve a goal or improve skills. Anyone can experience flow in many different regards, such as play, creativity and work.

To experience flow, one needs to have the right level of challenges for their particular skill set.

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1.2. Who is Professor Csikszentmihalyi?

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is one of the greatest psychologists of our time. He earned his fame by defining and providing a detailed description of the Flow state.

The FLIGBY® project's development was completed with the active participation of Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced me-HIGH chick-sent-me-HIGH-ee), who created the world-famous Flow theory and who is the legendary pioneer of Positive Psychology.

Professor Csikszentmihalyi was born in Fiume, Italy (now Rijeka, Croatia) on September 29, 1934. Growing up, he was fluent in Hungarian, Italian and German. After World War II, at the age of 16, he travelled to Switzerland where he heard Carl Jung speak; an experience which greatly influenced him.

After studying books by Jung and Freud, Csikszentmihalyi decided to immigrate to America at the age of 22 in order to study psychology. He attended the University of Chicago where he earned his B.A. in 1960 and his Ph.D. in 1965. In 1969, he returned to the University of Chicago as a professor, where he continued to work until 2000. Presently, he lives in California where he is a professor at the Claremont Graduate University and the Director of the Quality of Life Research Center.

Csikszentmihalyi is best-known for his theory of Flow, which he outlined in his seminal book in 1990 - Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. According to Csikszentmihalyi, people are happy when they are in a state of Flow, a type of intrinsic motivation that involves being fully focused on the situation or task at hand.

Csikszentmihalyi made great contributions to the business application of Flow in his 2003 book - Good Business: Leadership, Flow, and the Making of Meaning, and even beyond retirement age, he remains a vital voice in modern discussions on how to achieve a well-lived life.

 

“…Contrary to what most of us believe, happiness does not simply happen to us. It's something that we make happen, and it results from our doing our best, but too few jobs are so designed as to make flow possible. This is where management can make a real difference.”

www.facebook.com/mihaly.csikszentmihalyi

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1.3. Flow in Business

Professor Csikszentmihalyi’s research and subjective experiences revealed that a remarkable area for finding flow is work – much more than during leisure time.

As a leader it is necessary to give the “flow frame” to our organization with enabling things:

•  Give a vision with a mission for having clear goals with continuous communication;

•  Giving clear goals, tasks and demands for each team/employee;

•  Finding the exact fit between the employee and the task: giving a challenge which can be reached after a little development;

•  Help our employees to get clear and immediate feedback about the work they do.

If the conditions above are present, people feel skillful and challenged and therefore more happy, strong, creative and satisfied at work. Flow experience is a powerful motivating force. When people are fully involved in an activity, they tend to find the activity enjoyable and intrinsically rewarding: if in flow, they do the activity simply for its own sake. So, as we can see, an originally extrinsic motivated activity (e. g. working for money) can be accompanied by intrinsic motivation.

If leaders apply the flow concept, profit can be reached – to be successful people have to be engaged in what they are doing and use their refined skills and strength at an optimal level in order to progress towards their goal, step by step.

 

‘Thanks for thinking creatively about my options here, and not discriminating against me due to my age...’

Ellen McMason, Turul Winery’s tasting room and hospitality

manager’s idea of good leadership

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1.4. What is FLIGBY®?

Csikszentmihalyi’s “FLOW is Good Business™” (FLIGBY®) is an online game-based Leadership Development Simulation. This is the official Flow program for decision makers, developed by Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and ALEAS Simulations, Inc.

The Simulation helps to discover Flow in simple steps: first by understanding the role of Flow, the joy and positive business outcomes it provides; then by learning ways to facilitate it. The player is guided on a path towards optimal leadership development, a Flow inducing corporate culture and self-actualization through interactive dialogues with colleagues and clients.

This is a single user application, which has an average of 6 to 8 hrs learning time as well as great team-based Blended Learning Solution possibilities and further research through the extensive electronic media library provided.

 

FLIGBY is setting up practical managerial dilemmas in a virtual business environment. Gamers become part of the story – thus immersed into a memorable and more valuable learning process. The main task of the Player is to make managerial decisions. Various management dilemmas are integrated into the “frame story” of Turul Winery.

The Player becomes a character (the recently appointed CEO of the Winery) in a story where, he/she makes managerial decisions based on the information previously entered into the system. You decide which way to go. You are the director of this interactive movie.

Role-play simulation games are one of the most powerful experiential learning strategies.

1.5. Your Serious Gaming Experience

FLIGBY is a Serious Game. Serious games are digital games used for purposes other than mere entertainment (computer games that are intended not only to entertain users, but have additional purposes such as educating and training). A serious game is usually a simulation, which has the look and feel of a game, but is actually a simulation of real-world events or processes.

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1.6. Key Learning Objectives of FLIGBY

FLIGBY helps managers create a workplace environment in which Flow can flourish – a workplace that promotes employee engagement and positive attitudes.

The Key Learning Points of FLIGBY are:

•  Understanding the added value and the principles of Flow in a business and corporate environment;

•  Creating a blueprint for Flow in a business through the application of an inspiring vision, mission statement and attractive goals which enhances both profits and improves the working environment;

•  Understanding and learning visionary leadership characteristics;

•  Active participation in Flow-based change management processes;

•  Developing a successful management style using leadership techniques to enhance Flow.

FLIGBY offers you a powerful and personalized learning space. With the help of FLIGBY:

•  You will be a more pro-active and at the same time, thoughtful leader;

•  You will gain practical experience of planning and execution of change management processes;

•  You will take part in business decision making more consciously;

•  You will learn how to handle situations less structured and more unclear;

•  Your motivation techniques will improve and you will recognize the drives influencing the behavior/attitude of your colleagues;

•  You will handle the workplace conflicts more effectively;

•  You will be a more successful leader and participant of team work;

•  You will learn to use and apply the power of Flow for the benefit of the organization.

Leadership skills tested by FLIGBY: Active Listening, Analyzing Skills, Assertiveness, Balancing Skills, Building Engagement, Business-Oriented Thinking, Communication Skills, Delegating, Diplomatic Skills, Emotional Intelligence, Empowerment, Entrepreneurship & Risk Taking, Execution Skills, Feedback Skills, Future-focused Thinking, Information Gathering, Intuitive Thinking, Involvement, Motivational Skills, Organizing Skills, Priorization Skill, Quick Decision-making, Realizing Personal Strengths, Social System Thinking, Social Responsibility, Strategic Thinking, Teamwork Management, Time Management Skill

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2. The aim of the Game  

2.1. Win the ‘Spirit of the Wine Award’

 

You must have thought a lot about what would it be like to manage a company from the topmost position. What would it be like to make fundamental decisions determining the future opportunities of the organization and its members. Now you can try all of this. Take the reins and take the opportunity. Show your own way. Will your inferiors follow you gladly? Will they accept your decisions? Is it possible to build a profitable and strong business from your leadership?

FLIGBY is a leadership development game. Accordingly, the aim is to achieve the best possible result as the leader of the Californian Turul Winery. If you do your job well and you make decisions strengthening the operation of the organization, at the end of the game the Winery will stand a chance of winning the ‘Spirit of the Wine Award’, a sign of international recognition.

 

How can you win the Award?

Your decisions made during the 23 scenes of the game are summarized and analyzed by a complex algorithm. If your leadership involvement facilitates the Flow state of your colleagues and it is also effective from the aspect of business, the Winery will win the award at the end of the game.

2.2. Bring your Colleagues into Flow.

 

The challenge is not simple. The former manager’s leadership style has destroyed the team that used to be cohesive. Serious personal conflicts hinder teamwork, while there is no agreement on appropriate strategic policy, either. Your task is to mark out the thriving way for the organization, and to build a well functioning community out of the low-motivated, mid-level managerial group.  

The aim is to be able to bring as many colleagues as possible – even if just for a short time – into Flow state again. With this, the global performance of the organization can be improved significantly. Collect as many Flow-trophies as possible. (You can read about it in more detail in the 3.4. section.)

 

www.spiritofthewine.com

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2.3. Make the right Managerial Decisions.

 

What is leadership all about? Decisions. Accordingly, in the center of FLIGBY there are decisions as well. While every decision affects the Flow state of the individuals, the Corporate Atmosphere and, of course, the profitability of the organization, you have to decide the questions of greater and less consequence. Your decisions made in the game have serious consequences. As in real life, you can make serious mistakes here, too. The real question is whether you can correct these mistakes or not. In FLIGBY there is no ‘game over’. The point is for you to find the opportunity for advancement and to create a better, more effective organization.

Some decision points are very significant. These are called Strategic Decision Points. In case of these Strategic Points the player’s decision significantly influences the further course of the story, and the success of the organizational operation.

 

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3. Accessing and Playing the Simulation

 

3.1. Useful information – Before starting the Simulation

 

To start FLIGBY you don’t need serious preparations. However, we consider it important to draw your attention to the following:

•  This is a serious learning opportunity. However, what you can acquire in the end only depends on you. In every respect you are the one who directs this story.

•  Set aside time for this project. According to our experience the best strategy is to spend shorter periods of time on several occasions with the game. The system records where you stopped, so you can continue learning from where you left off, when you return.

•  Don’t leave it for the last moment. The game is too complex to start the rescue of the Turul Winery one day before the deadline. You won’t enjoy the game and your Flow-experience will be gone L

•  We believe in the constructive power of ‘Learning by Doing’ and ‘Trial and Error’. Up to the 13th Scene the game can be restarted any time, from the very beginning or from the beginning of the certain Scene. Try as many strategies as you can, and check how the virtual environment reacts on your different managerial decisions.

The simulation is based on a FLASH-based game engine, therefore you will need a computer with Internet connection and a web browser with Flash Player to be able to run the game.

3.2. How to access FLIGBY?

 

You can become a member of the FLIGBY community easily and quickly. Only registered users can play the game. Registration can be done on the basis of email invitation received from your trainer or your FLIGBY advisor. By clicking on the link provided in this email you can start registration.

Your username will be the email address to which you received the registration email. It cannot be modified. From here on in, you can log in to the simulation with this username and a password chosen by you. The registration process finishes by accepting the Terms and Conditions. After registration you can reach the simulation any time on the website www.fligby.com, then clicking on the „Play Game” menu point. The game always continues from where you stopped last time.

At the beginning of the program your trainer/FLIGBY consultant will determine exactly how much time you will have to play the simulation to the end. If you fail to accomplish all the 23 Scenes within the deadline, your results won’t count in the group average. Nevertheless, you will have unlimited access to the game 60 days from the time of registration.

www.fligby.com

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3.3. How to play FLIGBY? – Getting started

We designed FLIGBY to make it easy to find your way around. Lots of solutions can be familiar to you from the world of videogames.

3.3.1. Main User Interface

Logging in (after the intro) we come to the Main User Interface of the game:

 

 

 

 

This interface is dominated by the video window. Events happen here: the story videos are played here and the decision options are also presented.

On the left side of the Main User Interface the following functions can be found:

•  Full Screen Button – Full screen mode is worthwhile for a more complete game experience.

•  Flow Trophies – If one of your virtual colleagues gets to Flow-state during the game, you will win a Flow Trophy. Collect as many as you can.

•  Magic FLIGBY Button – Mr. Fligby’s task is to help your managerial work as an advisor/coach. If he has an opinion on the events, this button will be flashing. Click on it to see the video.

•  Subtitle Field – To make things easier, all videos are subtitled. 

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On the right side of the Main User Interface the following functions can be found:

•  ‘Virtual Time’ in the Story – The story lasts from March to November. You can always have a look at the current time here.

•  Media Library – With this button you can open the Media Library for a quick reference at any time, making the game stop automatically. Thus, you have plenty of time to become absorbed in the different multimedia references and readings. When you return to the simulation the game continues where you stopped previously.

•  Introduction videos available at any time (after Scene 1 is completed).

•  Progress Bar Button – Plan and control the learning process. Here you can check exactly where you are in the game any time. The conscientious player can also check what percentage of the Media Library they have already processed.

•  Control Panel – With the help of the Control Panel you can change the following settings:

1.  Increase/decrease the font size of the video subtitles; 2.  Switch on/off the video subtitles; 3.  Increase/decrease the volume of the videos; 4.  Modify the resolution (quality) of the videos (high/low); 5.  Restart; 6.  Contact us – You can send a message to the developers here; 7.  Help – You can find the brief description of the operation and

functions of the game here.

•  Flow-Gauge – This is the main feedback interface of the game. You can read about its operation in more detail in the 3.4. section;

•  Pause/Play/Next Step Button – This is a double function button. On the one hand, you can move on after a certain exercise/Scene. On the other hand, if you play a video it functions as the classical Pause/Play button.

•  Direct access to „www.turulwinery.com”

 

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3.3.2. Media Library

There is a continuously available Media Library connected to the simulation with more than a hundred items. The purpose of this is to show the scientific and business background of Flow with the help of multimedia contents. Its main features are:

•  Description of Flow, extracts of Csikszentmihalyi’s books;

•  Readings about Leadership and Management;

•  Basics of viniculture and the description of the Californian wine-growing area;

•  Csikszentmihalyi's Home Lab (the Professor’s personal video blog for decision-makers)

•  The contents related to the plot of the game (e.g. the personal profiles of the characters, the detailed map of the Winery).

When you enter the Media Library the game automatically stops. This enables you to look for practical help in the readings for any single decision. By quitting the Media Library, the game restarts.

When you return to the simulation the game continues where you stopped previously.

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The elements of the Media Library can be classified on the basis of two aspects:

1.  On the basis of content:

•  Management / Leadership content;

•  Flow-related content;

•  Viniculture-related content.

2.  On the basis of format :

•  Textual content;

•  Video content.

The contents related to the current Scene of the simulation is shown in the default Media Library. Of course, there are other ways you can find the content you are particularly interested in:

•  FLIGBY Search Engine – It enables you to search exact phrases, suggesting relevant keywords;

•  In the default you can filter the search results simply with the help of built-in filters.

 

Icons used in the FLIGBY Media Library

3.4. The Feedback System of FLIGBY

3.4.1. Flow Gauge

The aim of the game is that your managerial decisions make your colleagues experience Flow-state, and as a result the business performance of the Turul Winery improves. The Flow-Gauge shows the effects of your decisions made during the game, therefore it is the most important feedback interface of the game. You can reach Flow-Gauge any time from the menu on the right side of the Main User Interface. When you enter the Flow-Gauge the game stops automatically.

The central element of the Flow-Gauge is the Flow-Map, where you can continuously follow the characters’ current Flow-state.

The theoretical base of the Flow-Map was created by Professor Csikszentmihalyi. He and his colleagues have conducted several studies since the 1970s using a special experience sampling method. Flow-Map illustrates the result of the distribution of moods and emotion levels during certain activities throughout the day.

FLIGBY provides a unique Flow-based self-assessment tool on three different levels:

1.  Flow Gauge – The performance of the player is measured from several perspectives. The actual Flow-state of the employees as well as the Profitability serve as continuous feedback.

2.  Mr. Fligby – Mr. Fligby, the virtual coach of the simulation gives advice, whilst holding back no punches.

3.  Spirit of the Wine Award – The goal to be reached by the end of the game is to win the prestigious international "Spirit of the Wine Award" using Flow-based management practices.

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The center is an average emotional state during the week; a balance of skills and challenges. As it is well-expected, in the field of optimal experience both skills and challenges are a bit higher than average.

The top-right parts (Control and Arousal) are the closest to the Flow channel: a little increase of challenges or skills respectively will help to get to the optimal experience. The bottom-left corner, on the other hand, remains very far away from that optimum. Anxiety holds the most obstacles: all too often the gap between skills and high challenges seems impossible to leap across.

It seems clear that reaching flow state is an advantageous achievement for your own good. However, it is impossible to be in Flow all the time.

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3.4.2. Flow Trophies

When a character gets into Flow-state as a consequence of your decisions, a Flow-Trophy appears on the left side of the Main User Interface. These Trophies can be continuously seen from the moment you won them until the end of the game, even if a particular colleague happens to lose the Flow-state in the meantime. Flow is a dynamically changing state, and in this regard the characters of the game are realistic: they won’t stay in Flow-state forever.

If you restart the game, of course, you will lose all the Flow-Trophies you have won before the restart, along with all the values and results obtained so far. 

3.4.3. Personal Recommendations of Mr. Fligby

In the event of mistakes in the decision making process, Mr. Fligby, the virtual coach of the simulation gives advice, holding back no punches. As the player’s personal consultant, he helps the interpretation and resolution of complex conflicts.

3.4.4. Spirit of the Wine Award

The whole game can be evaluated on the basis of a single aspect: can you win the ‘Spirit of the Wine Award’ and subsequently gain the international professional recognition for the management of Turul Winery? To win the award you have to make appropriate decisions regarding your colleagues’ motivation, the organization of teamwork, and the business as well. The player’s decisions are summarized by a complex algorithm taking into consideration the characters’ Flow-states, the values of the Flow-meter and those of the Profitability Index. Making some mistakes won’t result in losing the award, but to win the recognition you have to give a self-consistent and quality managerial performance.

3.4.5. Strategic Decision Points

There are some decisions of high significance among the decision points of the game. These decisions can significantly increase or even decrease the values of Flow-Gauge compared to the normal decisions. We draw your attention to these Strategic Decision Points with an eye-catching yellow triangle up to the 13th Scene. With a bit of attention, this gives you the opportunity to be able to recognize the factors significantly influencing the events.

Out of the 125 decision points of the game, 26 are strategic ones. This means that about 20% of the decisions affect significantly the outcome of the story. The choices you make in these Strategic Decision Points have a considerable influence on your chance of winning the ‘Spirit of the Wine Award’.

 

 

‘If I have feedback to give to you, your magic FLIGBY Button will pulse. If you click on it I’ll give you my comments.

Frederick Joseph Fligby is a virtual coach, your guide and mentor. He will always be available to

give you feedback and guide you to access all the necessary information you may need.

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4. Californian Winery – ‘The Frame Story’  

4.1. Why to have a ‘frame story?’

Remember when learning amazed you? Believe again!

The quality of a leader is given not by test scores, but the decision s/he makes. The essence of FLIGBY is simulation, which is, placing the leadership and organizational dilemmas into a’ frame story’ (managing the Californian Turul Winery). Thus, users become apart of the story in which they will make leadership decisions based on information organized by them. This is because during the development of FLIGBY we took as a starting-point the fact that personal involvement and becoming affected on a personal level significantly accelerates learning.

Leaders expect learning to not only be expedient, but entertaining, also. Therefore FLIGY offers a real adventure:

As the recently appointed General Manager of the Californian Turul Winery the Player faces the challenging task of having to achieve a state of harmony and co-operation in a team significantly weakened by internal conflicts.

Furthermore the GM has to find ways to free the creative energies of the winery employees by choosing appropriate methods of leadership. At the same time decisions concerning strategic questions of the future of the company have to be made in accordance with the expectations of the owners. Will it be possible to win the international "Spirit of Wine Award" as a direct result of leadership skills and efforts?

FLIGBY was designed in a way that successfully solving it would be a real challenge. All events simulated in FLIGBY are based on real life situations, and on the experience of organizational development and business experts and other ‘adventurers’.

 

The owner of the Winery is Bob Turul, he thinks of his employees

as a part of his family.

You, as our new GM, have your work cut out for you from a human resources point of view. Morale is low and I need you to understand that the people who are working for me are more like my family than just simple employees.

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4.2. Californian Wine Business

You might say Californians are serious about wine and relaxed about everything else. Well, maybe not everything else: from a thriving technology industry to revolutionary green farming, they work hard and innovate constantly. Nearly three-quarters the size of France, California accounts for nearly 90 percent of entire American wine production. The production in California alone is one third larger than that of Australia. If California were a separate country, it would be the world's fourth-largest wine producer.

California's 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) of rugged coastline expose nearby vineyards to natural "air conditioning" in the form of fog and breezes, making for exceptional Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and other cool climate varieties. Warmer interior valleys receive the same cooling effect thanks to rivers, lakes and deltas.

The soils are as diverse as California’s growing regions. Sand, clay, loam, granite, volcanic ash, seabed soil, river-run gravel: each contributes its own distinct minerality. The winemakers are no less varied; since the 1700s, immigrants from all over the world have settled in California, bringing their vines and their skills with them. Hard-earned secrets of climate and vine have been passed from generation to generation, providing California wine with its unique legacy and spectacular range.

Being good neighbors and good stewards of the land are important business and personal values in the California wine community. Today’s California wine community has made a strong commitment to sustainability and transparency, as evidenced through the self-assessment and certification programs that have emerged in the last decade.

(Source of Chapter 4.2.: http://www.discovercaliforniawines.com)

4.3. Where the Simulation takes place: The Turul Winery

Turul Winery is a fictional vineyard in California. This is where FLIGBY takes place. The family-owned Winery has over 555 acres of vineyards, most of which are organically certified. The business started in 1931 by the Hungarian immigrant Laszlo Turul, and for his heirs and all present employees of the company, wine making is still a labor of love. Turul Winery has always been a niche player specializing in a uniquely Californian variation of the famous Hungarian Tokaji, a sweet dessert wine. The wine is called Turul after the family surname at the beginning, and now distributed under the name Quintessential. 

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California wine has enhanced its quality and reputation with U.S. and global consumers. At the dawn of the 21st century, the interest of aging baby boomers in the lifestyle associated with wine and food, especially the interest of women and those convinced of wine's health benefits, augurs well for continued growth in an industry that is expanding premium wine production and direct sales to consumers.

California Wine Industry evolving to compete in 21st century

(Source: California Agriculture, January-March 2008)   The California wine industry is growing and changing amidst a global revolution in grape growing, wine production, wine marketing and consumer tastes. California accounted for roughly 90% of the value of U.S. wine production in 2006. U.S. per capita wine consumption and the quality of wine consumed continue to rise. The largest California wineries have long accounted for most California wine shipments and continue to expand with respect to volume and number of labels. While small wineries sell most of their wine directly to end-users, many midsized wineries face challenges in an increasingly crowded marketplace.   There have been three important changes in U.S. wine consumption over the past 2 decades. First, consumers everywhere have come to appreciate the quality of California wine, and more Americans are drinking red wine for health reasons. Second, Americans upgraded their palates, with many moving from inexpensive jug wines with retail prices of less than $3 a bottle to better quality wines costing more, including popular-premium wines costing $3 to $7 a bottle, super-premium wines costing $7 to $14 a bottle, and ultra-premium wines costing over $14 a bottle. Third, Americans increasingly prefer the consistent taste of fruity wines produced in California to the wines from “Old World” Europe, which can vary significantly from year to year.  

Check out the whole article!

Appendix 1

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Sustainable Winegrowing Program of the California Wine Community

The Sustainable Winegrowing Program's mission, vision and values best describe the combination of factors that motivated the California wine community to design, develop, implement and report on a comprehensive sustainability program.

Mission

The long-term mission for the Sustainable Winegrowing Program includes:

•  Establishing voluntary high standards of sustainable practices to be followed and maintained by the entire wine community

•  Enhancing winegrower-to-winegrower and vintner-to-vintner education on the importance of sustainable practices and how self-governing will enhance the economic viability and future of the wine community

•  Demonstrating how working closely with neighbors, communities and other stakeholders to maintain an open dialogue can address concerns, enhance mutual respect, and accelerate results

Vision

The vision of the Sustainable Winegrowing Program is the long-term sustainability of the California wine community. To place the concept of sustainability into the context of winegrowing, the program defines sustainable winegrowing as growing and winemaking practices that are sensitive to the environment (Environmentally Sound), responsive to the needs and interests of society-at-large (Socially Equitable), and are economically feasible to implement and maintain (Economically Feasible). The combination of these three principles is often referred to as the three "E's" of sustainability:

Values

This program is guided by the following set of sustainability values:

•  Produce the best quality winegrapes and wine possible •  Provide leadership in protecting the environment and conserving natural resources •  Maintain the long-term viability of agricultural lands •  Support the economic and social wellbeing of farm and winery employees •  Respect and communicate with neighbors and community members; respond to their

concerns in a considerate manner •  Enhance local communities through job creation, supporting local business and actively

working on creating a sense of community •  Honor the California wine community's entrepreneurial spirit •  Support research and education as well as monitor and evaluate existing practices to

expedite continual improvements

(Source: http://www.sustainablewinegrowing.org)

Appendix 2

Contents  

1. Introduction and Overview

1.1. What is Flow? 4 1.2. Who is Professor Csikszentmihalyi? 5 1.3. Flow in Business 6 1.4. What is FLIGBY? 7 1.5. Your serious Gaming Experience 7 1.6. Key Learning Objectives of FLIGBY 8 2. The Aim of the Game

2.1. Win the ‘Spirit of the Wine Award’ 9 2.2. Bring your Colleagues into Flow 9 2.3. Make the right Managerial Decision 10 3. Accessing and Playing the Simulation

3.1. Useful information – Before starting the Simulation 11 3.2. How to access FLIGBY 11 3.3. How to play FLIGBY – Getting started 12

3.3.1. Main User Interface 12 3.3.2. Media Library 14

3.4. The Feedback System of FLIGBY 15

3.4.1. Flow Gauge 15 3.4.2. Flow Trophies 17 3.4.3. Personal Recommendations of Mr. Fligby 17 3.4.4. Spirit of the Wine Award 17 3.4.5. Strategic Decision Points 17

4. Californian Winery

4.1. Why to have a ‘frame story’? 18 4.2. Californian wine Business 19 4.3. Where the simulation takes place: The Turul Winery 19 Appendix 1 - California Wine Industry 20 Appendix 2 - Sustainable Winegrowing Program 21

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