Topaasia: Systems Intelligence
In collaboration with Esa Saarinen and Raimo P. Hämäläinen
A dialogue game for developing more systems intelligent and humanly capable teams
Topaasia: Systems Intelligence is a serious game that develops teams’ ability to succeed in their own environment and makes systems intelligent behaviour an everyday part of how the whole work community operates.
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Content created in collaboration with:
Philosopher Esa Saarinen and Professor Emeritus Raimo Hämäläinen
“What is essential in the Topaasia: Systems Intelligence game is that changes take place in people’s thinking that are also visible outside the game situation. In practical working life, thinking is reactive and, under the rhythmic pounding of constant hurry, unbreathing. The game illuminates what people hope for and think. It reveals where the team wants to tune itself and start generating changes to improve its everyday life.”
What is Topaasia?
A dialogue game where players discuss with the help of cards and arrive at an action plan
Suitable group size: 3-8 people
Duration: about 60 min
Works online, no installations required
One game leader, the others play
The digital version includes 50+ different game contents, incl. Systems Intelligence
What changes when you play the Systems Intelligence game?
1. Addressing the shared whole
Playing is a way to get the members of an organisation talking with each other about succeeding in that organisation, using a vocabulary that lifts the mind towards better. It produces better thinking about the players succeeding together in the environments where their success is measured.
2. Engaging people
The game brings people together. When people see themselves as part of a whole, they start working for that whole. Being part of an organisation is not just individual action but acting as part of a bigger picture. The game is a genuine way to encounter people within the organisation. In the game, you go straight into human interaction and being together.
3. Talking about real things
In the game, people talk about real things. The conversation happens from a slight distance, which means the negative associations and conflicts of interest attached to the issues do not jump out and dominate the atmosphere as they do in normal situations. In the game, difficult topics can be brought to the table in a friendly spirit and tackled together.
4. A more systems intelligent organisation
When individuals meet regularly, organisation-wide systems intelligence can develop. As a result, the organisation’s culture evolves to perceive wholes and to make use of solutions that differ from the old ways. Through playing, such a situation can emerge even self-sustainingly. Playing creates a habit of acting with systems intelligence, and the practice is reinforced collegially, giving rise to a more systems intelligent organisation.
“In Systems Intelligence, the capabilities a person already has become named, so that the person becomes more aware of them. The Systems Intelligence vocabulary aims to change and stimulate behaviour. It is not a theory that describes some reality from the outside, which a person can then laboriously internalise and transfer into their own actions.”
“Instead, systems intelligence is something a person already does, but can do more of, or better. It is a promise to be more fully what you have already been good at.”
“The goal of systems intelligence is not only to understand systems but also to act within them. It seeks to set in motion a process of growth in people.”
Philosopher Esa Saarinen
The physical Systems Intelligence game
Topaasia: Systems Intelligence is also available as a physical card game. It is an excellent game for a team that wants to discuss the conditions for success.
The suits and themes of the deck:
Spades - Systemic Perception & Attunement
Clubs - Positive Attitude & Spirited Discovery
Diamonds - Reflection & Wise Action
Hearts - Positive Engagement & Effective Responsiveness
Includes: 32 cards, 9 perspective cards, an hourglass, an instruction booklet, a summary sheet and the packaging.
Content created in collaboration with: Esa Saarinen and Raimo P. Hämäläinen
More about Systems Intelligence
Raimo Hämäläinen and Esa Saarinen have researched Systems Intelligence for years.
Try the Systems Intelligence game
The trial period lasts 14 days. It costs nothing and involves no commitment. We guarantee you will create excellent dialogue and grow as a team.