All change is not for the better. Sometimes it's the wrong time or the wrong change. Resisters can surface these concerns early and help you avoid a mistake. We have found that if you have the courage to listen to the resisters, rather than just writing them off, they can be a goldmine of information. Making Best Use of the Experience As we have traveled around the country and worked with many educators in different settings, we have seen the game used in a variety of ways.
Some school districts plan thoughtfully about how to use the simulation.
Others use it as a leadership development experience to increase leaders' understanding of systemwide change and provide an opportunity to inventory their own past efforts and plan next steps. These are all very effective uses of the simulation. We have also seen some poor uses of the simulation that we hope people will avoid in the future. We've seen situations in which the organizers did not create the context for why they were offering the game to their staff. Even worse, we have found that some groups have shortchanged the debriefing activities that must always follow the simulation play.