Social Mechanics - is it the Mechanics of a SYSTEM or the social mechanics in All Game systems?

I think the problem is that LIMITS are not taught to the GMs. They imagine skills are like physical Abilities - at a certain point they can deadlift 600lbs*, and Influence people (Influence skills ) can influence people who are hard set. They forget that Social and Mental challenges are different from Physical skills - Someone Hard Set on something is not building up to have the Influence skill to change someone's mind.

 Real-life has plenty of examples of being unable to convince anyone even if you have Evidence, Incentives, Rationality, and Awesome Communication skills. We have people who give false statements under torture and never break under torture, so as to make torture not an effective means of extracting information. Heck, the problem with the Internet Age is that we see the Best SCIENCE and Data doesn't Influence PEOPLE to change their behavior.

Suffice to say Influence or social Skills do not work that way. A bad model or mechanic of Social Skills and Interaction doesn't mean having such mechanics is all bad. In Project Management and Office Politics in General - we use these same social skills every day. Even if we are very Gamer about it and create a mental model for us to guide us adjudicating Social situations.

I tackled - The mental model people attribute to skills is using *the familiar model of how a "Muscle Improves" in my Gaming Work Blog.

Example. I need to propose a dedicated Industrial Engineer group to create Production Targets because we are a Job Order Type, Manufacturing Plant (we do a lot of custom configuration to furniture).  The company has no tradition of Evidence-Based Decision Making, Data Analysis, Cost Benefit Analysis. Everything is in the "Arbitrary World" of My Credibility vs the Mindset.

I Know I have to get a
1) Salary Analysis and get the previous Consultants numbers of how much we lost to inefficiency, (this will help create a foundation for Tangible Benefits).
2) I need to point out the number of people we have in retirement age as well as it effects how we will be getting less productive over time,
3) I need to look at the "Manpower slots" - like QA has not filled its slot, delayed because of the Payroll cutting policy even if the Cost of Lost Quality = greater Rework (no good IT system no DATA, every Claim is Hearsay, even if you have data you have is useless if the audience is not Data Literate OR will never have the time to Validate your claims or doesnt know how to Validate your claims).
4) I need to spend 4 weeks Telling a STORY of the Company and its Challenges, and Anecdotes of the Inefficiencies.
5) If I can, I have to look out for other Capitalists Dynasts (Rich people who own companies and have such dedicated people do such), who use such dedicated Production Target that would let me Show the Management their system.
6) I have to have a Project Management Plan and a Criteria for Success or Failure. I budget, the contract for Temporary work, realistic achievable that have TANGIBLE BENEFITS.
7) I have to do a Time and Motion/Analysis of why currently the current QA with QC cannot perform the duties of a Dedicated Production Target Setter.

Even if I do all this I have a 30% chance to Fail. All it takes as a STAIN on my credibility, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_fallacy, the data by itself is never sufficient. It can be some time I said in a different interaction, my staff and any distrust of them, a competing project with their own resource needs (and note they argue by the strength of their relationship and not the DATA).

Certain organizations with a VERY LOW trust environment cannot apply Evidence-Based Decision making because - low trust will always attribute failure to People and not Systems or allow for the Reality that you can fail in life even when doing everything right.

Same thing Goes for me Proposing a BASIC KANBAN to identify waiting and Idle time.

One of the things I'm passionate about in RPGs is a GOOD system (Called System Based thinking in TPS, Demming, Lean, Agile Schools of thought) has good outcomes. A system that communicates well the main drivers/factors of many situations and gives people a Go-to framework when faced with Uncertainty and Ambiguity is better than nothing and guessing.  A good system lets you know if the system doesnt work.


Lolz. GURPS prepared me for Real-life because Real life has a complicated set of Mechanics. If I can understand GURPS I can see how some aspects of real life are like a Complicated Game System. If I can improve on GURPS I can improve on my understanding of certain real-life systems. If I can try and see other game systems, I can see the Perspectives of other Peoples, Beliefs, World View, and Conditions.