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The Daily News--Book talk on paper.li

Monday, July 10, 2017

Play

Play: With Blocks, Chess and Monopoly at Work (Success by Design Book 4)Play: With Blocks, Chess and Monopoly at Work by Erik N. Boe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a free copy of this book from the author.

A lot of games are played in corporate America. The author focuses on three. First is blocks, played at the beginning level. The focus is on creativity. The second is chess, which is played at a higher level. This focuses on skill, anticipating your opponent's move, and hopefully countering it in advance. The third is Monopoly, played at the highest levels of the company. This focuses on domination, eliminating competition, and coming out on top.

Sometimes the three games collide. The author gives strategies on how to deal with this, before it becomes all-out war.

I've been in corporate America, and I can tell you that these games are played there all the time. The author gives some useful strategies on how to deal with each type of game player.

There is one game, however, the author left out. It's important, because it is played all the time. I'm referring to poker. The main strategy in poker is bluffing, making your opponent think you have a stronger hand than you actually do, in the hopes that they will fold and concede the win to you. Within the company, people will bluff to get what they want. Sometimes they bluff their way to higher management. No one questions them, either because they are good at bluffing, or they are high enough up in the company that no one dares question them. Bluffing is also used with outsiders to get more favorable terms in a deal. I wish the author had explained how to recognize when people are bluffing, and how to call their bluff, and find out the truth.

All in all, a good book, except for the omission of poker.

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