Written by Susan Packard

This book has some interesting insights about business, gamesmanship, and women’s approach.

 

Introduction:
Foreword
Simply put, a gamer loves to compete
What is Gamesmanship?
You know you’re a gamer –one who uses gamesmanship mindfully, with purpose, to move up in the workplace-when something happens at work that you orchestrated, and your reaction is an under-the breath yes! And a subtle fist pump. The win is always about moving our careers and our companies to the next level of success. We cultivate strength, creativity, and focus through the practice of gamesmanship. We learn to become better problems solvers.

Urgent optimism: Gamers act immediately to tackle a challenge.
Social connectedness: Gamers connect with others and build up social relationships.
Blissful productivity: Gamers are happier when challenged and willing to work hard.
Epic meaning: Gamers like missions and stories and become empowered with hope.

To be a great gamer means unleashing your competitive spirit with courage and unbridled enthusiasm in any arena, including the business world. And here, ladies, is where the tension lies.

The Guys
But we tend to focus more on self-mastery than competing with others.

Most important, the gamer lens is a means to level the playing field with men, your constant competitors in the business world.

The best news of all is this: Once you start winning and clear the field from the middle management into senior roles, you can influence company cultures from the top down, moving them to become more matriarchal. But first you have to get there.

The Realities For Women

There is still a wide gender gap, which is why gamesmanship is such an important tool.

Our Advantages

However, there is one advantage listed that is worth a second look-most women are excellent observers and listeners. That ability allows them to get into the heads of their teammates and learn about others in the workplace, be it a colleague, a supervisor, or a client. Once you know people, you understand situations. But because win –win outcomes are not always possible, Plan B is to beat them good.

Part I
Chapter 1: Rule 1: Conditioning

The Business Setting: Conditioning is how an executive goes from good to great and how you become ready for the corner suite. Smarts, enthusiasm, and ambition will get you only so far. To advance, you must acquire and demonstrate vertain technical skilss. And skills are not born; they are learned. IN this chapter you’ll learn three conditioning skilss leaders have acquired: line experience, financial knowledge, and global perspective.

Line vs. Support Jobs
Line jobs…”clearly tied to revenue and profit generation”. You live and die by your results, and executing with speed and a sense of urgency is required. In this way line jobs share the gamer trait of urgent optimism. Line jobs are primary to a company’s mission; the rest support, and thus are called support jobs.

Play to Win
A 2012 by consulting firm McKinsey & Company found that line management experience plays a role in the successful advancement of female executives. But while many women in top positions credit their line management experience for their success; too few women coming up in the ranks are getting that line job training. “Susan, why do we [women] play not to lose, versus playing to win?”

Chapter 2: Play it Cool
Rule 2: Composure
Composure: Why and How?
Everyone knows who works for you is paying attention, especially because women are still in the minority running businesses.

A SportsPro
……mantra “next play” meaning don’t dwell on what just happened, good or bad.

All Those Words!
Men do not like a lot of words.

Get training and practice
SMEAC, which stands for situation, mission, execution, administration and logistics, and command and signal.

Your Turn
People can see and know only actions, not your thoughts or insecurities.

Chapter 3: Learn to Play Offense

Playing Verbal Offense
….“artful assertiveness” it’s about impact, but as important , it’s about finesse.

When you are painfully polite, you telegraph your expectation that the answer will be no.

Here’s another case in point from the business of motion pictures. Since 1998 a San Diego State professor has been researching the presence of women on the business side of motion pictures as well as percentage of time on the screen. The 2013 research revealed that the percentage of women behind the camera has actually decreased since 1998 when examining the 250 top-grossing films of 2013. The numbers were in single digits or in the tens, depending on the job. On the screen, women had 30 percent of speaking parts when looking at the top 100 films. Both off the screen and on the screen, women lag men dramatically.

He won, and others didn’t seem to mind losing to him..….. “by engaging”

This is how I felt, but this wasn’t what my words said.

Verbal Offense in promotions
….“practice” Think about situations that will allow you to “make an ask” and give it a shot. Start with something that could help your company so it doesn’t look self serving, like I did with DIY.

Chapter 4: Master the Strategies of Brinksmanship
Rule 4: Brinksmanship strategies
The Business Setting: “a high level mind-set”
Victories go to those who can leverage their understanding of people and the marketplace to make a winning move. Practicing brinkmanship makes you a champion gamer.

Personal Brinkmanship
“everybody out of the pool”
Brinkmanship is a combination of theater, observational skills, and metal agility.

The Bluff
Always attend to the line executives first.

The Tell
“but it sure seemed his game was called Power Play, while mine was called Make Money.

Chapter 5: Build Your Fan Club

Trust, Soft Power, and How to Build Both
If you’re a woman and you want to run a company someday, there are things you need: competency, results, and trust.
In an organization, the person with the power has to be the person with the grace.

Working with Men
Engage Constructively
After every engagement the right question to ask is never, “Do I belong here? It is, Have I added value here?”

Chapter 6: Practice, Practice, Practice
Rule 6: Practice, Practice, Practice
Mental Practice
Albert Einstein once said, “Education is not learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think.”

………..“discovery”…………….
The starting point of engaging in mental practice is reading.

Plan B’s and Mental Role-Plays
“You don’t have to prove you’re the smartest person in the room.”

Chapter 7: Suit Up

Rule 7: Uniform requirements

Part II

Chapter 8: Exhibit Good Sportsmanship

Chapter 9: Show the True Grit
Grit as Resilience
Will beats skill every time.

Chapter 10: Be a teamplayer
Every day team plays
When you learn a job, she says, stay long enough to leave it better than you found it. Put into it what you got out of it. That’s part of team play-the give and take of help.
Picking the right team
Do they have some core values? What do they mean? How are they operationalized?

Epilogue : Game changers
Women’s accountability to Women
“It takes more effort by men to collaborate and partner in the executive suite with women,”
As senior women, we can’t afford to keep our heads down. We’re accountable to other women coming along and to the whole next generation of workers. We’re accountable to our shareholders to provide the best operating results. Diversity around the executive table broadens debate that makes companies perform better. Endless data support that financial excellence is maximized with a diverse slate of senior officers.

Women Helping Women: Company and Industry Efforts
Company program called…Women’s P&L Initiative.