The Strategy Game

This work on business strategy centres around the task given to the reader to revitalize MedTech, a troubled $150 million company, within five years. The reader is challenged, chapter by chapter, to hammer out the tough sequence of choices that a chief executive must make. The fictional result is the life or death of MedTech; the real-world result is an interactive business adventure that turns managers and employees at all levels into better strategists and decision-makers. The fun of "Strategy Game" lies in its "what if" approach, with each option branching into a myriad of instructive paths. For example, at the end of Chapter One, readers must make their first critical decision: should MedTech focus on developing new products or should it spend more to market and sell existing products? The company's key managers are bitterly divided in their opinions, but like real CEOs, the reader must decide - and face new consequences that demand further analysis and action. In the end, there are 33 different "endings" ranging from triumph to disaster. Readers can "play" the book again and again to explore the outcomes of different strategic choices. On one level, "The Strategy Game" is a suspenseful thriller with the reader as the main character. On another level, it teaches fundamental and sophisticated truths about business - from competitors' moves and industry changes to leading-edge practices and management styles, to customer demands and product breakthroughs.

Hickman ( Mind of a Manager , LJ 5/1/90) has designed an unusual "interactive business game." The reader, as CEO, embarks on a quest to revitalize an ailing medical-technology division. Short, entertaining chapters conclude with a choice of alternative actions, leading one further up the decision tree. There are a total of 23 different outcomes: some highly successful and others complete failures. Instructions are provided for playing the game again, although determining the chronology of events is often confusing. This work, however, is not for those unfamiliar with concepts in management and marketing, since theories are mentioned with limited explanation. The author's goal--to "enhance strategic thinking and decision-making ability"--would be furthered by a chapter comparing and analyzing the various alternatives. A bibliography of cited references is also needed. While the game concept is fun, it will become dated as management theories change. For academic, business, and public libraries.
- Kathy Shimpock-Vieweg, O'Connor Cavanagh Lib., Phoenix
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.