The Game of Work

by Charles Coonradt

Since its original printing in 1984, The Game of Work helped thousands of companies and hundreds of thousands of managers and employees experience increased job enjoyment while producing extraordinary results.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Self Help, Personal Development, Productivity

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Josh Bicchinella · Rating 5 out of 5]

While some sections seemed repetitive, I found the work added to my knowledge of ROI, Motivation, and Influence. Good read!

[Marty Ritz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The idea within this book is simple and life changing; turning work into a game so that you enjoy it as much as play. This book shows you how people will gladly pay a lot of money to play in conditions which they won't accept working in no matter what the pay....and put more effort into it to boot! The mental switch that allows people to see the same conditions in very opposing ways is in psychology...game psychology. Where once people dragged their grumbling feet to get a job done, they can be all over the task at hand with energy and enthusiasm to spare, if they embrace this way of interpreting the work they do. You can move from "killing time while you work", to working with a sense of passion, drive and energy, when the work you do is tied into a sense of purpose, goals and accomplishments. For more interesting information on game psychology and it's potential world changing application, check out Jane Mcgonagal's talk on TED tv "Gaming for a Better World".

[Marcy Liu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Change the way you see something, and what you see changes

What an amazing new perspective on how to motivate yourself and your team/employees to get on board with whatever task or goal is at hand. I used to think I was not competitive, but in fact, I shy away from competition or challenges that I don't think I can win. Using the principles of The Game of Work, I think I can mind hack myself into overcoming any challenge placed in front of me.

I highly recommend this book if you are an entrepreneur, a leader (of any sort) or if you just want to find a way to exceed your own past performances at work or at play. This will be one of those books that you will mark up, make notes, read and re-read again.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's like a discount version of The Great Game of Business: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company but with way more sports analogies and less ready applicability to a business setting, especially a non-sales business.

[Leslie Benham · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read this because my boss said to. Most of the information is wildly outdated and the entire concept relies on the idea that workers are not doing their jobs correctly or efficiently. At one point, very early in the book, the author says that we are having a worker crisis because people don’t want to work. Overall, very little was able to be pulled from this that is useful.

[David Rosage · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I have read in a while. Love the use of metrics to motivate (keeping score) to get the results you want (for the business) and make the process of scoring points(getting results) more fun for the team!

[Mustafa G Daudi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feedback, Goal setting and score keeping...

Game of work is really effective in the way it talks about score keeping and providing the feedback. If implemented in the right spirit the exercise could work wonders for everyone.

[Oneil Peart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just Great

This book is an awesome how to book when it comes to increasing productivity and effectiveness. I didn't know what to expect but I really loved it. I will definitely re-read.

[Robert Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is interesting

[Andy Febrico Bintoro · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the earliest gamification book for workplace. Considering it's writing time, this book quite good in that time, though maybe it's seems vague on that time.

[Michelle Marre · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished reading The Silent Observer, and I must say, it kept me hooked from start to finish. The way the author weaves suspense into every chapter makes it hard to put down. Speaking of keeping things exciting, I've found that https://layboard.in/
offers a great way to add some thrill to my day with live sports betting and games. It’s been a fun distraction and a way to experience real-time excitement. If you're looking for something interactive alongside your reading, it's worth checking out!

[Bobby Luke · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never ended up finishing this book. It was given to me at work, and then I got a new job.(I was a good lad and left it for my replacement :)) That being said, I wasn't super blown away by the book. The actual concept itself is very clever and and interesting. But as is the case with most self help books, this one could have been explained in maybe 10 pages. Maybe less. The fluff in self help books always kills them for me. If I am going to read something educational, just get to the point already.

[Trisha Swed · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was possibly the worst book I have ever read around this subject. It is very conservative in it's ideals and breaks down the work place into "winners" and "losers." This book is also not sensitive to the socioeconomic status of the reader, organizations, or anything and even goes as far as to say that some sports have a greater value to people than others. Absolutely horrid.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read NOV 2007

This is a fresh look at operational leadership. Coonradt provides practical strategies and tactics to focus work effort in a way that makes it fun and engaging.

[Tony Fortner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh...

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Similar concepts as most goal-driven life books. Great read

[Danielle Clere · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent. Highly recommend.