In place of the Game, this course outlines an alternative approach called The Relationship Paradigm.
Stressing flow over compliance, the world looks completely different in the Relationship Paradigm. From this perspective the Game is seen as an absurd abstraction. This is why the Players go to such great lengths to protect the Game.
There are many courses about business, organizational behaviour, and the latest management technique. There is no shortage of books about cold, manipulative people who have risen to power. Some of these books admire these winners, praising them as heroes; others decry them as psychopaths. This course is different for two reasons.
Firstly, no course to date has taken the next step: to illustrate how the Players act in concert and collectively form a tribe. This tribe perpetuates its hold on power by influencing the way we think and convincing us to accept an engineered reality. By cleverly playing upon our innate weaknesses -- our vanity, our self absorption, our fears, and our greed, Players keep us off balance.
Secondly, this course addresses our need to have a strong spiritual connection to the world while providing the other side of the equation -- the ways and means to effectively manage the imperfect reality we find around us.
The current economic meltdown is proof that The Game not only exists, but that it is breaking down. Even though The Players are pre-eminent, a chain of events has been set in motion beyond anyone’s control to manage. We need a new paradigm to make sense of our world, and this course provides it. It provides a coherent roadmap with which to navigate through the difficulties we find ourselves in. It does this by providing an alternative way of seeing the world, one which is freeing instead of confining, inclusive instead of exclusionary, and flexible instead of rigid.
Finally, this course goes on to give concrete, workable strategies that will prove invaluable in combating the Players we encounter in our lives. This can be at our workplace, with neighbours and friends, or at home with our own family.
The choreography of the game and the players is demonstrated by way of examples drawn from:
- the events leading up to the economic crisis
- my experience as a crisis manager for a food processing plant in Hungary
- my experiences in the custom construction business.
Brief Synopsis of the Course
CD 1- Introduction
A bird’s eye view of the Game and the Players that emphasizes the constancy of the Game over time, culture and social context.
CD2 - The Cult of Marketing
Like it or not, we are all caught up in the web of the Game. Whether we are buying or selling, managing or being told what to do, we are all on a giant wheel that is being driven by the Game and the Players.
CD3 - Players
Players are born, not made. Narcissistic by nature, they feel compelled to do as they do.
Though all Players are cut from the same cloth, there are distinctions to be made between them. The Alpha Player is the master puppeteer who lies tucked well away from view, while those small time poseurs we encounter in our daily lives are the Betas. The Drones are pawns the Players move about the chessboard of the Game. They are not really Players in the full sense, but they would very much like to be.
CD4 - The Game
The Game has an infinite number of variations, but at its root are a small number of core algorithms. The deck is stacked in such a way that the Players cannot lose. The Game is cloaked in a superficial veneer of respectability and fairness in order to induce others to play, but the final result is always the same: the Players come out on top.
One of the most insidious aspects of the game is that it seduces us all. This corrupting influence a subtle but persistent, dragging us all into a cult of complicity. In order for us to free ourselves from the Game we must first accept our own part in the dance with the Players.
CD5 – Waking Up
Knowledge is power! It can also be an awesome weight upon awakening to the realization the game has dominated our lives. It’s likely you’ll experience anger, resentment, and despair. Our challenge is to tame these genies before they take hold of us. One can think of this contest with the players as a kind of battle. Every battle can be broken down into a sequence of three stages: the prelude, the battle itself, and finally the closing.
CD6 - The Big Lie
The Game is a grand illusion—a magician’s trick. The Players conjure a virtual reality with smoke and mirrors. Once created, it is our collective narcissism and innate tribalism that keep that reality in place.
Narcissism has become so widespread and pervasive in our society that it escapes our attention—it is today’s zeitgeist. In a narcissistic world, the Player, being the consummate narcissist, becomes King. Ironically, narcissists see themselves as the ultimate individuals while being quite the opposite. The central dynamic that drives their actions is a deep inner void they always attempt to fill but which only grows instead.
Like attracts like. Birds of a feather to stick together. Though lip service is often paid to equality and fairness, there is a natural tendency for people to organize into groups or tribes. In order to make it in this world we need to enlist the help of others, thus being in a tribe is not just a matter of choice, it is a matter of survival. This membership comes with a price: the conforming influence on our behaviour, our thinking, even our morality.
CD7 - The Myths We Live By
There are a number of misconceptions that define our world. The three core myths that define our society are the myth of scarcity, the illusion of choice and the law & order myth.
At the heart of our engineered reality is the misconception of linearity. This takes the randomness and irregularity of the world and reduces it to a perfectly uniform, predictable grid. This grid was conceived by the 17th century philosopher Descartes and is still the master plan behind the virtual reality of today.
CD8 - The Relationship Paradigm
If we turn the linear, Cartesian world on its side and make relationships between individuals the point of focus instead of the individual alone, the world looks completely different. From this perspective linearity, tribalism, narcissism, and the Game are seen as absurd abstractions – artificial structures that are supported only by our collective belief. Though they appear almost impregnable, these constructs are actually extremely fragile. Once the trance is broken and we see them for what they are, they simply evaporate. This is why the Players must go to such great lengths to protect them.
CD9 - How the spell is cast
The philosopher Schopenhauer maintained that the base state of humanity was one of indolence. Thinking requires work, so people only think under duress. This makes us easy prey for those who would think for us -- the Players. This entrancement of the populace is a kind of hypnosis. Far from being some mystical process that is the domain of magicians and the charismatic, hypnosis is a fairly straightforward, mechanical process that most anyone can learn. It is based on a four-part protocol detailed in this chapter and illustrated by examples from advertising.
CD10 – Playing the Players I - Entente
Now we are ready to engage the Players. To be successful, we have to invert their strengths and turn them into weaknesses. First, we must identify the Players; next we study the patterns of movement. This done, we engage in their dance, ensuring that they stay on track. Finally we set the trap—the double bind.
CD11- Playing the Players II - Engaging the Players
Playing the players is more art than science -- general rules are helpful as a guide, but “the devil is in the details,” as each situation has its own set of dynamics. This CD includes tidbits of wisdom and tricks of the trade that are good to keep in the back of our minds when engaging the Players.
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