- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Running Press; illustrated edition edition (Feb 11 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0762416947
- ISBN-13: 978-0762416943
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.2 x 1.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 322 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #662,212 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Money-minded readers who gaze longingly at their Monopoly boards' Broadway and Park Place properties will undoubtedly chuckle over Axelrod's irreverent entrepreneur's guide. The author (Elizabeth I, CEO) here playfully examines how to apply the game's strategies to real-life business situations. After an introductory historical chapter-Monopoly debuted during the Depression and has since sold about 200 million sets-Axelrod covers game strategies and how they can be applied in real life. His advice is generally sound, and at times comically simple ("Cheating and other unethical conduct are not sustainable... You can win a game or two by cheating, but unless you devote yourself to it, you cannot win consistently"). In discussing salary, Axelrod writes, "Successful business people understand salary much the way that good players of Monopoly understand `Go.' Salary is about subsistence and survival. To get beyond this basic level in business, you need to get beyond mere salary. You need to put money at risk." In some ways, the game is a perfect example of how the business world works. For instance, the best Monopoly games are dynamic, with players putting up properties for auction, just as in real life. Cards that mimic the game's own are sprinkled throughout the text, carrying the sentiments of famous business leaders. While it's a bit of a stretch at times, the book is still fun and an ideal gift for the gaming entrepreneur.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
In this readable and thought-provoking book, Axelrod (Elizabeth I, CEO) draws fruitful parallels between this best-selling board game, which was introduced during the Depression, and the real world of earning money. In Monopoly, everyone starts off with the same amount of money, and the winner emerges through a combination of chance, luck, and skill. Axelrod emphasizes that skill comes into play when making purchase decisions and taking risks. He details various game strategies and shows how they relate to the real world. For instance, salary is a means of subsistence, but to gain real wealth, some money must also be invested, something the game teaches via property purchases, mortgaging, and occasional windfalls such as landing on Free Parking. Adding to the appeal of this pleasant and often humorous book, Axelrod uses Monopoly cards to highlight successful business people (Jack Welch, Bill Gates, Mary Kay Ash). He also critiques the game to show how ruthless it can be: after all, the object is to bankrupt all of your opponents. A good choice for ages 14 and up who use public, school, and academic libraries.
Steven J. Mayover, formerly with Free Lib. of Philadelphia
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Steven J. Mayover, formerly with Free Lib. of Philadelphia
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Book Summary,
By
This review is from: Everything I Know About Business I Learned From Monopoly: Successful Executives Reveal Strategic Lessons From The World's Greatest Board Game (Hardcover)
After buying the rights from creator Charles Darrow, Parker Brothers introduced the board game Monopoly® in 1935. It soon became an American icon of capitalism in its most competitive form. Popular estimates claim that nearly 1 billion people have played the game. Ironically, the game flourished during a time when the Great Depression still held its sway on the American psyche. Author Alan Axelrod attributes this odd phenomenon to the cathartic affect the game had on people. Still, many attribute its success more to its ability to mirror real life. Monopoly as a metaphor for business serves as the impetuous for this book. Axelrod fills his book generously with quotes from leaders of industry. While the board game differs considerably from real life in some substantive areas, such as starting out on a level playing field, the game compensates for these few exceptions by creating a playing environment that relies more on skill and attitude. The author emphasizes this important lesson, "...our own fates are in large part decided by our actions and not completely by our starting points" (28). The book primarily aims to distill the practical lessons learned from playing the game, but at the same time teaches you many of the skills needed to become a better game player. The chief contribution Monopoly® makes to the business world is to expound the point that passing "GO" and collecting a $200 income will not win the game. A winning strategy necessitates aggressive play in analyzing, buying, selling, and trading properties. Axelrod believes that players must be bifocal, keeping an eye on both strategy and tactics, "To be sure, the business of business is making money, but it is also managing and manipulating money" (63). An important component in accumulating properties includes the willingness to leverage your buying power by taking on debt and mortgaging auxiliary properties. Player psychology also figures in prominently. By better understanding yourself and your opponents you can make better decisions. Successful deals require both players to feel that they gained something from the trade. When negotiating Axelrod reminds us what is most important to keep in mind, "The rookie salesman makes the mistake of selling price rather than value" (99). To improve your own playing build a healthy tolerance for taking calculated risks. Eliminate chance from the equation by "doing the math" and basing decisions on facts. Finally, the better players build on their investing and psychological advantages by exploiting market conditions, such as economic scarcity. The natural shortage of houses and hotels in the game teaches us that it pays to take advantage of market inefficiencies. This extends to finding deals by picking up properties at auction. Vigilance and preparation rule the day.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Book Lacked Focus,
By
This review is from: Everything I Know About Business I Learned From Monopoly: Successful Executives Reveal Strategic Lessons From The World's Greatest Board Game (Hardcover)
This book lacked a lot of focus in what it wanted to accomplish. Was it trying to give tips on how to win at Monopoly or trying to show how the game teaches lessons to be applied to real life? In both cases, it came up lacking. The tips it gave were rather common-sensical, the stories it shared didn't really give any insight into how the game applies to business, and to top it off, it didn't not give accurate rules to the game. For example, the book said that you couldn't collect rent while in jail, so you should always try to stay out of jail and in the game, just like in life. That's a nice maxim to live by, but you CAN collect rent while in jail and every good business person knows that there are times to be aggressive and times to be conservative. Overall, the book was very disappointing and I hope only to spare others from making the same mistake of wasting time reading it.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Reading the Book Has the Ups and Downs of a Monopoly Game!,
By J. A. Broad "Julie Broad (http://www.revnyou.... (Vancouver) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Everything I Know About Business I Learned From Monopoly: Successful Executives Reveal Strategic Lessons From The World's Greatest Board Game (Hardcover)
I love Monopoly. Christmas is around the corner, and I know we will pull out the board and have a very competitive game with my family. We're a family of real estate investors and it always feels like it's so much more than pride on the line! Besides, it's a tradition.The book is full of pointers and pieces of game trivia that I can share with my family. I now know that the chance of landing on one of the Railroads in a trip around the board is 64%, while the chance of landing on one of the Dark Purple properties is only 24% (and Dark Blue is 27%). Axelrod argues that even as a game of chance, it's not all left to luck. There are reasonably probabilities in which things happen, or don't. Which is also an important message for business. But most of the time, just as I started to get into either a strategy for the game, or a business application he'd switch. I found it next to impossible to actually get into the book because I was often lost as to whether we were talking about a game strategy or a good business application. Overall, I was disappointed in the book. There are much better business books to read. BUT, I will say that there are three things I enjoyed: 1. The quotes on every other page were delightful. I found some new quotes that I had never read before in the pages of this book. 2. It made me excited for our holiday game. And, I have some trivia to throw at my family about the game which is going to be fun to share. 3. Early in the book the lessons to be learned in business from Monopoly were actually pretty good. As the book wore on they seemed less concise and clear, but in the early part of the book I felt there was some good content in the book.
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