Serious Play: How the World's Best Companies Simulate to Innovate
Author: Michael Schrage, Tom Peters
List Price: $27.50
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ISBN: 0875848141
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press (December, 1999)
Sales Rank: 34,167
Average Customer Rating: 4.41 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
A good read, and thought-provoking too
When I first heard of this book, it didn't interest me: I work for a company that specializes in simulation software, and most of the books on this topic that I've seen focus on the boring nitty-gritty of "how to write a simulation." Then I went to a Tom Peters workshop in which he recommended this book, and decided to take a look at it anyway. I'm glad I did: not only is the book well-written and easy to read, but it laid out the questions we should be asking our clients before we agree to create a simulation for them! As the author points out, simulations and prototyping are excellent tools, but they're only tools: what a corporation chooses to model and NOT to model is often telling, and politics and unexamined assumptions about the business often get in the way of the learning a good simulation could provide to a corporation. Another point he makes that I feel can't be over-emphasized: prototyping and modeling are often a process of "learning from failure," so a corporate culture that rewards only "successful" prototypes is cutting off one of its most fruitful sources of innovation. He also has a good discussion of the tradeoff between modeling in too much detail vs. oversimplifying. All in all, I felt that the book was an excellent high-level discussion of the pitfalls and benefits of simulation, and very thought-provoking.
Rating: 5 out of 5
This book changed how I think about simulation
This is one of the best books on simulation that I've read. Through many intriguing examples, Serious Play shows how simulation can accelerate and improve decision-making. The book explains how simulation can be a critical tool for strategic planning. Schrage frames simulation as an inclusive, primary business activity, instead of something exclusive, performed by experts in a back office. I especially liked Schrage's recognition of spreadsheets as a simulation tool. In discussions on simulation, spreadsheets are usually ignored because they are seen as unsophisticated. Schrage shows how spreadsheet simulations made many of the financial innovations of the 80s and early 90s possible.
In addition to convincing readers that simulations are valuable, Schrage does a good job of introducing readers to how simulations can be implemented in business. The chapters near the end of the book on measuring the ROI of simulations and his brief user's guide provide some useful tools for those interested in using simulations and prototypes to improve decision-making.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Three years on, still a great book
Here's the best review I can give Michael Schrage's "Serious Play": Three years on, it's consistently the first book I pull out of my bookshelf when I'm looking for ideas for presentations, thoughts on introducing new products or services, etc. His commentary on "mean-time-to-payback" is something that will stick with you for years. It's brilliant stuff, written in clear, concise terms. And, surprisingly, very little of it is dated. Unlike many books from that era, there's no .com or Enron fixation for the author to be embarrassed about. Schrage's examples are pulled from health care technology, animation, theater...in short, an eye-opening spectrum of ideas. I consider "Serious Play" one of my best purchases ever. Similar Products
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