Product Description

"The Big Book of Business Games" contains dozens of group games and activities for managers and team leaders to use with staff, committees or any type of sleepy audience! These games - many of which take just a few minutes to complete - are perfect for making a point without lecturing, uncovering people problems in a department, sparking lively discussions, and teaching valuable lessons about every aspect of making organizations successful. From icebreakers, to meeting energizers to creativity exercises, there are games suitable to meet a wide range of needs including: managing change, team building, communication, listening and feedback, presentation boosters, and motivating the group.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #865678 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

About the Author
Dr. John W. Newstrom and Edward E. Scannell are respected authors, professional speakers, and seminar leaders. They are the coauthors of McGraw-Hill's best-selling Games Trainers Play series, which has sold more than 250,000 copies.

Customer Reviews

Pretty good, I think
I have used this book quite a bit, and do find it useful, although I find "The Big Book of Presentation Games" better for my purposes. I think the ice-breaker ideas are good, especially the bingo game, which I've used a couple times with success. I also think some of the problem-solving ideas are good.

Another "Big Book" that doesn't deliver
I took a chance and purchased five selections from the "big book" series. I titled a previous review "The Big Book of Disappointment." Too bad. I ought to have saved it for this publication.

Chapter two of "The Big Book of Business Games" is titled, "How to Use This Book." My suggestion? As kindling or compost. In the book you will find 54 activities. The nine dot problem and the human knot are examples of the many common activities found in countless other books.

You'll also find suggestions for "presentation boosters." One "booster" example: Display two flip charts. On one ask what things were valued about how the meeting was run. On the other ask how future meetings might be improved. As part of the description you are reminded to "tear off the flip charts and return to your office. . .celebrate your success and change something needing improvement." In the book, the previous activity actually merits a two page description.

Applying their exercise to their book, I'd say I valued very little if anything. How might future books be improved? Provide NEW activities or suggest creative variations for the countless recycled exercises. Also, be certain the content is relevant to a business audience. A skilled facilitator will find a way to successfully use most any of the activities in this book. However, a skilled facilitator is also likely to have a number of better selections in her bag of tricks to choose from.

Once again if the price entices you to purchase this book, I'd suggest you keep exploring. You will find a number of resource books available on Amazon.com that are significantly better.

Great for the Price
I've used a number of the games in this book and found they've helped me achieve my goals with the team. They stimulated converstaion and team building. One game I found particularly useful was the "Tie that Binds" in visually demonstrating how interdependent we are as a team. I found this book a real bargain and a good book for getting started at using games within meetings to build teams, emphasis concepts, and introduce topics.