Strategic Gaming Overview: Practical Game Theory for Business Course

This course provides hands-on immersion in Strategic Gaming and helps participants understand where and why a game-theoretic approach can provide valuable insights for successful stakeholder management. Participants learn to diagnose situations that could benefit from Strategic Gaming and get an introduction to how game framing and analytical techniques help to better understand potential action-reaction dynamics. Attendees are introduced to key dynamics and dilemmas of interdependent situations, as well as how those can be resolved by influencing others effectively, strategically and tactically.

Participants apply game framing and evaluation techniques to an interesting and relevant case example. The course will be led by Dr. Paul Papayoanou, Senior Advisor at Decision Frameworks. He is the author of the book, Game Theory for Business: A Primer in Strategic Gaming, which is provided as a companion text for the course. 

What’s Covered

• Identify situations in which game theory can add value 

• Apply game theory to develop strategy and tactics in a disciplined, practical way 

• Put oneself into others’ shoes and minds better 

• Anticipate and influence the actions and reactions of others to wield leverage 

• Understand how to change the "game” to one’s advantage 

Online Course Outline (two, 4-hour modules)

Module 1

• Introduction to Game Theory for Business

• Diagnosis

• Game framing tools and techniques

• Case Exercise: Dynamic Framing

• Tools and techiques for analyzing games

Module 2

• Case Exercise: Strategy Evaluation

• Other game tools and techniques

• Tactics and Execution Planning

• Case Exercise: Execution Planning

• Case discussion