PIC No. 19:
• Title: A Game Maker's Life: A Hall of Fame Game Inventor and Executive Tells the Inside Story of the Toy Industry
• Authors: Jeffrey Breslow with Cynthia Beebe
• Publisher:Post Hill Press (August 30, 2022, 232 pages)
• Management Bucket #6 of 20: The Program Bucket
Welcome to Issue No. 19 of PAILS IN COMPARISON, the value-added sidekick of John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. This blog features my “PICs”—shorter reviews of helpful books—with comparisons to other books in my 20 management buckets (core competencies) filing system.
“Creativity Is a Function of Pressure”
I can’t stop talking about this book! I’m guessing that for most leaders and readers—learning more about the inside story of the toy industry is not on your bucket list. But beware! This book will suck you in—while you learn the backstory of “Buckets of Fun” and more.
I could list 50 reasons you’ll appreciate A Game Maker's Life: A Hall of Fame Game Inventor and Executive Tells the Inside Story of the Toy Industry, by Jeffrey Breslow with Cynthia Beebe. But, for now, here are 10 teasers:
#1. THE OBVIOUS. Stroll down memory lane and learn how dozens of classic games were designed and sold (for royalties) to major toy companies—by the very secretive design firm where Jeffrey Breslow got his start. (Secretive? Yes! Locked vaults—and no family or guests allowed.) Imagine the fun: Uno, Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle, Simon, Bucket of Fun, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, Guesstures, Ants in the Pants, Masterpiece, and more. I’m a kid again!
#2. CHICAGO-BASED IDEA MACHINE! Where did these Chicago game and toy designers get all their ideas? Fascinating! Must-read! I survived 21 winters in the Chicago area—so I know the neighborhood and the era (1968-1974 and 1979-1994). And the idea machine—it’s a page-turner! “As often happens, however, many successful ideas zig when everyone else is zagging.” And this: “I can confidently say that creativity is a function of pressure.”
#3. EVEN TOYS HAVE RULES! Breslow (or “Brez” as he was called) writes, “In the toy business, if you need three colors, they’re always red, yellow, and blue. It’s somewhere in the toy design Bible to use primary colors. If you need a fourth color, it’s always green. Somehow purple and orange never get chosen for the fourth color. You gotta feel sorry for purple and orange, and never more so than when we developed the Simon game that debuted in 1978.”
#4. LEARNING HOW TO THINK. Who mentored you? Who’s your coach? Who taught you—and who is still teaching you how to think? Chapter 3, “Learning How to Think,” honors Breslow’s prof in industrial design at the University of Illinois—but Ed Zagorski’s influence was actually lifelong. Stunning: the book's “Afterword” is a sweet and meaty reflection by Zagorski written in 2015. The esteemed prof died in 2021 at age “99 and a quarter.” (Read why at age 90, you should start using fractions again—like kids who say they are five and a half!)
For your next team meeting: Do you have a lifelong mentor who could write a substantive “Afterword” in your autobiography?
#5. WHEN THE FOUNDER DIES. Whew. Marvin Glass, the founder of Marvin Glass & Associates on Chicago’s LaSalle Street (a few doors from Moody Bible Institute) was the other profound influence in Breslow’s life. (The founder’s personal life left much to be desired, and the strong work ethic was, often, too strong.) When Glass (1914-1974) dies at age 59, he left a deep hole. Another partner stepped up. Then tragedy. Then Breslow was named managing partner and led teams (including a new firm) from 1976 to 2008. He reduced working hours—so team members had a life outside of work. Leading was not all fun and games. Leaders and managers will appreciate the author’s thoughts on the daily and long-term challenges of staying afloat (ideas, ideas, ideas) and being profitable. It’s fascinating. (But please note: some of the language is R-rated.)
#6. TRAGEDY. Whew. This autobiography opens (James Bond-style) on July 27, 1976, when Breslow, at age 33, excuses himself from a meeting to take a phone call. That phone call saved his life. A deranged employee entered the meeting and murdered the managing partner and one other partner. “Before it was over, [Al] Keller murdered three people, grievously injured two more, and then killed himself. The shooting lasted no more than two minutes—two minutes that changed my life and the lives of our employees forever.”
(Note: Has your team rehearsed what to do in an active shooter crisis?)
#7. YOU’RE THE LEADER. Whew, again. You’re the managing partner. Deadlines are pressing. The darkness and memories of this unspeakable tragedy hang in every room—and in every interaction. Read how Breslow sought to bring healing. But there’s hope. Read how Brez and others moved forward. And this is interesting: read how they pitched ideas to Evel Knievel, Frank Sinatra, and Donald Trump (see “Trump the Game”).
#8. SHARE THE WEALTH. Once, the founder offered a $50,000 bonus to the first partner “that came up with an idea that generated $1 million in royalties for the company.” One partner, Howard, created the SSP Racer—and earned the $50,000. He immediately deposited the check and asked the bank for $10,000 in $100 bills. “Howard returned to the studio and passed out the bills to the model makers and designers who had helped him on the SSP Racer project.”
#9. THE 90/10 RULE. Breslow writes, “I thrived as a toy designer because I intuitively understood the process of designing toys. I knew that the most difficult thing to accept in any creative business was the harsh reality that most ideas fail.” He adds, “It’s acceptable to fail 90 percent of the time as long as you capitalize on the 10 percent of your ideas that are winners.”
#10. FROM TOYS TO SCULPTURES. While this is a fascinating book about a Hall of Fame Game Inventor and toy designer, there are leadership lessons in every chapter—and life lessons on succession. How do you follow a founder who expected 60- to 80-hour workweeks? How do you build a life outside of work? (See the author’s stunning side gigs, the "Brez Birthday Club” and the "Brez Adventure Club.”) When he retired at age 65: “The day I left the toy business I thought of myself only as a sculptor.”
Oh, my. There’s so much more! Read about his friendship with Nando Parrado (you’ll recall Parrado’s miraculous survival experience, per the book and the movie, Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors)—and why Breslow created and shipped his five-ton sculpture, “Milagro en los Andes” (Miracle in the Andes), to Punta del Este, Uruguay. (Note: The sculpture will be dedicated on Oct. 13, 2022, the 50th anniversary of that 1972 airplane crash in the Andes.)
P.S. While reading this book, I appreciated The Wall Street Journal’s obituary on former Microsoft executive Richard Tait, who invented the Cranium board game. His favorite axiom: “Orville Wright did not have a pilot’s license.”
PAILS IN COMPARISON: Reading this book reminded me of several other must-read books in the Program Bucket, plus other buckets/core competencies.
• Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge From Small Discoveries, by Peter Sims (read my review)
• Made From Scratch: The Legendary Success Story of Texas Roadhouse, by Kent Taylor (read my review)
• How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen, James Allworth, and Karen Dillon (read my review)
To order from Amazon, click on the title for A Game Maker's Life: A Hall of Fame Game Inventor and Executive Tells the Inside Story of the Toy Industry, by Jeffrey Breslow with Cynthia Beebe. For more book reviews, visit John Pearson’s Buckets Blog and subscribe to Your Weekly Staff Meeting.
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