 I first read Eric Berne’s The Games People Play whilst on a course back in the early 2000s. It was a three-day Women in Management event, and the trainers had brought along a small library of recommended titles we could borrow. I picked up Berne’s book on the first morning and barely put it down. Every break, every evening moment, I was completely absorbed. When I returned it on the final day, I knew I wasn’t finished, so I ordered a copy for next-day delivery and read it cover to cover that weekend. What I read opened my eyes to how we interact with one another, particularly in professional environments. Berne’s observations on human behaviour and transactional patterns stuck with me long after that course. His insights into the subtle games we play, often without realising, still influence how I interpret team dynamics, stakeholder conversations and even digital communication. When Games People Play was published in 1964, Zoom meetings and Slack messages weren’t even a thought. Yet the behavioural patterns he described appear everywhere; in office politics, cryptic emails and the unsaid tension of a virtual team call. The tools may have changed, but the dynamics remain.
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 There are some meetings that linger in the mind long after the room has emptied.
Back in 2001, I had the rare privilege of hearing Ken Blanchard speak. Charismatic, insightful, and remarkably good at distilling leadership ideas into relatable stories, he stayed behind afterwards to chat. I was a newly appointed manager then, handed a slim book with a big title: The One Minute Manager. It was one of several texts I was recommended to read during those formative years. Now, two decades and many strategies later, I’ve found myself revisiting the old titles on my shelf. As part of my occasional Friday Book Club, I’ll be exploring what still holds up and what doesn’t. So, let’s start with this classic: The One Minute Manager. Has it earned its place in the modern workplace, or is it better left in the past? |
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