Thinking Strategically: The Competitive Edge in Business, Politics, and Everyday Life

Explain the difference between simultaneous and sequential play, and how strategy differs for each.

What is a game tree? What category of game is it used for, and why? What’s the first rule for using a game tree, and how does that rule improve strategy?

Explain how tables are used in game theory. Construct a simple example.

Give an example of a prisoner’s dilemma in daily life, describe how it works, and offer ways to prevent cheating.

What is brinkmanship, and why is it a form of commitment? Why does brinkmanship work better when taken in small steps?

Describe a Schelling point, and think of an example (other than New York’s Grand Central Station) that people sometimes use in daily life.

What is an equilibrium and how does it work? Give an example.

A school administration orders the student newspaper to remove a controversial article from its website. How might the paper’s staff devise a strategic move to resist the order? How might the administration respond in kind? What avenues can both sides pursue to reach a negotiated settlement?