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Life comprises games—games driven by frames (frame of reference – the most basic process of human consciousness). External references are called experiences, from which we draw conclusions. We make generalizations from the events: about the people involved, about ourselves, etc. We create these meanings, inventing them in ou minds and then imposing them on the brute facts of everyday life. These become our beliefs.

These frames or beliefs control how we act. If you have ever communicated with a boss or supervisor and felt that you lacked influence with him or her, then you experienced someone playing a game with you. Actually, it's a common one. Many managers actually fear giving employees much say, influence, or power. The frame in their head warns them, "If you give them an inch, they'll take a mile." "If you let them have a little say, you'll open up a Pandora's box of complaints."

Given this way of thinking, their managerial behavior and style makes perfect sense. In fact, we can say that they have to act and talk that way. Given that frame, they have no choice about what game to play or what game they can play. And, even when a higher supervisor tells them to "cut that out" or sends them to classes for how to empower employees, they will play that game at one level, but at a higher level become more covert and subtle in how to deny employees true empowerment.

Why? Because a person's highest frames always win the day regarding the games we play. The higher frame is always the boss in our mind.

Statistics indicate that lots of people feel as if they live under the thumb of their boss or company and do not truly feel free to make a difference. In this frustration, they may come to work and play numerous games:

	"Anger,"
	"If It Weren't for You ...,"
	"Injustice,"

and so on. In this way, one nonenhancing frame game invites and initiates another nonenhancing frame game. This can cycle around and around, creating a downward spiral of interactions and lock­ing all participants into a prison of negative thoughts and feelings.

Sorting for games: What nonenhancing games are you currently experiencing and playing? To check this out simply begin by noting your state of mind about work.

	What do you think?
	What comes to mind?
	Do you sense that there is little to no chance of moving up, being promoted, getting a raise?
	Do you feel or sense that there's a lack of respect and appreciation for you?
	What games are you playing in your mind, thought-world, feelings, and behaviors?
	What meanings do you really believe in and will invest your-self in?
	What's so meaningful about those meanings?
	What doesn't mean that much to you?

In asking these "meaning" questions, we are asking about our frame of references at many levels; we are asking about our frame of mind at many levels; and we are asking about such frames as our:

	Belief Frames
	Value Frames
	Destiny Frames
	Identity Frames
	Expectation Frames
	Outcome Frames
	Emotional Frames
	Theological Frames
	Philosophical Frames

When you know how to view your actions and interactions in terms of games, it gives you the choice with regard to what games you'd like to play. We cannot not play games. It's only a question of what games we'll choose, and why.

We don't have to say, "Let the games begin!" because they have already begun. There are already plenty of games already going on in the workplace. We play games in how we work, why we work, what we seek to accomplish in working. We also play mental games with ourselves and others as we engage in our profession.

Behind (or above) every game there is a frame. Frames drive games. To play a game, we have to learn the rules, the struc­ture, the payoffs, etc.

Frame Games give us a new way to think about the sets of inter-actions on the behavioral, communicational, and psychological levels for analyzing, understanding, and effectively working with the games that aren't enhancing. They also show us those games that are enhancing.

As there are a lot of sick, toxic, and morbid games that can make people insane, so there are a lot of enhancing, empow­ering, and fun games that make for an increased sense of san­ity and enable us to become highly productive.

If we want to become a "genius at work" and develop the expertise and quality of business excellence we need only to know how to stop playing the stupid and destructive games, and learn how to play the ones that bring out our best. We also want to know how to make those work even better and more effectively.

	What games are currently playing you at work, in your career and profession?
	Did you consciously choose to play those games?
	Do those games support you and move you in the direction you want for yourself personally and professionally?
	What game or games would you prefer to be playing?
	What cues and triggers hook you into the games?
	What frames drive these games?
	What do you believe about these games?
	What historical or conceptual references do you use to generate the frame to play the game?

When we first learned chess, Monopoly, baseball, tennis, or any game, we began by asking, "Okay, how do we play? How do we get started?"

Typically, we do not learn games by formally studying rule books. We learn just enough rules to begin and then we play around with the game until we get the hang of it. We learn games best by trying them on and giving ourselves a chance to learn the ropes. We also give ourselves a chance with the new game by not expecting that we have to begin as experts or masters the first time out. We know it will take some time and lots of practice, and that we will improve our game through experience. We also know that, if we begin by just having fun with it, learning, making mistakes, using the feedback of what works and what does not, we will learn the new game more effi­ciently.

With that in mind, as you read about some new games here, do the following:

First, get an initial impression about the game. Start with the name of the game. What is it called? Often, just knowing the name of the game is enough to get you started in that new domain. This is also the value of naming games colloquially in memorable ways. "The No-Blame, No-Shame Game," for instance, provides a nice initial impression that specifies the governing frame.

Begin playing the game and experimenting with it. We learn best and most thoroughly as we experiment, test, and play around with the game. Take the governing idea and play with it. Toss it back and forth with someone. Get a feel for it. Express it in numerous ways. Apply it to work, home, exercise, friendship, whatever. Don't aim to do anything with it except just testing and playing with it.

Visit the description of the game to begin filling in some of the details. One reason for not starting a new game by reading the rule book is to avoid overwhelming ourselves with details. Another reason is that the rules become more meaningful and understandable if we learn them bit by bit, trying out what we know, testing it in experience, getting a feel for the initial structures, experiencing the contexts in which they make sense, and then returning for the next piece. It's similar to learning to work with a computer or computer program. We start by reading a step or two, acting on those, seeing if we get those right, making sure that we are orienting ourselves to the computer or the program properly, and then adding one or two pieces at a time.

This incremental approach to learning and mastery makes the game the primary thing, rather than the rules. The rules and frames are there to support the game, not to become a substitute for the game. Weird things can happen to a person when the rules become uppermost and the game secondary.

Continually renew your focus and awareness on the objective of the game. What is the purpose of the game? Why do you want to play this particular game? What's the payoff that you want from it? What enlivens and energizes any game is its sense of direction, outcome, and purpose.

In the frame games of our lives, many of our games actually operate as sub-games within some larger game. The purpose of one game may therefore be to enable us to play a larger game. Knowing this gives our playing more meaning and purpose.

Have fun as you play. No matter where you are in the process, whether you are a novice at a new game or a master, don't for-get to have fun and to enjoy the process. This will support your learning, development, and expertise. Remember also that most of the fun is in the play itself rather than in the prize for winning the game.

Keep aiming for mastery by developing more skills and taking on more challenges. In any game there is a relationship between your skills in playing the game and the challenge the game offers you.

When we experience a low skill level with high challenge, we typically feel overwhelmed and anxious. When that happens, our fun and delight in the game itself is reduced. We then begin to get seri­ous, stressed, and often will feel inadequate. And that will lessen our interest. This is why we need to start off slow and easy.

Indicators of Unhealthy and Destructive Games: We have already enumerated some of the not-so fun games that sometimes we find ourselves playing at work. These reduce the quality of life and when unchecked can induce a sense of meaninglessness and futility. Did some of them particularly speak to you? Here's another quick check-list of games. Check those that you find yourself involved in that do not enhance your career. Identify those that undermine you and your success. This represents only a small sample of potential games, take a few Frame Games that don't enhance your life:

	The Helpless Game: "You can't really change anything. I'm just a cog in the system around here, powerless to change anything."
	The Dog-Eat-Dog Game: "Only those who compromise their values can succeed in business. You have to be an asshole! The more successful I am, the more people will resent me and try to undermine my success."
	The Peevishness Game: "I shouldn't have to do some of these things."
	The Paranoid Game: "They're out to get me! They want to fire me, undermine my success. What if they steal my great ideas?"
	The "If It Weren't for People" Game: "Why do people have to be so difficult?"
	The Unfairness Game: "Why try? Life is so unfair and nothing ever really changes."
	The Overresponsible Game: "I'm responsible for everything. I can't delegate. I can't trust others to do it as well as I can do it myself." The Complaint Game: "They're all incompetents around here."
	The Helpless Game: "One person can't make any difference."
	The Stress Game: "I can't balance my energies between home and business. It's one or the other. There's too much to do. I can't jug­gle everything. Something's going to get dropped. I'm deluged with too many e-mails, too much information, too many demands."
	The Competition Game: "In the business world you have to be cut-throat."
	The Overwhelm Game: "I can't keep up—I'm not smart enough."
	The Double-Bind Game: "It's a no-win situation. I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't."
	The Scarcity Game: "We have to use these tactics to win."
	The Unappreciated Genius Game: "If everyone would just listen to me, I could solve all of the company's problems! My amazing talents intimidate the mental weaklings around here!"
	The Chaos Game: "I don't feel like I ever finish anything. There's no closure. I'm living on the verge of chaos."

Game transformation:

	What New Frame Game would you prefer to Play?
	If you had a magic wand and could play a better, more empowering, more enhancing, and more productive game, what game would it be?
	How would the New Frame Game go (New Description)?
	How would you play it?
	With whom?
	At what times?
	How would you set up the new game?
	What would be the objective of the New Frame Game?
	What would be its outcome or goal?
	Why would you play it?
	What would be the outcome for the others?
	How would we Establish the New Game and Install it?
	If we can shift from the old to the new, how would that occur?
	If we have to reject the old entirely before initiating the new, how strong a definitive "No!" do we need to say?
	What processes would help us to establish and solidify the new game?

Analyzing Frame Games: These questions now enable us to analyze the Frame Games that we play, others play, and, most importantly, that business experts plays. By using Frame-Games Analysis we can blow the whistle on the games that will only waste our time and energy on our path to become business experts. The process of analyzing our games also increases our mindfulness about what's occurring. That, in turn, then increases our clarity about our choices. Then we can power-fully say "No!" to the toxic old games and "Yes!" to the empowering life games.

Click here to Explore Your Belief Systems

Click here for the Six-Step Change Model for changing your thoughts and increasing your happiness

Click here for the ABC Change Model for learning optimism