Some would argue that all of life is a game.  That when we negotiate for something, we are playing the bargaining game, when we are in traffic, we are playing the driving game; that bidders bidding on eBay are playing the auctioning game.  So, it's not too far a field to say that leaders in business are playing the leadership game.

John Nash (1994) won the Nobel Prize in economics for applying Game Theory to business, economics, and social sciences.  John Nash hypothesized that a strategy profile - that is, a strategy profile is one strategy for each player - is a Nash Equilibrium if each person's response is a best response to other players' choices.  This is by far the most common solution set in game theory.

So, what this is saying is that in a game people are playing a Nash Equilibrium if they respond in a way that tends to cause a win/win solution for others.  In fact, Nash went further and suggested that people will continue to modify their responses to one another in an attempt to achieve a point of equilibrium. 

At BBL, we see a strong correlation between game theory and leadership theory and are interested in collaborating with others who have a similar interest. For example, David McClelland (2000) and David Burnham discovered that leaders who modified their needs for power on behalf of the greater good were far more successful than other leaders who might have similar performance but were motivated by personal gain. He coined the term “socialized power” to describe this behavior.  Goleman (2000) built on McClelland's research and expanded the concepts to demonstrate what types of leadership behavior could be seen to produce committed teams and high performance work climates. Goleman was able to demonstrate that there was a correlation between certain styles of leadership and intended results.  For example, prominent organizational development leadership theory (Goleman, 2000) shows a strong correlation between leadership success and the ability to seek the best results for all. Jim Collins (2001) who is famous for his book, Good to Great, researched 1,435 Fortune 500 companies, and only 11 achieved and sustained greatness - garnering stock returns at least 3 times the market's - for 15 years after a major transition period.  The most effective companies had Level 5 leaders at the top.  These leaders were characterized by several key traits:  One trait was humility.  They routinely credited others, external factors, and luck for their companies' success.  But when things went wrong they took the blame.  They move quickly and quietly doing whatever it takes to get things done - terminating everything else.

To be successful, leaders must also create trust.  Trust is at the heart of the Nash Equilibrium - as participants will learn through playing our games. At BBL, we blend Game Theory with Leadership Theory, creating powerful learning experiences for leaders.  What these theorists have in common with Nash is that in every instance it was the unselfishness of the leader that galvanized others to him or her.  The movement is in the general direction of providing the best response to the others' strategies.


Our Team

Mary Ellen Brantley has over twenty years' experience in senior sales line and operating management positions with Fortune 100 companies.  She is the author of Coaching the Inner Leader: Transpersonal Executive Coaching for Breakthrough Results, 2010, Lambert Academic Publishing, and Winning the Technology Talent War, 2001, McGraw-Hill.  Mary Ellen focuses entirely on executive and leadership development.  A pioneer on the use of business simulations, e-Learning, blended learning, and other innovative executive learning techniques, Brantley has fourteen years' of experience in the field of leadership and executive coaching, assessing individuals' strengths and development needs, and identifying and developing the leadership competencies needed for success.
Brantley has developed cutting-edge Leadership Programs in both large and small companies.  Under Dr. Brantley's leadership, coaching and leadership development programs have been created for a number of the world's most prestigious companies.  Included in this number are IBM Corporation, United Parcel Service, Georgia State University International EMBA Program, ChoicePoint (LexisNexis), Georgia-Pacific, Application Partners, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Internet Security Services (IBM ISS),The Atlanta Ballet, Paparelli Ventures, BellSouth, Wachovia, Digital Equipment Corporation, Cardinal Health, MTI, Tax Partners, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, and Resource Management Services.  The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) selected Brantley to deliver a CEO Forum at its annual meeting.  In addition, the Technology Executive Roundtable (an exclusive organization of CEO's of technology companies) has repeatedly requested her to deliver CEO development sessions.  Her unique knowledge and experience make her a successful, sought-after speaker.

Mary Ellen received her Ph.D. in Organization Development & Systems from Fielding Graduate University, Santa Barbara, CA, where her dissertation research is in the field of Executive Coaching and leadership effectiveness.  She has a M. A. in Organizational Development & Systems from Fielding Graduate University, and a bachelor's degree in Social Science from Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida.  From 2006-2007, Dr. Brantley served as a member of the governing body of Fielding Graduate University as a member of the Curriculum Committee.

Other team members:

Dr. Milton Lopes (GA)
Anil Behal (PA)

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