Developing last week’s Inc. Magazine column on the risks of metaphor, Shoemaker’s latest article is titled, “Is Poker a Good Metaphor for Business?” In this piece, he turns a critical eye to the high-stakes game’s usage as a popular analogy for product development. Drawing upon his discussions of metaphor with Wharton Executive Education students, Shoemaker notes: “Unlike poker, the rules of the game are not fixed in business.” To better navigate the blind spots that well-worn metaphors hide, he suggests working with multiple analogies that, taken together, will shed light on your business challenges.
Paul Schoemaker is founder and Executive Director of Decision Strategies International, and Research Director of the Mack Center.