MTG and the management profession

[Jin Gitaxias]

Hey everyone,

At university I'm currently following a class about "management in the health care sector". In this course we saw several conceps like risk-benefit analysis, decision making with imperfect information and resource allocation.
These abilities seem to me like abilities that I already learned from playing MTG.

Of course I'm only a student and have no clue how this works in the real world.
Are any of you actual managers and do you also feel that some skills from magic cross over?

Thanks in advance.

[Raystar]

Magic is a resources management game, many of the principles behind it simulate a "scarcity" based reality. I have been playing Magic for a long time and to me, as a manager, it worked the other way around: many of the principle that I applied in real life transported into the game.

Be careful with comparisons, though, the reality simulated by Magic is very narrow and the teachings that you may be able to bring back to your daily life are a bit too "simple".

On the other hand, there is a component of Magic that I believe is useful from a people management point of view: the community interaction, the face to face exchange that happens during a match, the network of relationships that you build during your gaming experience...these all concur (positively and negatively) in refining your people skills, one of the most important set of qualities that a manager needs to possess.

[Darkenslight]

Hey everyone,

At university I'm currently following a class about "management in the health care sector". In this course we saw several conceps like risk-benefit analysis, decision making with imperfect information and resource allocation.
These abilities seem to me like abilities that I already learned from playing MTG.

Of course I'm only a student and have no clue how this works in the real world.
Are any of you actual managers and do you also feel that some skills from magic cross over?

Thanks in advance.

There's some crossover, but as has been pointed out, its applications are in a somewhat simplistic fashion, but Magic has methods of teaching you about wastages and making things more efficient, such as the mana curve, and manabase construction.

[Ace/Homebrew]

In management, as in Magic, things usually work out better if you Brainstorm. :tongue:

[Raystar]

In management, as in Magic, things usually work out better if you Brainstorm. :tongue:

That was good :)