Review of the book "Business as a Game" - Sergey Abdulmanov, Dmitry Kibkalo, Dmitry Borisov: about a strategic approach to marketing

Where:

• Queens are bold decisions;
• Pawns are creative tactics.

Sergey Abdulmanov, Dmitry Kibkalo, and Dmitry Borisov:

• Methodically examine under a microscope;
• Game mechanics turn the office into a laboratory;
• KPI becomes a challenge.

This is not just advice — it's:

• An interactive quest;
• Real percentage growth;
• Surviving startups.

Their approach is:

• Conscious planning adjusted for human nature;
• An invitation to take a risk, play, and win.

Key Concepts and Their Analysis

When "Business as a Game" lands in your hands, you get the feeling that the authors are inviting you not to a dull corporate event, but to an exciting quest - and instead of dull instructions, they hand out a map with caches and traps.

Indeed, instead of the usual “think like an accountant”, the call here is: “act like a game designer”, and this turns the established stereotypes about management upside down.

Sergey Abdulmanov doesn't just juggle fashionable words about flexibility and adaptation - he masterfully reveals the true nature of business, where the one who survives is not the one who takes the hit, but the one who changes the rules on the fly.

• The game mechanics discussed here are not just about points and badges for the sake of it.
• They're about how to light up the eyes of employees so that "Monday" is no longer a scare, and KPI is no longer a curse.
• Examples from practice are like a hot sauce: not just for show, but to acutely feel how "game" can turn routine into an exciting competition where everyone wins - from intern to top manager.

Reading it, you literally feel how the authors pull you out of the swamp of corporate boredom, offering instead of dull "everything according to plan" - a bold strategy with elements of the game, where every minute and every move matters.

Who is the book for

This is not a place for armchair theorists and fans of dusty regulations: this text is addressed to those who itch to try something new, who are tired of corporate uniformity and are looking for a fresh wind in the sails of everyday tasks.

• Team leaders
• Startups
• Middle managers

Anyone who doesn't want to be a cog in a conveyor belt, but dreams of becoming an architect of exciting changes, will find wings to fly and an anchor of common sense here.

It doesn't matter whether you manage a network of coffee shops or build a digital empire: if you have the excitement to test established schemes and boldly add a dash of playful strategy to business processes, these pages will become your compass.

The author doesn't persuade you to "believe in a dream," but awakens the inner strategist and adventurer in the reader, pushing them to stop perceiving work as hard labor and see it as a space for maneuver, search, and experimentation.

About the author and his significance in marketing

Sergey Abdulmanov, Dmitry Kibkalo, and Dmitry Borisov are experts in the field of marketing and business who combine their knowledge and experience in the book "Business as a Game". All three authors have extensive experience in strategic management, marketing, and entrepreneurship, and each of them has made a significant contribution to the development of the domestic market.

Sergey Abdulmanov is a mathematician, Marketing Director of Mosigra and co-owner of an advertising agency. Author of the books "Business as a Game" (Business Book of the Year 2016 award) and "Business Evangelist". His experience in marketing and entrepreneurship helps companies develop effective strategies and achieve high results.

Dmitry Kibkalo is a mathematician from Moscow State University, game designer, and founder of Mosigra. He is also the author of the book "Business as a Game". Kibkalo is known for his game-based approach in business, which helps create innovative solutions and flexible strategies for companies.

Dmitry Borisov is the Commercial Director of Mosigra, known for his strict approach to work and non-standard management methods. His business experience helps build effective processes and strategies.

All the authors combine their efforts to offer a strategic approach to marketing and management based on the real experience of successful entrepreneurs.

The Place of the Book in Modern Marketing Literature

Against the backdrop of a dull series of similar business guides, where corporate strategies are presented with the dryness of accounting reports, this book breaks the usual patterns - as if challenging the textbook truths and pushing the reader out of their comfort zone.

On the shelves where tomes overloaded with abstractions and trendy terms are neighbors, the publication by Abdulmanov, Kibkalo, and Borisov bursts in like a marauder into a palace of outdated dogmas:

• you won't find tedious lectures about sales funnels here
• or dull infographics for the sake of infographics.

A practical vein pulsates - you can't take it away: the authors, like experienced taxi drivers, don't just point the way, but share real routes, where every traffic jam, every sharp turn is personal experience, not a borrowed quote from Western textbooks.

In modern realities, when the market changes rules as quickly as spring thaw, this publication becomes not a museum exhibit, but a living tool - on a par with those rare books that you want not to dust on a shelf, but to read until the pages wear out.

Relevance of the publication at the moment

In an era when the market environment daily throws new challenges ashore - from demand fluctuations to consumer whims - this work is like a compass in the hands of a lost captain: without unnecessary pomp, it indicates how not to drown in the muddy waters of change.

• The current environment dictates the pace of blitzkrieg - those who get stuck on yesterday's schemes do not survive here.
• The arsenal of solutions proposed by the authors does not sound like a set of worn-out dogmas, but like a fresh breath.
• The book has no room for mantras about “flexibility” just for the sake of it: the reader is offered specific tactics.
• The tactics were born in the boiling kitchen of real business, where success is measured not by likes, but by revenue.
• The publication instantly becomes a desktop advisor for those who are used to keeping their fingers on the pulse of change.

Fundamental Marketing Concepts

If we break down the essence of the book's foundations, the authors clearly reject the dusty cliches of "4P" and other museum classics. Instead, they build their arguments around living, dynamic categories:

• Marketing ceases to be a dogma from a textbook and turns into a dense forest that can only be navigated with the sharp axe of analytics and the lantern of empathy.
• Examples where familiar concepts like "target audience" and "positioning" gain real-life traits.
• Launching a board game created from scratch.
• Rebranding in the face of declining sales.

Figures, names, fragments of client dialogues — all this shines a light on dry definitions, making them pulse with real life.

Reading such chapters, you can't help but think: this is the living flesh of marketing, not a sterile skeleton that has been gathering dust on the pages of academic works for years.

Innovative ideas and modern trends

The flow of new ideas in this book is not just tickling the imagination - it makes you seriously think about how quickly familiar schemes become outdated against the backdrop of the rapid flight of today's realities.

• The authors, like mischievous children, pour out a whole box of colorful cubes on the table:
• The concept of "micro-experiments" - testing hypotheses on mini-cases instead of strategies that have been verified for years.
• Implementation of game mechanics in everyday processes - from "pumping up" the team to collecting feedback.
• The story of launching a new product is particularly impressive, where success is measured not in dry percentages of growth, but in the number of employees involved.
• The main idea of the book: the one who wins is not the one who crams the rules, but the one who knows how to improvise on the fly, picking up fresh trends - whether it's gamification, crowdsourcing, or working with communities.

You can feel that this isn't a discussion of truisms, but rather a generous sharing of real discoveries that still smell of ink and the excitement of a pioneer.

Applicability of Concepts in Modern Business

In this kaleidoscope of practical ideas, the pragmatic approach to their implementation shines particularly brightly: the authors do not engage in speculative reasoning, but ground each thought directly on the rails of reality - here and now.

Reading chapters dedicated to methodologies for rapid hypothesis testing, it is impossible not to feel how the usual business routine begins to crack at the seams, giving way to daring experimental courage.

• A case study on the implementation of elementary game incentives in the sales department:
• Result: increased engagement in training
• Conversion rates: jumped, as if on yeast

But not everything is so cloudless - the authors are so carried away by the idea of constant change that sometimes it seems that stability and systematicity are now almost a swear word.

Nevertheless, there is so much energy in these concepts that any business stuck in the swamp of corporate routine risks suddenly waking up and running to meet change - if, of course, it is not afraid of its own capabilities.

Case studies and examples from real business

When real-life stories flash before your eyes, where indicators don't stay on paper, but come to life — that's when theory turns into a tool. The authors shed light with particular enthusiasm on how the introduction of game scenarios in a team can not only invigorate the atmosphere, but literally revive tired departments:

• Implementing a system of points and achievements in one of the retail chains, where even the most hardened skeptics suddenly began to get drawn into the processes, like players on the final stretch.

These illustrations don't leave the reader indifferent: instead of a dry retelling, we see the living fabric of business, where every innovation is accompanied by concrete results — be it:

• Sales growth
• Accelerated communication
• An unexpected surge in "bottom-up" initiative

But in this whirlpool of experiments, the feeling remains: at times, the authors are so carried away by the enthusiasm of change that the risks remain off-screen — not every team can withstand such a pace, and not every team is ready for a marathon of endless innovations.

Nevertheless, it is these case studies that become a litmus test: here you can see how theory collides with reality, and the business itself gets a chance at a second wind — if, of course, it doesn't get scared of its own shadow.

Strengths of the publication

The special charm of this book lies in the authors' ability to translate dry corporate routines into a field of exciting experimentation: here, boredom resigns, and the thrilling energy of change takes center stage.

• Not just words, but carefully constructed chains of examples where numbers and emotions go hand in hand, making the narrative truly alive.
• It is particularly impressive how the authors are not afraid to show the underlying reality of implementing new approaches — not just the sweet taste of victory, but also the inevitable echoes of fatigue or resistance within the team.
• This is not a sterile instruction manual, but rather a guiding star for those who are not afraid to try, make mistakes, and rise again, navigating between enthusiasm and skepticism among their colleagues.
• It is clearly evident that the book does not teach, but rather engages, does not impose, but infects with an idea, allowing the reader to become a part of the experiment themselves.
• This is where the main strength of the publication lies — it does not just inspire, but provokes action, leaving behind a sense of inner turmoil and a desire to try something unusual tomorrow.

Critical Analysis

However, if you take off the rose-tinted glasses and examine the text under a magnifying glass, it becomes obvious:

• Behind the bright showcase of creativity and dynamics hides a pair of slippery banana peels on which even an experienced reader risks slipping.
• In an attempt to liven up the mundane routine of market battles, the authors get carried away with narrative in places, replacing specifics with inspiring slogans.
• Behind the abundance of game metaphors, it's easy to lose the thread of practical tools so necessary in real work with a team.
• Sometimes it feels like, behind the facade of emotional fervor, individual chapters lose their structural density.
• One wants more clear-cut cases, a dry residue that can be immediately sorted into the shelves of one's business experience.
• You catch yourself thinking: where are the specific instructions that can be armed with tomorrow, without risking drowning in a sea of figurative comparisons?

Such eclecticism is both a treasure and an Achilles' heel of this work, because not every reader is ready to exchange a step-by-step recipe for a charge of emotions and a portion of inspiration.

Tools and techniques for practical use

However, if you start to catch the "goldfish" from this kaleidoscope of ideas - working algorithms and techniques that can be put on the scales of practice - it's not as plentiful as promised on the cover.

• Yes, there are fresh schemes, such as analyzing roles in a team based on the principle of board games, where each participant is not just a cog, but a character with unique abilities, and this undoubtedly enlivens the corporate agenda.
• But when it comes to tools suitable for operational implementation, you have to fish out the grains: the authors seem to throw a handful of colorful chips at the reader, but do not always provide the rules of the game.

Take, for example, the section on strategies: instead of a clear map, there's a compass that points to the north of inspiration, but doesn't suggest how to avoid the reefs of routine tasks.

Sometimes you want to grab a marker and write down the missing instructions in the margins yourself, because the appetite for application grows, and the "menu" turns out to be more of a gastronomic guide than a step-by-step cookbook.

It's this very understatement that leaves a double aftertaste:

Popularity of the real publication

It's no surprise that this publication has caused a real stir: shelves of large retail chains are emptying faster than tickets for the Champions League final, and specialized Telegram channels and business chats are replete with quotes, as if a recipe for entrepreneurial vigor has been found.

• In corporate corridors, the book is discussed not as another business brochure, but as an informal textbook for the new era.
• It's packed in travel suitcases by top managers, and flipped through in coworking spaces by aspiring start-uppers.
• Individual chapters become a reason for debate at industry conferences.

The reason for such frenzied demand lies not only in the recognizable names on the cover, but also in the fact that the authors managed to hit the nerve of the times:

• When standard recipes have become boring.
• Fresh ideas are worth their weight in gold.

The book becomes something like a desktop map for those who prefer not just to follow the flow, but to try new routes.

However, it's worth acknowledging that some part of the readership, having caught the wave of enthusiasm, later sighs - they say they expected to find a treasure, but got a set of puzzles with elements of instructions.

Despite this ambivalence, the level of discussion and citation of the publication in professional circles speaks for itself - a rare case when even skeptics can't help but take a glance and make a note in the margins.

Other works by the author

Delving into Abdulmanov's creative heritage, it is hard not to notice that his pen belongs not only to the textbook "game" methodologies, but also to much more down-to-earth, it seems, texts:

• «Business on your own»
• Witty columns for specialized portals, where he skillfully dissects the sore points of Russian entrepreneurship.

Each of his works is not just another variation on the theme of success, but a unique laboratory where the author tirelessly experiments with form and content, revealing non-obvious mechanisms of business reality:

• Word of mouth in the era of digital noise.
• The failures of domestic startups, drawing conclusions that make you clench your fists.

Observing the evolution of his style, it is impossible to shake off the feeling that Abdulmanov is an author for whom business is not just an arena of victories, but also a field of intellectual battles, where each new publication becomes a kind of challenge to the reader:

• Are you ready to think bigger?
• Are you ready to think deeper?
• Are you ready to think bolder?

It is the consistency and inner honesty of his approach that makes all other publications an integral part of a single, albeit ambiguous, author's universe — it has room for mistakes, insights, and that very feeling when after reading you want not only to argue, but also to try, make mistakes, learn.

Comparison with other works by the author

Against the backdrop of earlier reflections, where the author generously shared survival tools among domestic realities, this work looks like a bright spot on the canvas — here you won't find the former instructive severity or academic dryness: instead, there's excitement, a certain daring lightness, and even irony towards familiar business dogmas.

• If previously he meticulously analyzed the mechanisms of word-of-mouth or the anatomy of startup failures with fanatical scrupulousness, now he seems to invite the reader to step onto a completely new board — with different rules, other stakes, and unpredictable moves.
• In his other works, there's a desire to arm the entrepreneur with marketing "workhorses"; here, the focus shifts to creating a unique gaming space where it's not so much about following others' strategies as it is about inventing your own tactics and enjoying the very contest.
• As if transforming from a desk analyst, Abdulmanov turns into a charming showman who isn't afraid to take risks and incite others to do so — thereby leading his audience beyond the familiar scenarios, forcing them to view business not as hard labor, but as an intellectual quest with elements of healthy adventurism.

Similar literature by other authors

If you try to lay out modern works on entrepreneurship on a chessboard of business literature, it immediately becomes clear: unlike the heavyweight works of Gleb Arkhangelsky or, say, the methodical tomes of Radislav Gandapas, there is not a trace of their heavy-handed pathos or corporate drudgery here.

• With Seth Godin — yes, there are sharp corners and provocative calls to flee from the comfort zone,
• with Dan Kennedy — dry step-by-step algorithms and uncompromising faith in direct marketing,
• but they lack that very spark that instantly turns any business situation into a dynamic game, where rules are sometimes made up on the fly.

And if Western gurus prevail with the cult of “guru” — follow me, and you will be happy, — here you are not fed the truth with a spoon, but encouraged to conduct your own experiment, to engage in a lively, genuine search.

Against the backdrop of these authoritative, but often predictable “textbooks”, the work in question is like a sudden joker in the deck: it not only teaches, but also provokes play, forcing you to re-examine your own beliefs and enthusiastically try new things.