JGR has tagged me in for this edition of Book Club. After all, a club should have multiple voices.

So, what if you ran your next meeting like it was a game of Dungeons & Dragons? If you’re not a nerd or somehow didn’t watch Stranger Things, then let me explain:

Dungeons & Dragons (or D&D if you’re cool) is a cooperative tabletop roleplaying game in which everyone pretends to be fantasy heroes: powerful wizards, dastardly rogues, valiant knights and such. One of the players in the group takes on the role of the game master, and that person guides all the other players through epic scenarios that build on each other to tell a story.

Think of it like playing out a season of your favorite television series, but instead of actors, there are players. Instead of scripts, there’s a lot of improvisation and dice rolling. Instead of big budget special effects, there’s your imagination.

It’s both as awesome and as nerdy as it sounds, and believe it or not, taking on the role of a game master and running a session of D&D can teach us a lot about running successful business meetings.

Player-Centric Focus

I’ve been playing some form of D&D since middle school, and The Game Master’s Handbook of Proactive Roleplaying is probably one of the best, most helpful books on running games I’ve ever read. I’ve taken the information I learned from the authors – Jonah and Tristan Fishel, a pair of brothers who are equally huge nerds – and applied it to the way I’ve run everything from small touch-base meetings to large group working sessions and even full-on lectures.

The Fishels’ guide to effective game mastering takes a player-centric focus on preparing for your game sessions. That means instead of the game master worrying about creating the fantasy world (aka the dungeons part of D&D) and all the obstacles, the game master relies on information given to them by their players.

To run a meeting like a player-centric game master, you need to focus on the skills and goals of the attendees.”

Josh Storey

Content Manager, PPAI

How does that work in a business setting? Well, let’s assume the game master is the person leading the meeting and the “players” are the other attendees. Each player in a session of D&D has a specialized role (wizard, thief, front-line fighter, etc.), and likewise, each participant in the meeting has a specialty: project manager, subject matter expert, account manager, etc.

The “dungeon” you’re navigating is the project or meeting topic, and the “dragons” are the obstacles in the way of delivering your work on time. (Usually, the game master is the one putting those obstacles in the way of the players, and a meeting leader’s role should be to remove them, but in both cases, the goal is to help the players/attendees succeed.)

In the Fishels’ “player-centric” approach, the game master identifies the players’ goals. What do their characters want to accomplish in the short term, the midterm and the long term? In a game of D&D, these could be things like finding the entrance to the secret stash of treasure (short term), acquiring magic armor and weapons from the stash (midterm), and slaying the monster threatening their town (long term).

In a business setting, the goals will relate to completing the project.

Know Your Teammates’ Strengths

Here’s the kicker that made me realize the Fishels’ book could be applied to a business setting: All of those goals need to be specific, measurable and tied to the broader project. You know, SMART goals.

To run a meeting like a player-centric game master, you need to focus on the skills and goals of the attendees. Instead of dominating the meeting time with lectures or explanations, come prepared with the context for the meeting and knowledge of potential obstacles.

Ask thoughtful, open-ended questions meant to facilitate unblocking the participants’ obstacles and helping them resolve their conflicts. Encourage attendee participation by knowing their specialties and calling on them to contribute when their expertise is relevant.

The handbook is filled with other ideas to create a productive, collaborative session. Even if your next meeting doesn’t feature a dragon, The Game Master’s Handbook of Proactive Roleplaying will make sure you’re ready if it does.

If you want to continue your epic journey through books that relate to both Dungeons & Dragons and business, I recommend Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master by Michael Shea and Never Unprepared by Phil Vecchione (an accomplished project manager in addition to an author of roleplaying guidebooks).

What should Jessica read next?

Her library of business books is large, but she’s always looking to build it out. If you have any suggestions for business books that are meaningful to you, please let her know at JGR@ppai.org, and after she gives it a read, she’ll share her impressions in PPAI Magazine.

Storey is a manager of content at PPAI.