WHITE PAPER: Playmaker System 3

Playmaker System 3

This downloadable white paper describes the evolution of the Playmaker Influence System, from the inaugural 1.0 system as originally presented in 2006, to the 2.0 system unveiled in 2012.

TAXONOMY SHIFTS  The Taxonomy of Influence Strategies, which now shrinks from 24 to 23 discrete plays, underwent a variety of modifications that improve its simplicity and precision while retaining its exhaustive makeup.

  • Classes and Subclasses Evolved The taxonomy’s classes and subclasses were modified and, in the case of the subclasses, reduced by one. In the classes, Condition-Control-Confront succeed Assess-Condition-Engage while Probe-Frame-Divert-Freeze-Press-Provoke replace Test-Divert-Frame-Freeze-Press-Preempt-Provoke.
  • One Play Added A new play, Reject, assigned to the Divert family of plays, describes shunning, snubbing and other forms of repudiation.
  • One Play Divided Fiat, a pushing and pressing play in Systems 1 and 2, respectively, has been divided into (1) Declare, which retains the Fiat’s iconography and strategies that express beliefs and intentions, and (2) Describe, which animates statements of fact and information.
  • One Play Distilled Concede assumes the strategies of contrition as originally embodied by the freezing play, Disco.
  • Six Plays Renamed To reduce the system’s use of colloquial or faddish terms, six plays have been renamed: Trial Balloon to Float, Screen to Project, Red Herring to Decoy, Mirror to Reflect, Lantern to Disclose, and Trump to Preempt.
  • Four Plays Removed and Transferred With the introduction of more precise criteria, Bear Hug, Crazy Ivan, Disco and Draft were removed from the Standard Taxonomy and transferred to a superclass as described next.

SUPERCLASS ENVISONED  A superclass of compound strategies has emerged that may help identify and eventually organize myriad other strategies observed in industry and society. Complementary to the Taxonomy of Influence Plays, this framework can theoretically yield up to 253 compound influence strategies, each comprised by pairs of discrete plays from the taxonomy.

Download your copy here.