A Hall Of Fame Game Inventor And Executive Tells The Inside Story Of The Toy Industry

(MENAFN- EIN Presswire)

A Game Maker's Life

Jeffrey Breslow

A GAME MAKER'S LIFE by Jeffrey Breslow with Cynthia Beebe

Jeffrey thinks clearly, leading to thinking independently. Thinking independently leads to thinking confidently and living confidently leads to living courageously.” — Edward Zagorski, industrial design professorUNITED STATES, August 30, 2022 /EINPresswire.com / -- Starting with a literal bang, Jeffrey Breslow 's memoir, A GAME MAKER'S LIFE : A Hall of Fame Inventor and Executive Tells the Inside Story of the Toy industry (Post Hill Press; August 30, 2022) is the gripping account of how the inventor held his company together after an employee opened fire in the Marvin Glass and Associates conference room in 1976. The gunman killed two of the Chicago firm's partners and an employee and critically wounded two more employees before killing himself. Jeffrey Breslow, a partner, missed taking a bullet only because the gunman didn't see him—he had just stepped into an adjoining office to take a phone call. The gunman left behind a hit list of fourteen names. Breslow later learned his name was second on the list.

Before the shooting, Breslow was the youngest partner of toy industry giant Marvin Glass and Associates at 33 years old. After the shooting, and despite his youth, Breslow's partners voted him in as managing partner. Thrust into leadership by default, he faced incredible challenges, including consoling the families of the victims, dealing with the staff's PTSD, and rebuilding a sense of safety and morale. He was also determined to keep the successful but reeling business alive. He needed a miracle—and he got one. His partner Howard Morrison created a blockbuster, Simon, which Smithsonian Magazine said,“ushered in the era of electronic games.” The firm was back in business.

In spite of the tragedy, Breslow still felt incredibly lucky. He had a wonderful job that most employees only dream about, enabling him to“play” for a living inventing games. Marvin Glass had personally hired him in 1967, and since then he had thrived as a toy and game inventor. Glass soon dubbed him a“boy genius” and made him a partner after 18 months on the job.

From the first iconic toy Breslow developed called“Bucket of Fun,” he gifted us with some of the most memorable toys of childhood, including: Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, Ants in the Pants, Fashion Polly Pocket, Guesstures, Hot Wheels Criss Cross Crash, California Roller Baby, The Animal and Masterpiece. The secret to his success was creating games that each player thought they had a chance of winning. Clients at Glass and Associates included Milton Bradley, Parker Brothers, Ideal Toy, Fisher-Price, Playskool and many others.

Breslow rose to the challenge and learned to:
•Consistently do the unexpected.
•Never take“no” for an answer.
•Help employees maintain their well-being.
•Unlock the secrets of pleasing clients.
•Be persistent, especially if an idea was unusual or cutting edge.
•Hire more women. Half of toy customers are female and yet women were underrepresented at his company.
•Find mentors – they don't just come to you.

Breslow would go on to an unprecedented career. He is the only toy designer to win the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval twice, and was inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame in 1998. It's surprising that a man who played for a living had his leadership mettle forged in crisis, but A GAME MAKER'S LIFE is more than a memoir, it's a guide to success under pressure, rebuilding a business and learning how to honor those who were lost—by bringing joy to children and families around the world.

A GAME MAKER'S LIFE is available on Amazon and other popular retail outlets where books are sold.

JEFFREY BRESLOW, a preeminent toy and game inventor and designer, spent more than 41 years inventing toys and games since graduating with a BFA from the University of Illinois in industrial design. In 1976 at the age of 34, he became the youngest managing partner of Marvin Glass and Associates, the leading toy design company in the world. Glass and Associates created games such as Simon, Operation, Guesstures, the Evel Knievel Motorcycle, Mousetrap, and UNO Attack! Breslow was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in New York City in 1988 and left the toy business in 2008 to sculpt full time. His sculptures are on display at the University of Illinois and the Lurie Children's Hospital and on permanent display in Vermont, California, New Jersey, and Uruguay. Visit .

Deb Zipf
Meryl Moss Media Group
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