David R. Smat

We've all dreamed about having a twin; physically identical in every way so that no one could tell you apart. My life has been exactly this; I am John Stone, the geeky MIT-grad now military intelligence officer (the "brain") and my identical twin brother Joe, who boasts a 25-year U.S. Special Forces career (the "brawn"). Our co-development of a TOP-SECRET DoD remote sensing technology unexpectedly catapulted us into a world in which we must secretly swap identities, requiring every bit of our ingenuity and training, to stay one step ahead of our captors just to stay alive. This is my story.

Inception of "The Playground Principle": I was recently asked by a graduate student at a presentation of mine, "If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?" My mind was sent spinning, crafting answers without understanding the question, so I asked, "Can you be more specific? I mean, If I could do exactly 'What' all over again?" "In other words, what can you tell me about achieving success in the workplace? What really matters?" she asked. I offered a few suggestions, but never came to a succinct response. After hours of retrospect since this encounter, a single theme comes to mind: Hone your people agility skills. Contrary to myriad management textbooks, the proficiency for effective working relationships is self-learned and developed over the years--at school recess. Here lies the inception of the "Playground Principle," a 6,000 word Top-10 of sorts, that will help resurrect these distant childhood and teenage relationship building experiences.