Podcasts now available
I have started converting my favorite posts from this blog to Podcasts, using a text to voice engine. You can access them on Spotify if you prefer to listen than read.
Lessons for gaming and tech companies from the Peter Drucker Forum
Last year, I had the opportunity to attend (virtually) the The Peter Drucker Institute’s Forum on Leadership. What I found particularly compelling (and why I attended) was that the majority of the speakers were successful business leaders, rather than people whose primary calling was providing advice. I always prefer proven actions to theories. Below, I… Read More Lessons for gaming and tech companies from the Peter Drucker Forum
Chaos Theory, the Butterfly Effect, and Gaming
I have written several times recently about the need for resiliency and managing in a complex environment, given how unpredictable the world is and referencing Chaos Theory. Given the importance of the Butterfly Effect, the impact of Chaos Theory, it is worth expounding on the theory and consequences. An article in the MIT Technology Review,… Read More Chaos Theory, the Butterfly Effect, and Gaming
How to give help without micromanaging
A perpetual challenge leaders face is helping their employees without crossing over into micromanaging them. There are many areas that a leader can help his or her team members; they have become a leader because of experience and expertise. This assistance, however, can be counter-productive when it becomes micromanagement and inhibits the employee’s efforts. People… Read More How to give help without micromanaging
Measure yourself by your worst day
I once wrote that the true measurement of someone you work with (supplier, investor, etc.) is not how they normally act but how they behave in trying situations. The underlying principle is that it is easy to do the right thing when all is going well but you can understand a person’s true character in… Read More Measure yourself by your worst day
The keys to building a resilient business
Last year, the most valuable book I read was General Stanley McChrystal’s Team of Teams and I found his discussion of building an organization to deal with a complex environment particularly useful. The world today is very complex, with events everywhere impacting severely your business, yet most companies are built for a less inter-connected, albeit… Read More The keys to building a resilient business
Interview with Jay Powell on trends from 2020 and expectations for 2021
While I hate making annual predictions, it does not keep me from asking others what they expect. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Jay Powell, arguably the most connected person in the game industry, on the key trends he saw in 2020 and what he expects this year. Jay was one of the… Read More Interview with Jay Powell on trends from 2020 and expectations for 2021
Summary of posts September to December 2020
People Analytics for Online Gaming You need to align performance evaluations with the underlying factors that create success; deconstruct what leads to the outcomes you want and then assess people on those factors. Some common problems when evaluating people include context (attributing results to a person when the environment drove success or failure), interdependence (assessing… Read More Summary of posts September to December 2020
2021 Pre-Mortem: What went wrong in 2021
While it is impossible to predict the future — Chaos Theory shows that even very small events can have a huge impact — you can still prepare for likely scenarios. The uncertainty principle, a key tenet of quantum mechanics (as popularized by Stephen Hawking), postulates that perfect predictions are impossible if the universe itself is… Read More 2021 Pre-Mortem: What went wrong in 2021
The Power of Content
While even I take what I say with a grain of salt, Disney’s announcement last week about their 2021 strategy puts an exclamation point on the overriding supremacy of content (both quality and quantity) over every other variable in the entertainment industry. In April, shortly after the launch of Disney+, I expressed concerns with its… Read More The Power of Content
