Today's Gamers, Tomorrow's Leaders?

slash-sa writes "Video games have become problem-solving exercises wrapped in the veneer of an exotic adventure. In today's fast and rapidly-changing business environment, the strategic skills they teach are more important than ever. From realistic battlefield simulations to the building of great nations, from fantastic voyages through worlds of mythology to conquering space, "Generation G" could well offer the answer to unlocking great 21st century strategists and leaders."

Comments

Re:played online games much?

[Endo13]

The difference is, MMOs give you a chance to work on actual leadership with real people who all have their own real goals, in a situation where you're called upon to lead anywhere from 5 to 40 (possibly more, depending on the game) people. And for a measly $15 a month. Let's see you put together a 20-employee (or even 5, for that matter) soccer team or lawn mowing company for a $15/mo investment.

Oh yeah, and most people play WoW on the $300 PC they bought for e-mail and web browsing, so you can't count in the equipment as part of the investment.

Let me stress again, the important thing to consider here is that this is not a simulation. You're not going through some leadership or management program your employer provides for you, where they try to simulate various scenarios. It's real people, who all have their own personalities and wants, and they'll darn well let you know what those are.

I myself am not by nature a great leader. I'd never want to try to run a guild or lead a raid. But I've often found myself leading by default in 5-mans simply because I'm more skilled/experienced at whatever we're doing, and it's definitely improved my leadership skills.