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Boss By Day, Gamer By Night
Ant writes "Computerworld queried seven executives at some of today's top tech firms to learn how they started gaming, what they play now, and how their virtual skills translate to the real world of the office. Alan Cohen, vice president of enterprise solutions at Cisco Systems, had this to say: 'Now, increasingly, games are Internet 2.0 encounters. They're all about how well you work together with others any time, any place, with players from around the world. Rock Band 2, World of Warcraft, even Guitar Hero promote the shared experience and are all about how together we can do more, be more, compete better than we can by going it alone. That's right in line with how the corporate environment is evolving: You can play (or work) anytime you want, and you have to compete and collaborate on a global basis in order to succeed.'"
So this brings in that old question of play vs work. Do you keep them separate?
What if your counter strike team smeared the bosses last night?
That's right in line with how the corporate environment is evolving: You can play (or work) anytime you want, and you have to compete and collaborate on a global basis in order to succeed.
Almost every job requires collaboration and "team player" is a resume keyword that HRM's always look for. Unfortunately the people most successful at "team work" are the least effective at work.
Emphasis:
You can play (or work) anytime you want
In the "corporate" environment there doesn't appear to be much difference. It's just like school for most people.
1) Some challenges require multiple people
2) Some tasks are easier to do alone
3) You have to communicate in order to avoid failure
4) Everyone knows who sucks the most
5) You're doing it for the stickers!
Well, we don't smoke crack, but I had a beer chugging contest with my boss this past Saturday.
I won. He declared a rematch on New Years Eve.
Boss By Day, Gamer By Night...
Idiot by life.
As a bit of background, I'm a 100% telecommuter from my home on the East coast, with the vast majority of my company based in Silicon Valley. I don't get as much in the way of facetime with the team - in ~6 years working this way, I've met my boss (and the rest of the company) less than 5 times. We're friendly for sure, but the distance does occasionally make for strained work relationships.
A year or so back, during a weekly internal conf call, I heard several of the higher-ups talking about their WoW PvP experiences. I had no idea they were gamers, and they apparently didn't know I was either. I decided to share that, and found they were entirely cool with my gameplay, even enthused. At the time, I was a regular in a casual raiding guild (semi-weekly raids, months behind uberguilds), so I was able to share some tips with the gang about stat builds, leveling strategies etc. I even went so far as to critique the gear of my boss's boss's level 70 pally, giving him tips on what to pick up to prep for tanking for their guild.
Since then, we've all stopped WoW'ing regularly, but the experience and sharing was really worthwhile. It certainly wouldn't be appreciated at every company, but use your judgment, and perhaps discussing, even playing, with your coworkers is worth the risk.
RW
So what?
They should have the maturity to deal with being owned. Any boss that can't handle it either needs to get out of gaming, or learn to play.
Job? I don't have time to get a job! Who will sit around and bitch about being broke and unemployed then?
So play co-op campaigns in Left 4 Dead.
He'll appreciate it when you knock that hunter off of him, and you'll keep your damn mouth shut when he fails to do the same.
Just watch the friendly fire.
at which point my brain switch flipped to the "off" position and the screen went fuzzy as drool started dripping from the side of my mouth.
There are an infinite number of cliches surrounding communication, saying what you mean, etc. People don't say what they mean, people say what they must in order to show respect and position.
For example, if you are a guest at somebody's house, it's polite to ask for what you need, rather than simply state the need. You wouldn't say "where's the bathroom" unless it's a rather close friend. Instead, you'll say something like "Do you mind if I use your restroom?".
Which, if you think about it, is pretty silly. The question might be completed as: "... instead of crapping in my pants?"? but that's not what we say.
Phrasing our need as a question establishes a sort of pecking order - we are acknowledging to the host(s) that it's his/her/their place, and that we are, for a time, subservient to their wishes. We know they don't want us to crap in our pants or on their carpet, and they most certainly don't want to offend us - they will basically *always* say yes, and then often make a point of making sure that our bathroom experience is pleasant by offering towels, etc. The host is indicating to the guest that the guest is welcome.
It's a complex dance that those who are aware of (who are "polite") partake of in interacting with other people. It's how we, as social mammals, determine pecking order and expectations for code of conduct. Guys open doors for women, regardless of age or size, and let the ladies go first. Guys open the car passenger door for the lady, but the lady had better reach over and unlock the driver's side door... etc. etc.
The question is: are video games are distinct? Is the agreement is that Video games are a different reality, having no bearing on this one? Are they are distinct from the workplace?
If the agreement for this question is "no", and your boss is pissy because you fragged him, he does not deserve to be your boss. But there could easily be circumstances where showing up the boss could carry grave repercussions, just like beating him at golf. Here you are, a guest at the boss' house, and rather than ask to use the bathroom, you walk in like you own the place...
Sorry to say it, but manners matter.
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
lol
Yeah, this is an interesting one. I think the flow of skills between gaming and management is a two way thing, although only in fairly specific circumstances.
I don't honestly think that just playing the average platformer, rhythm game, first person shooter or beat-em-up really adds much at all to your work-place skills, beyond a bit of hand-eye co-ordination. Even playing team-based online shooters doesn't necessarily help.
However, once you move beyond simply playing the game and move more into the community side of things, you can start to pick up some seriously useful experience.
When I was looking for "proper" work after finishing up my post-grad (as opposed to the summer jobs I'd had while a student), I ended up passing the initial intellectual aptitude tests and getting through to the assessment centre stage for one of the most competitive graduate recruitment schemes in the UK (over 15,000 applicants for around 400 places, in the year I applied). I was up against people who'd done internships in national newspapers, travelled the world doing interesting things, been president of umpteen student societies and so on. By contast, my own experience was a few summers of boring (but fairly well paid) tech support/web design and administrative work, a bit of political canvassing and way too much time "wasted" on gaming. "Ok", I thought, as I got myself ready, "I'm in trouble now".
So, I cast around for other things I could talk about that I'd done. Pretty much the only really striking thing was that I was the (unpaid) head admin of a fairly large European-based Counter-Strike league. This was basically something I'd moved towards by degrees; from being a player in a team in the league who was perpetually frustrated by its organisational problems, to being a volunteer admin who refereed matches and mediated disputes to being the head admin, who recruited and managed the other admins, negotiated with sponsors for better server hardware and moved the league from a free-to-play to a subscription basis.
So in the absence of other options, I decided to take a huge risk and focus on this experience at interviews, hoping and praying that I would get an interviewer who wouldn't just dismiss it as some computer-game silliness. My heart sank when I found that my interviewer was a 60-ish guy in a suit. However... the interview went stunningly well; he asked me about the differences between managing a paid team and a team of volunteers (particularly in terms of dealing with poor performers), the difficulties in getting "customers" used to having something for free to pay for a product, the challenges in negotiating with financial backers and so on. And I was able to answer all the questions fluently. He didn't have a clue about computer gaming and admitted as much, but the management and business sides of what I'd done were perfectly relevant. I passed the centre and still have the same employer 6 years later (having moved up a few pay bands in the interim).
Of course, head admins of leagues are pretty few and far between and I think the old concept of the "unpaid volunteer head admin" has largely died out as fps gaming becomes more professionalised (a move which was already starting back then and which I've never been comfortable with). However, I think there are other aspects of gaming which can have a positive impact on your business skills - as well as some areas where a management post at work can have a beneficial impact on your gaming.
MMOs almost inevitably present the best examples, particularly if you have a raiding guild (or the non-WoW equivalent). A middling-hardcore raiding guild (which is to say, a guild which takes raiding seriously, but whose members have jobs and some vestiges of social lives) is an organisation held together by varying degrees of cameraderie, traditions and naked self interest. Much like the average work-place, in other words. You have the ambitious newcomers who want to change everything. You have the burned out old-timers who think the guild owes the
I've been saying this for decades but nobody listens till some fancy Cisco exec says it.
"If the agreement for this question is "no", and your boss is pissy because you fragged him, he does not deserve to be your boss. But there could easily be circumstances where showing up the boss could carry grave repercussions, just like beating him at golf. Here you are, a guest at the boss' house, and rather than ask to use the bathroom, you walk in like you own the place..."
Except in cooperative games there's no location and no ownership. A social order based on merit, not a pecking order based on who's footing the paycheck.
Why makes you think you could beat your bosses if they played your games?
Blizzard leads Ariel and Tigole were both Guildmasters of Legacy of Steel, an accomplished EQ raiding guild.
They both ran it as beneficent dictators, and the guild prospered under (with?) the skills that can easily be translated to same skills making game development, seen as a business, successful.
Which can precisely be the problem if the natural, merit-based pecking order is at odds with the imposed hierarchy. I've known enough managers that found themselves in the difficult position of being the natural second fiddle to some of those they were supposed to be managing. One of them handled it well in paying great attention to what they were told and learning rapidly. The other was so well respected for the areas that they were more suitable to lead on that it wasn't an issue. The rest of them all handled it by being complete arseholes to their staff.
Work is an unnatural hierarchy most of the time. There is none of the evening out of status over time that occurs in natural groups. The loop of feedback is distorted by power (in both directions). That is why it is often best to keep a strict boundary between the work and life, unless one wants to consider your manager your superior in your social life as well.
Aide-toi, le Ciel t'aidera - Jeanne D'Arc.
I dunno, I used to beat my boss regularly at bowling, and that's saying something as I am an absolutely shitty bowler, never caused a problem.
Well, the first time I ever played Starcraft I schooled my boss at it. It was about an hour long game... he was gracious about it though. :)
:P
Then again now I work at a game dev company so it's a lot harder to do that.
Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
Spoken like someone that has failed the Corporate achievement.
More proof that the way you get to the top is that you are able to take any random topic and mix it with your standard corporate buzz words to make you sound like you are a genius. I couldn't get past the summary. Corporate America is a joke if they are relying on their gaming skillz to get us out of this mess and move forward. Here's a clue, we didnt dominate during/post WW2 because we sat there all day talking about WoW. Now get off my lawn.
For a moment, I thought this was about the AI for the Lich King kicking back and playing some Neopets or something during server upgrades.
UTF-8: There and Back Again
Careful, if they're a Slashdot moderator, they'll have a huge leg up.
Now when I tell my employees I want to spawn kill any new competitors, they nod with understanding.
Pretending this is my office full of bitter coworkers..
For example, if you are a guest at somebody's house, it's polite to ask for what you need, rather than simply state the need. You wouldn't say "where's the bathroom" unless it's a rather close friend. Instead, you'll say something like "Do you mind if I use your restroom?".
Which, if you think about it, is pretty silly.
Sorry to say it, but manners matter.
Pretty deep!
I'm the Director of IT at a small company and also a gamer, but I hardly consider any overlap between my pastime and my work.
But there could easily be circumstances where showing up the boss could carry grave repercussions, just like beating him at golf.
Golf, like WoW or Counterstrike, is a game, and as such is a friendly contest. If the boss thinks you're "showing him up" and gets antsy when you beat him at anything (golf, counterstrike, wow) then he's insecure about his position in your company. Now's the time to strike. :P
Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
That breathes new life into an old joke:
Q: A worker and his boss are playing Counter Strike. How can you tell the teams apart?
A: The boss doesn't say "oops" when he lands a head shot.
Completely agreed. And also of significance in real society is the distinction between causing the base to be "owned" versus beating him in the game. If you happen to play a round of golf with Tiger Woods, you would expect to be given a handicap or some general type of advantage to compensate you for the vast difference in skill. If he blows you out and wins by 40 strokes, that just makes him a jerk.
One of my bosses at Fancy Law Firm was an avid gamer, and praised me after a firm-sponsored Halo night for my "great leadership skills."
Skills like "Seth, I've got the flag, get in the truck! GET IN THE TRUCK!"
For example, if you are a guest at somebody's house, it's polite to ask for what you need, rather than simply state the need. You wouldn't say "where's the bathroom" unless it's a rather close friend. Instead, you'll say something like "Do you mind if I use your restroom?". Which, if you think about it, is pretty silly. The question might be completed as: "... instead of crapping in my pants?"? but that's not what we say.
I disagree. We are really asking, if we don't know the person well, if their bathroom is functional and available. Their bathroom may be under remodel. Maybe be flooding. Their water might be shut off.
In all of those cases I would hope that you don't shit yourself.
Out with the boss on new years eve. Way to have no life.
If the boss is kewl then what does it matter? I have had bosses like this. Even when I was the boss before I changed my career, I hosted LAN parties. I supplied the equipment(minus their own boxes) and refreshments, all it took was an email and 2 weeks later people show up. If you and your boss have a good business relationship and have a few things in common, you are good to have a long lasting job. Just don't go and break that trust or screw off at work.
"That's right...I said it."