LEADING CHANGE IN THE GAME INDUSTRY

By: Jeff Houchens

Leadership

Full Sail University

August 22, 2015

ABSTRACT

Leading change is about creating a vision within an organization, sharing that

vision with others through effective communication, and making long-term positive

changes through short-term goals and practices. As I continue to expand on my

personal developmental goals I will research several game industry leaders to

determine how they effectively lead change. I will also review Dr. Jennifer

Kahnweiler’s article, called The Introverted Leader, to learn additional steps I can

take to meet my goals. Finally, I will implement strategies that will help me take

those steps as a current and future industry leader.

Part I: Leading Change in the Game Industry

Sid Meier is one of the biggest names for simulation games in the game

industry. He has released major titles such as “Sid Meier’s Civilization” series, “Sid

Meier’s Starships”, and “Sid Meier’s Gettysburg”. He has also released many fighter

plane simulations back in the 1980’s, which started his career in the game industry.

Having one of the biggest names in the industry, Sid Meier is also a champion for

leading change. Throughout the last three decades, Meier has invented and

reinvented his simulation games and kept them interesting, meaningful and current.

Sid Meier leads change by consolidating improvements and sustaining the

momentum for change. Kotter (1995) explains that leaders use this phase to turn a

victory into motivation, to dive further into a company’s goals, to consider new

changes with new projects, and to move new people that are onboard for changes

into new key roles.

Jason Schreier (2013) talks about Sid Meier in a biography and highlights a

good example of how Meier led the industry even when he started making games

back in the 80’s. Jason explains that during the game industry crash in 1983, Meier’s

(then) company MicroProse continued to be successful by creating simulation

games he enjoyed. By focusing on growth and the future of change for his games

and not worrying about the stigma of the industry, Meier avoided losing momentum.

Within the next couple years, his small company was a multi-million dollar gaming

industry competitor.

Another way Meier leads change is by his ability to create a vision not only in

games, but also in his organization. Jason explains that when Meier helped create

Firaxis, one of his visions for the company culture was for everyone to have a

positive attitude. He didn’t like personal conflicts and anyone that had one was

dealt with right away.

I personally have experienced many personal conflicts in different

organizations and it is very distracting. It takes a lot of attention away from the day-

to-day work activities and I can only imagine how negatively it could impact a

gaming company where they need as much focus as they can get. It’s also rare to

find management that pays attention to individual personalities as much as Meier

does.

Another leader in the game industry is Hironobu Sakaguchi. Sakaguchi used

to work for Squaresoft (now Square Enix) and is the creator of the Final Fantasy

series: the game series that saved Square from collapse in the 80’s. Final Fantasy

VII, in my opinion, was one of the best games ever made. Rating websites such as

Complex.com and Gamesradar.com (n.d.) typically rate Final Fantasy VI and Chrono

Trigger (another game created by Sakaguchi) in the top 25 of games with the best

stories of all time.

Sakaguchi effectively led change in the game industry by empowering his

organization to act on his vision of the Final Fantasy series. Final Fantasy essentially

brought the fantasy RPG genre to America. Gek Siong Low (2001) describes in his

article called Coming to America how the series actually affected gamers. Prior to

Final Fantasy I, we didn’t really have any options for RPGs in America. Foreign

game companies assumed Americans weren’t smart enough to handle complex

game mechanics since we basically only played fighter or side scrolling games at the

time. With the release and major sales of Final Fantasy in the U.S., Squaresoft saw

how Sakaguchi created a masterpiece and changed their entire culture around the

series.

Today, console sales in Japan are at an all time low due to the growth of

mobile gaming. Azalea Pena (2014) elaborates that console sales are actually $1

billion below mobile gaming as of 2014. In the same article, Hajime Habata, the co-

director of Final Fantasy XV, explains that he believes Final Fantasy XV is the last

best hope for the console industry in Japan. For him to say he’s putting his faith on

the success of one game to determine the future of console gaming for an entire

country is something to be admired. It may be cockiness or it may be the truth, but

either way it speaks volumes for what Sakaguchi started some 30 years ago. What

is ironic about the Final Fantasy series is that it saved (then) Squaresoft from

financial trouble back in 1987 and it may be the last game that (now) Square Enix

creates.

So what makes Sid Meier and Hironobu Sakaguchi champions for leading

change in the game industry beyond what I’ve already mentioned? Their success all

started with their own visions and values. Their values were very different. Sid is

someone who is passionate about programming, he enjoys a peaceful office where

everyone gets along, and he likes to be left alone for the most part so he can work on

new games. Sakaguchi created a game he called “Final” back in the 80’s because he

thought it would be the last game he was going to create. The game was such a

success; it promoted leading change as much as Sakaguchi did and the series lives

on today. In essence, the vision of each person was shared by others even if they

didn’t intend it to just by being the natural leaders they are.

Part II

How could you use the The Introverted Leader 4 P's Process of Preparation, Presence, Push and Practice to Lead Change in fulfilling your Leadership Development Goals?

Dr. Jennifer B. Kahnweiler (2010) says the introverted leader can use preparation

by observing others with interpersonal skills and integrating their techniques. One of

my leadership development goals is to develop my charisma around the office. By using

preparation and watching others with charisma, I can take note of their techniques to

make my own personal method of approaching people. Once I’ve mastered that, I can

gain the teams trust and motivate them easier.

Kahnweiler (2010) says the introverted leader can use presence by “listening”

and “remembering to breathe”. One of my leadership development goals as a servant

leader is to build a bond with team members and help foster a community based

environment. By using presence and by listening to others, I can give them the

attention they deserve when they talk to me. When conflict or stressful situations arise,

I can remember to breathe so I can stay calm and professional. The leader at my

current job forgets to breathe when stressful situations arise. He then blows up at

whoever is in front of him causing additional stress and discomfort for everyone in the

office. To lead change, I want to ensure I never get into a situation like that.

Kahnweiler (2010) describes push as “pushing past fears to overcome them”. I

think that this has a lot to do with my situational leadership goal of navigating issues to

focus on tasks. As a leader, there’s always the fear of not leading everyone effectively.

The realization is that we’re all at work to do a job. Encountering conflict is going to

happen and I can’t be afraid of it. I need to push passed the conflict and help everyone

understand why we’re there. That way I can lead change in the office and help to

prevent future conflicts from happening while still being productive.

Kahnweiler (2010) gives several tips for how an introverted leader can practice,

such as “acting the part” and “strike up conversations in random places”. I’ve always

heard the phrase, “fake it until you make it” and I believe that to be very similar to

practice. A leader can’t automatically be social with all types of people. It takes time

and practice to get comfortable talking to team members, managers and other leaders.

As that leader, I need to take every opportunity I can to practice being communicative. I

think that striking up conversations in random places; especially with people I don’t

normally talk to, is a great way to practice my communication skills. Through better

communication, I will be more effective at communicating my vision to others.

Mystery Word: Confidence

References

Gamesradar.com (n.d.). The Best Video Game Stories Ever. Retrieved from:

http://www.gamesradar.com/the-best-videogame-stories-ever/

Kahnweiler, J. (2010). The Introverted Leader. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

Kotter, J. (1995). “Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail”. Harvard

Business Review, March-April 1995.

Pena, A. (2014). ‘Final Fantasy 15’ news: Game is last hope for dying console market

in Japan. Retrieved from: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/

final.fantasy.15.last.hope.dying.console.market.in.japan/

40477.htm.dying.console.market.in.japan/40477.htm

Schreier, J. (2013). Sid Meier: The Father of Civilization. Retrieved from:

http://kotaku.com/the-father-of-civilization-584568276