Thursday, July 13, 2006
Got Game?
How the Gamer Generation Is Reshaping Business Forever
by John C. Beck and Mitchell Wade
review by N. Sosulski
Those who come to this book hoping for the validation of their opinion that the gamer generation’s work ethic is as slack as the face staring into a console will be disappointed.
Beck and Wade address the impact that gaming has had on a generation of workers, pointing out that gaming is more universal than computer use, since games include web-based, arcade, and console games, as well as the handhelds toted by every child over 6. The authors make statements that a boomer finds ominous: gaming teaches that winning is everything; gaming is a formative experience which those who do not share it don’t—and can’t—get. Expecting dire portents to follow, the reader is reassured that the results of this are not bad—just different. Some surprises: according to the research, regular gamers
• report themselves as more people-oriented than their nongaming peers.
• are much less thrown by failure than the generations before them (thus the remarkably sanguine reactions of young Silicon Valley executives to the burst of the dot.com bubble).
• are more likely than nongaming colleagues to request remuneration that is closely linked to performance.
Beck and Wade do not simply offer up a sunny view of this new sector of the workforce, but make points that a manager or coworker would find useful in motivating or collaborating with people in this group. I found it insightful and an engaging and enjoyable read.
by John C. Beck and Mitchell Wade
review by N. Sosulski
Those who come to this book hoping for the validation of their opinion that the gamer generation’s work ethic is as slack as the face staring into a console will be disappointed.
Beck and Wade address the impact that gaming has had on a generation of workers, pointing out that gaming is more universal than computer use, since games include web-based, arcade, and console games, as well as the handhelds toted by every child over 6. The authors make statements that a boomer finds ominous: gaming teaches that winning is everything; gaming is a formative experience which those who do not share it don’t—and can’t—get. Expecting dire portents to follow, the reader is reassured that the results of this are not bad—just different. Some surprises: according to the research, regular gamers
• report themselves as more people-oriented than their nongaming peers.
• are much less thrown by failure than the generations before them (thus the remarkably sanguine reactions of young Silicon Valley executives to the burst of the dot.com bubble).
• are more likely than nongaming colleagues to request remuneration that is closely linked to performance.
Beck and Wade do not simply offer up a sunny view of this new sector of the workforce, but make points that a manager or coworker would find useful in motivating or collaborating with people in this group. I found it insightful and an engaging and enjoyable read.
