Games Teach Biz Execs Leadership

Some of the most powerful technology executives in the Valley have listed why they love games and their important positive impact on business development.

Computer World contacted executives from some of the largest technology companies to take their opinion of game industry’s practical impact on the world.

Lee Congdon, Chief Information Officer of Linux distributor Red Hat, finds that games teach people three key lessons: taking advantage of trial-and-error experimentation, acting in the moment while strategically planning for the future and goal-planning.

Adobe strategist Max Randall, a LittleBigPlanet addict, believes the game reminds players that creativity is more important than technology.

“I’ve noticed that around our house, we often spend more time playing classic arcade games than some of the current state-of-the-art games. The new games are visually stunning, but the game play of some 20-year-old classics can be longer lasting and in many ways more satisfying,” he explained.

He continued, “Simplicity and elegant design can sometimes accomplish more than all the whiz-bang features in the world. Second, extreme technological limitations and constraints can drive creativity and innovation you might not have reached if you’d been given endless resources and technology. The creators of Pac-Man and Donkey Kong were able to push their primitive tools beyond all expectations and create engaging experiences that were entertaining and magical.”

Rahul Sood, the founder of VoodooPC who recently started Mirror’s Edge, was such a gamer that his company used real-time strategy games to teach decision-making and cooperation.

He stated, “Playing games like Command and Conquer helped us make crucial business decisions over the years. Playing C&C with our team reminded me of Sun Tzu’s Art of War, and many decisions that we made in our business can be paralleled with The Art of War.”

Most relevant to any employee, Facebook platform manager Gareth Davis reminded us of a lesson we’ve all already learned. He laughed, “I’ve learned to be wary of the end-of-level boss.”