🎙️ Yin vs. Yang in work and life (Building Better Games)
My podcast discussion with the Better Building Games deep thinkers
Look for a new interview every week discussing current and relevant game industry development topics!
Early last year, I joined the Building Better Games guys and discussed several topics I felt were important related to workplace culture.
Based on several messages and comments from this past week’s Monday Philosophy post (see below), I wanted to reshare that discussion as there seem to be some related and relevant topics from that podcast.
In particular, I think the concept of duality, situational context, and the many issues related to our work culture today are important topics to discuss and debate.
Stay tuned in the following weeks when new LiveOps, UA/marketing, and AIxGaming episodes are coming up!
🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts
Speakers:
Ben Carcich. Co-founder Building Better Games.
Joseph Kim. CEO at Lila Games.
Aaron Smith. Co-founder Building Better Games.
Aaron and Ben from Building Better Games have an excellent newsletter and podcast, which you should check out!
Building Better Games:
🍦 How to Keep an Open Mind During Difficult Times (from Building Better Games)
Thanks to many of you who have sent me nice messages about my last couple of Philosophy Monday posts.
I wanted to re-share this podcast from last year because, for those reading Philosophy Monday, some of the thoughts presented in the podcast discussion form the basis for other topics I hope to write about later this year.
These concepts regarding the duality of human existence, situational context, maintaining a liberal (meaning accepting different points of view) attitude, not assuming your own environment to others, zero-sum thinking, etc., form a lot of what I hope can enable some of you to let go of some allergic reaction to some of the things I may write about and hopefully bridge more understanding of why I write some of the things that I do.
Below is a summary of key takeaways to hopefully entice you to listen to the full discussion.
🔑 Key Takeaways
Duality of Human Existence: The concept of duality is a fundamental characteristic of life, the universe, and human existence. Understanding this concept is critical to a deeper understanding of a fundamental force that pervades our everyday lives and work.
Work-Life Balance vs. Hard Work Culture: Imagine work culture as flavors of ice cream. Shouldn’t we allow people to choose what they want for themselves? Some will choose family and free time as a priority, but why hate on those who choose to spend a period of their lives in intensive work as a priority?
The Value of Opportunity: Many employees discount the value of being given the opportunity to step up and learn a new role or be given more responsibility. For some, learning and personal skills development are more valuable than their salary.
Situational Context is King: Too many people do not understand situational context. An example of this is employees working at companies with scaled products that are highly profitable and assuming that all employees, even those at startups with limited cash trying to achieve product-market fit, should work just like they do.
The Role of Leadership: It’s incumbent on leaders not to treat employees unfairly. They should not ask employees to work or do things they themselves are unwilling to do. Further, rewards and compensation can be tricky, especially in companies where managers or leaders are not responsible for the success of the products they work on. For example, administration/live operations of a product that has already achieved scale.
The Pitfall of Zero-Sum Thinking: It's easy to fall into the trap of believing that for one to win, another must lose. If others choose a way of life, e.g., a hard work ethic, it threatens their choices and lifestyle. This zero-sum mindset can create an unhealthy attitude towards those who don’t live according to how they want everyone else to live.
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See you next week!