First semester done.

6 weeks have gone by already.
First exams are over, now it is just to kick back and wait until the results tick in.
I delivered my Managerial Decision-Making term paper yesterday so now I have almost 2 full days of relaxation until term 2 starts Monday.
So Sunday is back to reading again.
But for now not one book shall be opened :O).
Besides there are rumors that a disco/70's party will be held to celebrate the survival of term 1, not bad!

Subjects done so far:
Managerial Decision-Making
Management Accounting
Organizational Behavior
Entrepreneurial Mindset (term paper)

The material read:

Friday already?

Looks like Friday is "Blogday" for me.
I can't believe 1 week has gone by already since I posted last time.

We have already finished our Organizational Behavior (OB) class at the school, a shame really, it is a very good subject, I really like it.
During the lessons we covered some ground I've had before, when I took my academy degree in leadership, but we also touched upon some new theories I have not had before.
All in all an excellent class and we could easily have benefited from 2-4 more lessons.
Of course that is my opinion :O) and I could be biased.

So what do you learn in OB that is so fantastic, well, you learn about people, or said in another way you learn to respect other people, to see their uniqueness, to tap into their strengths and to help them turn their failures into triumphs.
Without your team you don't have anything, without dedicated employees you might as well shut down your firm.

I see the skill set you acquire in OB as particular relevant to the games industry.
As I see it, the games industry is an "arranged" marriage between the extremely creative and the extremely technical. The main resource being creative and technically highly skilled and well educated people. To get the best of those talented people to join your team, you have to know how to treat them well, you have to know how to help them pursue and expand their skillset and for that OB is incredibly valid.

To me the modern games manager is not only about schedules and pipelines, he/she is also about coaching and developing an elite team of gamedevelopes.

Shadow of the Colossus,

I was just browsing through some old screenshots and found these beautiful pictures from "Shadow of the Colossus" so I thought I would share them with you.

Now in this "PS3/XBOX360" day keep in mind that this is from a PS2!









If you plan to play only one game in your life, choose this one.
Trust me, there is no other alternative.
The game is beautiful, unique and truly one of a kind.
Actually it is not so much a game as a journey, an emotional event.

For me alas it is a game I can only play once, going back and replaying it would never come close to the original experience, but that 1 time for me was quite a powerful experience and sufficient in its own right.

Term 1 exploded

So to speak.

Almost 3 weeks into term 1 unbelievable!
Time is a scarce commodity for me now.

We have Management Accounting, Managerical Decision Making and Organizational Behaviour plus of course the Leadership Development Process and Entrepreneurial Mindset on the side.

I have never read and assimilate so much knowledge so quickly.

When I get back from school, at either 1400 or 1700, I basically read until 00.00
The good thing about this pace and intensity is that borders between fields break down real fast and you start to see connections with more ease.
The drawback is that I would like to have the time go more in depth with each subject, I often feel that there is so much more knowledge available that could be beneficial.

Cognitive Coaching

Finished the Cognitive Coaching module today.
1st day (Monday) was dedicated to a lecture by Irene Oestrich (professor in cognitive therapy).
2nd day was dedicated to coaching in teams.

It has been quite a while since I read about and used coaching so all in all it has been quite a rewarding process for me.
I do like the cognitive approach and I can certainly see where coaching can come in handy when you are familiar with the techniques.
Used correctly, it is a tool that can help you to better understand what makes people tick, identify problems and achieve goals.

I feel like I have barely skimmed the surface though and I will have to make time in my reading schedule for some of the items on the reading list the class requested from the teachers. There should be time for this before I have hand in the paper based on the module (29th Oct.)

Leadership Discovery Process

Well into session 2 of the "Leadership Discovery Process" one of the things I really have been looking forward to.

So what is the "Leadership Discovery Process"?
Well here is an excerpt from the course description to clarify:
"The objectives of the Leadership Discovery Process are to develop your understanding of yourself, your leadership style, and appreciate the difference in other individuals and to enhance abilities to work with others in (high) performing teams. Furthermore the Leadership Discovery Process gives you a framework to enhance your ability to lead through others, and provides you with conceptual understanding necessary to lead the enterprise."


The Leadership Discovery Process includes modules in:

• Cognitive Coaching
• The Brain
• Team Dynamics
• Situational Leadership
• Human Understanding
• Preparation
• Leadership SIMULATOR
• Reflective Leadership

Bye bye bike.

This week has been pretty relaxing so far.
However my bike got stolen Monday, so I've had to spent some time finding a new one.
Second one I've had stolen since 2001.
Oh well s... happens.
Friday I am picking up my shiny new citybike, so it is not too bad.