"This book provides game industry professionals management and leadership skills and tools to help them become better leaders. Focusing specifically on the unique challenges of the game industry, the book features examples, case studies, and successful strategies directly from the industry experts."--Publisher.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Start With Why and Leaders Eat Last, a bold framework for leadership in today’s ever-changing world. How do we win a game that has no end? Finite games, like football or chess, have known players, fixed rules and a clear endpoint. The winners and losers are easily identified. Infinite games, games with no finish line, like business or politics, or life itself, have players who come and go. The rules of an infinite game are changeable while infinite games have no defined endpoint. There are no winners or losers—only ahead and behind. The question is, how do we play to succeed in the game we’re in? In this revelatory new book, Simon Sinek offers a framework for leading with an infinite mindset. On one hand, none of us can resist the fleeting thrills of a promotion earned or a tournament won, yet these rewards fade quickly. In pursuit of a Just Cause, we will commit to a vision of a future world so appealing that we will build it week after week, month after month, year after year. Although we do not know the exact form this world will take, working toward it gives our work and our life meaning. Leaders who embrace an infinite mindset build stronger, more innovative, more inspiring organizations. Ultimately, they are the ones who lead us into the future.

Very few individuals or companies are perceived as being global leaders in their game. As a veteran leadership and organizational development executive of numerous Fortune 100 corporations, Karan Ferrell-Rhodes researched over 10,000 global high-potential leaders, to pinpoint how they rose to the top of their game in their profession or industry. After evaluating how these stars overcame inhibitors to reach the pinnacle of success that only 5% of the population achieves, her discovery was this simple yet powerful idea: Leaders become elite by providing differentiating value to an urgent, unmet need. In Lead at the Top of Your Game, Karan provides a blueprint how, you too, can be successful in carving out a niche to lead in your own game of choice, no matter if you are: ?An entrepreneur looking to catapult your business in a way that draws more raving fans?A high potential individual chartering your professional trajectory?A manager looking to invigorate your directs into an even higher performing team?A leader accountable for long-term sustainability in a hyper-competitive industry. In order to influence others in a way which compels them to follow your lead, she shows why it is critical to master: 1. Disrupting the game, by transforming your key strengths into key differentiators. 2. Owning the game, by honing your craft and showcasing the 7 Leadership Tactics That Drive Differentiating Value: Intellectual Horsepower, Courageous Agility, Strategic Decision, Intrapreneurship, Drive for Results, Executive Presence, Stakeholder Savvy. 3. Branding the game, by successfully associating your name, product, or service with your profession or industry. We are living in an era where even the most ambitious and rewarding work must fight for the attention of those it can serve the most. If you desire to learn how to lead at the top of your game in order to become successful in unexpected ways, realize the impact you want to make in the world and attract a legend of raving fans in the process . . . then this book is for you!

This book brings together the knowledge and perspectives of numerous past and present games industry leaders and practitioners to form a clear picture of how leadership operates in a game development studio. It identifies the ways in which things are changing or can change for the better in the games industry and provides a set of tools for the reader to use in their own professional practice. Embark on a journey with this book to understand how great leaders help make great games. These leaders embrace change through a broad set of skills intended to empower and nurture the teams they find themselves responsible for. Through the lens of three fantasy roleplaying classes – the Warrior, the Bard, and the Cleric – readers will understand the wide variety of skills and considerations involved in leading game developers well. This book will be of great interest to anybody curious about or currently working in games development.

A new edition of the bestseller that has helped aspiring leaders worldwide advance their careers and step up to larger leadership roles. You aspire to lead with greater impact. The problem is you're busy executing on today's demands. You know you have to carve out time from your "day job" to build your leadership skills, but it’s easy to let immediate problems and old mindsets get in the way. Herminia Ibarra—one of the world's foremost experts on leadership—shows how individuals at all levels can step up to leadership by making small but crucial changes in their jobs, their networks, and themselves. In Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader, Ibarra offers advice to: Redefine your job in order to make more strategic contributions Diversify your network so that you connect to, and learn from, a wider range of stakeholders Become more playful with your self-concept, allowing your familiar—and possibly outdated—leadership style to evolve Ibarra turns the usual leadership advice—generate insight about yourself through reflection and analysis of your strengths and weaknesses—on its head by arguing that you must first act and experiment your way into trying new things. The valuable external perspective you gain from direct experiences and experimentation—which Ibarra calls outsight—provides new and critical information on what kind of work is important to you, how you should invest your time, why and which relationships matter, and, ultimately, who you want to become. Updated with new examples and self-assessments, this book gives you the tools to start acting like a leader and advancing your career to the next level.

Leadership: A Communication Perspective has been at the forefront of university and college leadership courses for nearly three decades, providing a compelling, authoritative introduction to leadership as a communication-based activity. The new edition continues the tradition of excellence with an up-to-date treatment of theory and research combined with practical, real-world advice for improving communication competence and leadership effectiveness. Relevant: The authors profile contemporary leaders and organizations like Alibaba’s Jack Ma, Zappos’ Tony Hsieh, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, Uber, The Container Store, Airbnb, Chipotle, the Waffle House, Nordstrom, and Google. Their presentation balances current scholarship and trends with historical perspectives to provide a fuller understanding of the study and practice of leadership. Comprehensive: Leadership and followership are examined in multiple contexts, including organizational leadership, public leadership, and leadership in groups and teams. Topics new to this edition include transcendent followership, the leadership skills approach, team coaching, escalation of commitment, invisible leadership, cultural intelligence, trigger events, and resilience. Full-featured: Self-Assessments measure readers’ perceptions of personal leadership skills, communication style, cultural intelligence, motivation to lead, and more. Case Studies examine leadership situations and pose thoughtful questions that prompt students to apply their experiences and understandings. Research Highlights summarize seminal and recent scholarship. Chapter Takeaways reinforce important concepts and action steps. Application Exercises offer abundant opportunities to explore, practice, and reflect on chapter content. Cultural Connections discuss leadership expectations and behaviors in other cultures. Leadership on the Big Screen correlates chapter concepts with the themes of popular films and documentaries.

Prepare to be inspired by the story of Delane Parnell, the unlikeliest of CEOs now leading a gaming empire at the center of the booming, multibillion-dollar esports industry. Delane Parnell is not your typical tech entrepreneur. He was raised in a gang-riddled neighborhood on Detroit’s west side, bouncing between homes as his mother tried to make ends meet. Many of his closest friends and family members ended up in jail or dead. This makes it even more incredible that Delane became the 25-year-old founder and CEO of PlayVS, a Los Angeles company that is forever changing the gaming landscape in America. In 2018, esports— team-based competitive video gaming—became an officially sanctioned high school sport, meaning student gamers can now earn varsity letters just like their basketball and volleyball player peers. Delane’s startup is making that happen, providing the infrastructure that hosts the competitions, compiles the statistics, organizes playoff tournaments, and streams state championships for tens of thousands of students across the country. Ahead of the Game is a deeply reported narrative that tells the story of Delane, the motley group of underdogs and hustlers that helped build his several-hundred-million-dollar startup, and the previously overlooked students now participating in America’s growing esports phenomenon. It’s a tale of perseverance, courage, loyalty, race, family, tragedy, and believing you can overcome the odds—no matter how severely they’re stacked against you. Readers will also: Learn how the growing Esports industry is changing the lives of students across the country who were previously not engaged in the high school experience. Get a glimpse into a successful entrepreneur path unlike any other by following the story of how Delane Parnell created PlayVs in spite of the greatest of challenges. Be inspired that there is hope and opportunity available to people who go against conventional paths to realize their dreams. With a foreword by Sean "Diddy" Combs