TEAM FOR THE WIN in Gaming industry
A great number of cases are showing that team is one of the top three reasons for startups’ failures. The challenges are numerous and diverse:
Lack of work experience – very often startups are founded by people soon who are professionally inexperienced but highly focused on the idea development. It is common that startups are not aware of the importance of the team and people capacities while creating value for the market.
Lack of skills for the real implementation of the business idea – usually startup founders are coming from the same fields and have the same backgrounds. They often lack business, marketing and sales skills and capacities.
Low capacity for collaboration – teams have a better predisposition to innovate, spot mistakes and problems faster and easier, and find better solutions to challenges by making suggestions for improvements. At the same time, teamwork can be frustrating, stressful and inefficient. The roles, responsibilities and communication between team members are often unfit and flawed, not adequately adapted to the existing resources and circumstances.
Low level of understanding the team’s capabilities and flaws – Having a lack of work experience is often connected to unrealistic projections and judgments. It can lead to being unable to identify real challenges, and to take for granted some strengths already accumulated within the team.
Specifics of the local business culture – some business cultures are putting emphasis on success and on the results. There is little or no focus at all on the quality of the process, the so-called way the business is run. The need is to create balanced conditions where the growth of the business will organically be connected to the team’s culture, values and purpose.
Having that in mind, Nova Iskra Innovation Lab created a capacity-building program TEAM FTW (for the win) that is fully focused on empowering individuals to become more valuable team members but also amplifying the potential of collaborative processes and to innovate, create and collaborate better.
The training was conducted two years in a row within the PLAYING NARRATIVES program generated by the Serbian Games Association. The program is especially intended for comic artists, illustrators, animators, creative writers, as well as those who deal with computer modeling or sound design. In short – everyone who can be a valuable member of the team that develops the concept of a video game, to meet and start the practical collaboration on their own game concepts.
TEAM FTW training is focused on understanding the powers and flaws in the team, designing the process in relation to the values, connecting with the purpose, making the right decisions and creating a real value for the users. Creating a team that is ready to grow and evolve in order to be ready for the new challenges and opportunities occurring in the local, regional and global markets.