“Ask Iwata” is a short booklet with a collection of enjoyable insights from the legendary Nintendo CEO. What’s interesting is some of the philosophies to work (and play) within a gaming company. Incidentally, a company that works to create play.
It was really evident how much this team loved making games and solving difficult problems (‘a good idea is an idea that solves multiple problems in a flash’).
But there’s a recognition that work ‘is tough and full of unpleasant tasks. Some degree of perseverance is essential. Still, whether or not that job is fun for someone depends a great deal on the breadth of their idea of what they’re able to enjoy’.
What I found really interesting was how closely a game’s success is related to motivation and effort – and how this is equally applicable in the workplace. ‘When the reward feels greater than the energy and effort we’ve expended, we don’t give up. But when the result of all our efforts is a disappointment, we tend to fail.’ Of course this beautifully basic insight applies to many other aspects of life: learning a language, sport, losing weight, escaping an addiction, progressing a career, but it seems to be that games have been at the forefront of figuring out the magic formula.
In games you have a clear mission, you can track your progress, you get rewards as you continue, overcome hurdles, fail multiple times, and ultimately win. For most people, in most jobs, they have none of this. Not even a clear mission to start with.
I think there has been a fad of ‘gamification’, and trying to gamify everything which I think often misses the point. It’s not about trying to convert a boring task into a game, it’s about direction, progress and feelings of success. And even appreciation.
Iwata’s approach to praise is also coherent with this notion: “When the going gets tough, if we’re not praised for our efforts, it makes things even harder. … Conversely when the company is praised out of proportion for its efforts, it starts to feel like everyone can breathe more easily.” I have witnessed so many times in workplaces how when the going gets tough, the reaction is that more pressure and more control is added, which, instinctively I never understood, but didn’t really know why.
I now feel (re)emboldened to praise out of proportion (and why not!) for people’s efforts, especially when it’s tough.
I’m glad to have seen that a positive and supportive approach does work, and I’m glad to read it from the CEO of a successful company and the Godfather of modern gaming.