Today’s guest is Scott Novis. Scott is a serial entrepreneur. His first company GameTruck has entertained more than 10 million children, and his latest business aims to bring video game fun to adults. Bravous Esports works with colleges and businesses to help people make friends through play.
In this episode we discussed how technology is quickly changing with the introduction of the block chain, NFTs, and the meta verse. How the era of always answering a ringing phone has ended, and how we need to adapt our communication and leadership styles to meet our current age.
Scott and I went deep in discussion of how to run a business virtually and how to form meaningful relationships with co-workers. He shared why it’s important not to treat your peers and employees as vending machines or robots.
Finally, we discussed the importance of play and how Scott is reinventing team building, and helping teams learn how to work together to solve big and complicated problems.
In my conversation with Scott, you’ll discover:
-How computer coding has changed from the GenX generation to now…01:30
-Metaverse: there is more information about everything out there…04:50
-We are at the tip of the spear right now and everything will change again soon…06:30
-There is no need for referees in digital gaming; software takes care of it…08:20
-“If you want to change someone’s behavior, give them a better tool”…11:00
-Manage outcomes, not people…14:05
-Asynchronous meetings to communicate progress…16:55
-Managing personnel remotely; how to hold employees accountable…18:55
-Validating an employee’s point of view (whether you agree or not) creates trust and safety…24:10
-“Water-cooler” spontaneous moments in the virtual space…27:00
-Whenever the exchange between two humans becomes transactional, software replaces that relationship…30:30
-The flexibility virtual work provides allows for a more robust personal life…32:30
-How to introduce PLAY into the work space…34:55
-Make it safe for adults to learn something new in front of others…38:40
-Transfer the benefits learned during play into the work the team does…40:40
-“It’s OK to make mistakes”; training this mindset through game play…42:50
- Errors of effort vs. errors of indifference
-How to screen for disengagement in the virtual workspace…45:50
-Video games teach us about clarity and feedback…48:20
-Where to find out more about Scott and bring more play to your workplace…50:10
-The games he designs help improve communication; when it’s fun, it happens much faster…52:10
Resources mentioned:
Guest’s social media: