The Cranky Middle Manager Show #51 Managing at Electronic Arts
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #051
Ever wonder what it’s like to manage in the world of Video Game production? How do they grow managers in a business that didn’t exist 20 years ago? We talk to Matt Manuel who is in charge of a development team at Electronic Arts, the world’s most powerful video game company.
Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to the show. This episode is dedicated to Florence Nightingale, nurse and management pioneer. No kidding….. you also find out a bit more about my misspent youth than you should. Don’t tell The Duchess…..
3:10 Our quote of the week is from Leonardo Da Vinci…. for a dead guy he’s gotten a lot of press lately. A note to conspiracy theorists…You won’t find this quote hidden in a picture. If Leonardo had something to say he just jolly well came out and said it.
4:45 Welcome Matt Manuel. He’s the guy in charge of FIFA 2006… the project and the people.
8:01 So what does a Lead Development Director actually do? This ain’t an easy place to work, folks. It takes a “high level of commitment” which is a nice way of saying it’s all about overtime…..
9:39 This is what you’re listening for. What’s it like to manage in that environment? For one thing, I’ve never had to look for my employees on the volleyball court.
11:48 Managing at EA has some twists and turns. Matt tells us about the “Programs Manager” role- kind of an ombudsperson.
14:35 There’s a “Development Director’s Onboarding Program”. This is a cool way to get new managers up to speed. If you’re looking to work here, pay attention. I couldn’t get within 500 feet of the place but you might be better qualified than I am
20:18 We talk about some of the training and disciplines these folks go through. I like this approach better than the “boot camp” so many new hires have to go through.
23:00 A big thing was peer mentoring. I’m trying to get Steve Trautman as a guest for the show… stay posted.
27:00 Matt’s resources:
Manager Tools a great podcast and the boys do a great job even if they have wayyyyy more listeners than I do. I won’t let petty jealousy stop me from getting you to listen.
Microsoft Press for the techier side of things
And my alma mater, The British Columbia Institute of Technology
Don’t let the weasels get you down……
July 17th, 2006 at 5:25 am
[...] Welcome everyone. Today we follow up on the show we did with Matt Manuel at Electronic Arts by speaking to someone he recommended, Steve Trautman. Steve’s a former MicroSoftie with a practical approach to bringing new employees on board quickly using Peer Mentoring. Often discussed, seldom done right, peer mentoring should be part of everything we do with our teams…… [...]
December 28th, 2008 at 4:30 am
[...] things Andy does well is influence up…here’s a case study that also involves EA Sports (hear our interview with Matt Manuel at EA here…) Taking a staid, proud brand and involving it in video games is really [...]