People tend to demean gamers in general; however gamers often tend to be the best team players. The one thing about gamers though is that they tend to not do well in social interactions due to some feelings of inadequacy. Due to this they are often looked down on and passed over for more persuasive less qualified people.

As an active gamer as well as someone that is employed online I can only echo the sentiments expressed above. Far from being only the realm of inarticulate and socially inept 'nerds' as we're often percieved to be, the truth is gamers are hungry for challenges, intelligent, quick thinking and particularly in the case of player-vs-player type combat, able to adapt to changing situations with great skill.

Gaming is no longer about a niche - gamers are represented by virtually any age group, country, ethnicity, economic, professional and educational status...and gender.

Its nice to see that some of our skillsets are being seen from outside the 'realm' - to someone he may be a frost mage, to someone else, he's a quick-thinking, adaptable, competitive employee with a desire to succeed and the intelligence to make it happen.

What more could you want?

IBM actually did a study around this very topic back in June of 2007. You can read about it here:

http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/index.wss/ibvstudy/gbs/a1028184?cntxt=a1005263

Our survey indicated there were six key lessons that leaders could glean from the online game environment:

1. Apply virtual communication tools and facilitation techniques to more effectively connect people from around the world.

2. Use collaborative spaces to gather knowledge, express ideas and concerns and share passions.

3. Spend more time on setting organizational context and communicating where the organization needs to go.

4. Improve the visibility of both formal and informal skills.

5. Use dashboards linked to collaborative tools to capture key realtime information about people, activities and outcomes.

6. Provide more frequent guidance and link performance to recognition.

Great article Doug :D

Being a gamer the above is written powerfully!

I also agree with some of the comments that have been made. I think that being a gamer has taught us skills out in the real world that we can use as well. I feel very strong at multitasking as well as my typing skills have improved because I have learned to get quicker in typing so I can throw out casts from my characters quicker as well.

"The key to achievement is teamwork, and the strongest teams are a rich mix of diverse talents and abilities."

Is a great key in the writing because it takes all kinds of people just as it takes all kinds of characters to make something work. Just like in the real world.

"Together, these five attributes make for employees who are flexible, resourceful, improvisational, eager for a quest, believers in meritocracy, and foes of bureaucracy. If your organization is receptive to these traits (and it should be), look for gamers and the disposition they will bring you."

Who ever thought right?

Great writings done!

Go gamers!

I totally agree, and am a case in point to this discussion
At age 28 I was strapping sattelite TV dishes to domestic properties, and wanting to have a real career not just a job
At age 29 the firm provided my with my firts ever PC, a HP 4509 with a whopping 64 megs of ram and 4 mb shared video memory, and it came with a game called Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator

Age 30 CFS2 was released and the company PC could not handle it

Off to websights to search for upgrade advice...9 years later I have completed A+, Net+, MCSA/E, currently sitting through labs for Longhorn, and am Systems Administrator for a New Zealand Governement agency.I am currently playing Guild Wars, WOW, MOH Airborne, BF2 and about to purchase COD4 (bought an 8800gtx just for it)
I ran up 3,800+ hours in Guildwars while holding a full time job, studying and supporting my family, and now at 38 I have a REAL career, largley due to online gaming.

Lets see a Baby-boomer multitask as well as I have this last 9 years! (Actually, wouldnt be surprised as my 68 year old Dad has just re-built his PC to handle Maple Story...each to thier own)
Well done Harvard for recognising what employers in IT already know, the Gamer is 1337 through and through (thats Leet[elite] to all you noobs that cant play games)

I agree with your observations. One thing that interests me is whether games make people more this way, whether games attract people with these attributes or whether games just make it easier to filter for people who have these attributes.

I assume it's sort of all of the above. I've seen people learn and change as they play games, but I also note certain personality types that do well in these environments.

I do think that gamers are starting to lose their stigma as more people play and the people who play become more diverse. At least in Silicon Valley, talking about WoW over dinner with executives has become a very normal thing.

After establishing that Gamers have the best traits for being the best employee today, it will be interesting to ponder why that might be so. Interactive games provide a compressed timeline, a clear goal but unstructured and unknown environment - requiring rapid learning, environment scan, evaluation of options and decision making...in order to get rewarded by immediate feedback and hopefully a promotion to the next level!

Looks like getting Gamers to be employees is a great idea, but be prepared to create a challenging and exciting environment for them...or watch them switch to another game.

Excellent article, I would have loved to have read more on the subject.

Consider, as well, that most gamers not only display these traits, but do so even while paying a fee of some sort to play the game. The fact that the team dynamic still exists without a sense of entitlement (for mature gamers, at least) speaks even more fundamentally for the desire of the gamer to engage in this dynamic.

It is gratifying to see gaming worlds growing and becoming more accessible and desirable for those outside the "geek set". The gaming world is the closest I have ever seen to a true meritocracy, where discrimination and prejudice are only based upon performance and effort.

Popular literature has spoken for decades in fear of the coming digital age, painting grim images of times when human interaction would exist solely in the form of electronic media. While that is still science fiction, the above article indicates that, perhaps, this would not have the dehumanizing effect that is so popularly envisioned.

Just a thought.

In a future world, computer skills required to do your job are beyond the skills adults currently have - except for some of us. Kids who are gamers acquire skills that will give them an advantage over the rest of us. Hence, if you're not young enough to be a gamer and not old enough to retire soon, you may find yourself in an awkward position ten years from now.

Good read. Thanks!

In my 12 years of on-line gaming, I have found a renewed challenge day after day. Planning on events - collaborating with others on tactics, execution and potential outcomes. Everything from calculating probabilities to DPS (damage per second), DPM (damage per minute) and total dmg, learning the best ways to maximize efficiencies, etc.

And yes, my favorite facet to my current on-line gaming is PvP over PvE. There is nothing like reacting and adapting to another person over a non-player character...nothing.

One thing we all need to remember to exercise - time management and meeting the responsibilities of the "RL" (real life) world around us. No pixel is worth more than your friends and family.

Wouldn't it be more accurate to say that gamers would make the best workers IF you could get them to stop gaming long enough to work? Even intuitively, it's not hard to recognize that no employer is offering such a democratic, meritocratic work environment, and that to expect gamers' strengths to translate to a bona fide workplace is highly unrealistic. Still, it's nice to think that such a workplace could actually exist. Has anyone ever thought of running a virtual stock exchange on EverQuest? Or setting up a marketing research project within WoW?

Dave "Caoine" Dodson writes that he'd like to read more on this subject. I wanted to alert him to an article I'm editing, which will appear in the May issue of HBR, about leadership in multiplayer online games.

The piece, by Byron Reeves of Stanford, Tom Malone of MIT, and Tony O'Driscoll of North Carolina State, argues that games serve as a rough proxy for tomorrow's real-world business environment and thus provide a window onto the nature of leadership in that world. The authors also assert that certain characteristics of games -- non-monetary performance incentives, data transparency, temporary leadership roles that give people the chance to practice their leadership skills – actually make leadership easier and that such characteristics could be imported, with some modification, into today's business organizations. The article is based in part on the IBM study mentioned by Jacques Pavlenyi, above.

Also, I was fascinated by Joi Ito's question about whether gamers are born or made. I'm thinking that the answer to this question -- parallel to the nature-nurture debate about leaders and leadership -- lies somewhere between the two extremes. My young daughter may exhibit a gaming personality type but, even if she doesn’t, she’s going to adopt or absorb some of the traits discussed by John Seely Brown and Doug Thomas simply because she's grown up playing in the worlds of Webkinz and Club Penguin.

One last point: I’m intrigued by the idea that people you’d never expect to find -– in fact, who'd never expect to find themselves -– in leadership positions in real-world organizations emerge as effective game leaders. I’ve ruminated a bit on this in a blog post --

http://discussionleader.hbsp.com/hbreditors/2008/02/19/

-- and I’d welcome people’s comments on that subject there.

I find this article to be more than just a bit humorous. It romanticizes gaming. It makes me wonder if the authors have actually played MMORPGs or if they've only studied from afar.

Take this statement: "...Game worlds are meritocracies where assessment is symmetrical (leaders are assessed just as players are), and after-action reviews are meaningful only as ways of enhancing individual and group performance ..."

Few if any leaders actually emerge in online games. Most people who attempt to lead are berated, insulted, and at best ignored. "After-action reviews" usually consist of such helpful critiques as, "You *&^&* noob learn to play your &*&^^& class you a**wipe."

Online worlds tend to break down into so called guilds and from there cliques within the guilds. The social aspects fail all to often because of this sort of group exclusivity. Online gaming worlds tend to resemble high schools more than successful work places.

The stereotype of the overweight gamer, still living in his parent's basement, like all stereotypes, is at least partially based on fact.

To suggest that people addicted to these games are somehow superior to their counterparts who prefer to achieve in the real world as opposed to the virtual world is laughable at best.

I have been unemployed since 2001. I've worked in the computer industry for over 20 years. I have been a programmer, a systems programmer, a systems engineer, Director of Information Technology, and so on. Now I "consult."

I play a hunter and a rogue in World of Warcraft and spend a great deal of time in Eve Online as well. I find my success in these virtual worlds has resulted in nothing but additional failure in real life.

I suggest getting a clue before publishing this crap.

Very interesting article and as an avid gamer and MMO community builder I have to agree strongly with this article.

I also couldn't more strongly and respectfully disagree with Marvin, the previous poster.

What I have found in the MMORPG community is there is a very strong stratification of gamer emerging. The newness or "cool" factor of any MMORPG tends to draw the gamers in and the strength of the community (think content, guilds, social aspects) tends to turn the gamer from a trial member to a multi-year veteran. I create and end friendships with virtual avatars interacting through this new medium with human beings I never meet in real life.

There is something powerful in the psyche of the gamer that is just now starting to be understand with real world manifestations being mapped, i.e. this learned in the game is impacting real world events such as decision making, talent acquisition, retention, problem solving and a slew of other tangible skills.

There are some downsides to these worlds as well. It can consume people and like any activity or hobby, not having a balance is unhealthy. I would argue however that there are valuable lessons and skills that can be learned from these new worlds.

After all, I know many people that spent countless hours, destroyed relationships and families and that was not in a game or an MMO...but in real life, at a university...

So while the article I did not read as saying "If you game and are successful, you would be superior in real life" I read it more as "There are interesting worlds and social activities going on in these games that can be of interest to study and be aware of in terms of skills and traits *some* of these gamers exhibit"

I personally find the childish behavior in most MMORPGs anything but productive. I do however agree with Stephen Gillet that these games "can be of interest to study."

In particular if MMORPGs were adapted to simulate business activities, the stock market, or even world diplomatic issues, it is plausible that non-traditional solutions to otherwise daunting problems might emerge.

Let's just say the minimum age for such games should be 25 years of age.

I found this article and the comments interesting because I have a 17 year old son that loves to play ‘computer games’.

I have always admired how my son at 5 years old could navigate me through Myst whenever I got stuck. Computer games have shown me that he thinks, ‘out of the box & may have superior problem solving skills’. But these games are so absorbing and addicting that it has been a struggle for him to maintain a balanced life.

In order to study for his SAT he had to dismantle his computer.

I agree with the previous comment from Stephen, about keeping a healthy balance. I hope all this game playing helps him later in his career otherwise all I can say is that it has been a giant ‘time-suck’. To combat the imbalance, I have taught him (and practice with him) organizational, time management and social skills, without these skills and my intervention I fear he would miss out on everything else life has to offer.

I really enjoyed reading this article not only because I liked the topic but because I was able to relate to what the article was about.

I would just like to state that change is always good, and switching off on different games would probably help keep the mind working/ learning at an optimum amount, because like listening to your favorite song at once, grand, challenging games may become mundane and just plain bland.

Also, I would have to agree with previous posters that you should beware of how much you’re playing and to also do other activities in the real world, too much of one thing may be bad :(

It is a shame Marvin Price feels the need to draw a negative paralell in regards to his own experience with MMORPG's and real life success or failure
I guess with only one of the comentators taking this view as strongly as he has, vindicates the author and the other viewpoints expressed here
It is sad that he has been unemployed since 2001, but I do not believe that it has anything to do with MMORPG that he is unemployed, and this shines through in the nature of both his comments here
The IT industry where I live is inundated with gamers, and WOW seems to be the most common virtual battleground. None of my peers (both online and RL) seem to have no trouble with stable employment, or the ballancing of hobby with life
Online gaming has lead me into the industry, so one could argue that the gaming lifestyle is a legitimate testing ground for the persona and work ethic required in the modern information technology, a pool league for the professional arena so to speak
Interesting thoughts from everyone, keep it coming

I enjoyed reading the article. Personally, I do not play MMO games, but many friends do and I often engage in discussions with them. I used to play such games as Counter-Strike back in the days.

While it is nice to know that gamers exhibit such traits, I think some parts are missing. Even though every team in the game strives to win and to excel, there is no risk to lose. Sure enough, gamers learn how to balance it over time (nobody likes being 'killed'), but games still lack the real-life risks. For instance, I find forex or stock trading very similar to games. One balances one's basket (something like having a healer on a team, instead of extra warrior, or otherwise), definitely bottom-line oriented, learning last-minute updates, and all the others.. But in real life, if you lose, it can hurt. Not much so in the game (other than temporary, one-day frustration).

Another thing is obvious entrepreneurship in the game. In a team, there's no one above, no one really below. And while a team members can exhibit traits of exceptional employees, they may never want to be employees in the first place. They are more of adventurers. And entrepreneurs (very similar to traders, because they are entrepreneurs too, I guess) exhibit just the same traits. But again, real life may hurt big, and real-life players are better prepared than gamers (...for real life, heh).

Because teams in the games exist as one entity, I would like to see more analysis of the environment. I wonder if it is actually possible to build such environment with someone guiding from above. Doubtfully. Real-life-gamer teams are great in top management dept or in entrepreneurial firms, but I am afraid that's the only realms for them. Of course, I only apply common sense here. And some creative real-life player can make it possible. I would love to see that, because I rarely see someone to have a passion that big for his/her job.

Regards.

An interesting article on the attributes of today’s MMORPG gamers. Unfortunately I get the impression that they have looked mainly at WoW, comments such as "Players often reconstruct their characters in outrageous ways simply to try something new" seems to be referring to talent allocation in WoW characters. "Entire categories of game characters (such as healers) have little or no advantage in individual play, but they are indispensable members of every team." again referring to WoW character classes.

I believe WoW is a good starting point for discussion on MMORPG gamers but their argument is simplistic. Each game tends to attract gamers with certain characteristics and looking at WoW by itself is looking at only one subset of the gamer community, I would like them to look at games such as Eve online to further their understanding of gamer psychology.

Hi again all

Quote"An interesting article on the attributes of today’s MMORPG gamers. Unfortunately I get the impression that they have looked mainly at WoW, "

Yes it appears so, and your right there are so many other similar yet totally unique games out there
Final Fantasy 11, Everquest, Guild Wars (my main pastime I may add with over 4000 hours playtime logged)
GASP* 4000 hours? Thats over 34 months and I have kept up my studies and my career and family life couldnt be better

Interestingly the Arena Net developers added a function about 18 months ago telling you "you have been playing for x hours please take a break" showing they have player welfare in mind at some level

In the game of Guild Wars there are Alliances that grow from guilds banding together to create a larger community within the game, spawning websites, forums and anything upward of a thousand members (my alliance is 800 strong)

We even have education related topics on our website forum where members who are studying at university can share research topics, request interviewee's for projects etc.
One is currently compiling a database of successful romances that have initaiated through contact from online gaming, and also a study of the roles various genders tend to play in game.
EG; do women choose Healers/Monks and other nurturing play styles and do men choose Warrior and leadership roles more predominantly etc.

So as you can see the online gaming goes way beyond even the workplace with the game being used as a social tool for all kinds of purposes rather than just wasting life hours ^.^

I have contributed earlier in this discussion as well, and will again state that Online Gaming litterally gave me a career in IT as my interest in PC building and trouble shooting led me to become an engineer, taking me away from manual labour for the rest of my life and increasing both my income and my families quality of life tenfold.
It also keeps me feeling young, one of my colleagues stated I dont come accross as a 38 year old, more like a 20 year old.
I take no offnce, and beleive the gamins assist to keep my attitude youthful and vibrant, the fact I have been promoted twice in 18 months suggests it not a bad trait

Keep it coming , this thread is fantastic, and still so much further to explore!