THE ROADTO MASTERYEntertainment Business

Michael Small

Entertainment Business:Program End Goal

• Take the skills and knowledge gained from this program to successfully take the first steps towards my life’s goal of working in the video game industry.

Mastery: Personal Development and Leadership(July 2014)

• Course Goal: Gain more confidence in myself and my ability to succeed, and to get a better understanding of what I want to achieve.

• Read “Mastery” by Robert Greene to understand how I can move down my path to becoming a master in my field

• Familiarize myself with the ins and outs of FSO and the resources available

• Update my Feedly reader to stay up-to-date with news and trends in the video game industry

Strategies:

Executive Leadership(August 2014)

• Course Goal: Develop better decision-making skills, as well as to gain a better understanding of the qualities it takes to be a successful leader.

• Read “Executive Toughness: The Mental-Training Program to Increase Your Leadership Performance” by Jason Selk

• Read the Wall Street Journal article "How to Look and Act Like a Leader"

• Watch the “Developing Your Leadership Philosophy” and “Leadership Fundamentals” tutorial videos on Lynda.com

Strategies:

Project and Team Management(September 2014)

• Course Goal: Gain the knowledge and skills required to put together, manage, and motivate a team in order to accomplish project goals.

• Read “101 Project Management Problems and How to Solve Them” by Tom Kendrick

• Watch the “Managing Project Communication” video tutorial on Lynda.com

• Browse and learn new project management skills from MindTools.com

Strategies:

Business Storytelling and Brand Management(October 2014)

• Course Goal: Understand the qualities and skills needed in order to successfully promote, develop, and strengthen a company’s brand name.

• Watch the “Managing a Brand”, “Managing Brand Basics”, and “Personal Branding Basics” video tutorials on Lynda.com

• Read the "How to Manage Your Company's Brand” article on Inc.com

• Read “The Fortune Cookie Principle” by Bernadette Jiwa

Strategies:

Entertainment Business Finance(November 2014)

• Course Goal: Strengthen my existing skills in finance, as well as gain an understanding as to how it applies to the entertainment world.

• Use Yahoo! Finance and Wall Street Journal Online as resources to keep up-to-date on current financial news

• Watch the “Financial Literacy” tutorial video on Lynda.com • Refer to my previous finance textbook and notes for

additional information and guidance

Strategies:

Negotiation and Deal-making(December 2014)

• Course Goal: Gain the skills to become a great negotiator and deal-maker, and how to apply those skills in different scenarios.

• Read “Negotiate Like the Pros” by Kenneth L. Shropshire• Watch Keith White’s Dealmaking Presentation on

YouTube• Study the Guide to Complex Negotiations article on

Harvard Business Review

Strategies:

Product and Artist Management(January 2015)

• Course Goal: Gain a better understanding of product management, how it blends with artist management, and how it applies to my chosen industry.

• Watch Christopher Cummings’ Product Manager 101 presentation

• Read the "Why Product Management is Everything" article on Inc.com

• Frequently look at and study the resources available through ProdPad.com

Strategies:

Advanced Entertainment Law(February 2015)

• Course Goal: Build on my previous skills and knowledge of business law, and learn more about the laws that help protect rights within the digital space.

• Use my previous business law textbook (Essentials of Business Law and the Legal Environment) as reference

• Read and study “Copyright Law” by Richard W. Stim• Watch

"A Seminar in Cpoyright Law with Entertainment Lawyer Greg Eveline” on YouTube

Strategies:

Entertainment Media Publishing and Distribution(March 2015)

• Course Goal: Learn more about new distribution models and media publishing, as well as issues within the entertainment world (i.e. piracy, digital rights management, etc.).

• Continuously check and read GamesIndustry.biz to keep up-to-date with current marketing and distribution trends within the video game industry

• Read the "History and Future of Video Game Distribution” article

• Watch the "New Media Distribution and Execution of Content” video on YouTube

Strategies:

Digital Marketing(April 2015)

• Course Goal: Build upon my current set of marketing skill and knowledge, as well as to gain a better understanding as to how marketing works within the digital space.

• Look into joining the America Marketing Association• Refer to adage.com to stay up to date on the latest

marketing/advertising news• Watch the “Determining Your Digital Publishing Market”

video on Lynda.com

Strategies:

Business Plan Development(May 2015)

• Course Goal: Understand what it takes to successfully research and complete a business plan.

• Read “Successful Business Plan” by Rhonda Abrams• Read “Anatomy of a Business Plan” by Linda Pinson and

Jerry Jinnett• Research businesses in my chosen industry and study

their history as well as their current marketing and financial strategies

Strategies:

Final Project: Business Plan(June 2015)

• Course Goal: Develop a complete and thorough business plan.

• Continually keep in touch with my professor to make sure I am on the right track with my business plan

• Watch the “Nine Steps to Developing a Business Plan” tutorial video on Lynda.com

• Put every ounce of energy, skill, knowledge, and confidence I have gained throughout this course in order to deliver the best possible business plan

Strategies:

Clubs & Organizations

Full Sail

• Gamers vs. Games• Creative Student

Networking Group• Creative Writing Club• Student Branding Society• Collegiate DECA

Outside of Full Sail

• American Marketing Association (AMA)

• Toastmasters

Mentor Qualities

• Approachable• Honest• Open-minded• Dedicated to their craft• Forward-thinking

• Intelligent• Willing to share insight and knowledge

• Enthusiastic• Positive Attitude• Humble

Industry Mentors• Andrew Reiner

• Assoc. Editor, Game Informer• reiner@gameinformer.com• twitter.com/andrew_reiner

• Aaron Canaday• Founder, Games Industry Mentor• gamesindustrymentor@gmail.com • twitter.com/acanaday

• Gary Smith• Editor-in-Chief, Vortex Effect• gary@vortexeffect.com• twitter.com/gsmithVE

• Arne Meyer• Community Manager, Naughty Dog,

Inc.• ndi-dog@naughtydog.com• twitter.com/arnemeyer

• James Brightman• Editor, GamesIndustry International• Linkedin Profile • twitter.com/Bright_Pixels

• Randall Wong• Communications Manager,

Sledgehammer Games• Linkedin Profile• twitter.com/randallw