|
2 years ago ::
Jun 27, 2011 - 8:03AM
#271
|
|
|
Please keep your posts polite, respectful, on-topic, and refrain from personal attacks and flaming, these are violations of the Code of Conduct. You can review the Code here: wizards.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wizards.cfg... . You are welcome to disagree with one another but please do so respectfully and constructively. ************ Please return discussion to the topic of the thread, or it may need to be closed. ************
|
|
|
|
2 years ago ::
Jun 27, 2011 - 9:29AM
#272
|
|
|
This is Bill's original goodbye message.
No preview of an upcoming product this month. No R&D secrets to reveal. Not really. Instead, I wanted to let you know that I’m leaving Wizards of the Coast. It’s time for my next adventure.It’s hard to believe that I first entered the hallowed halls of TSR, Inc. in the long-ago year of 1993. I was the new kid on the block back then, even though I had seven years of professional work behind me at the time and a handful of industry awards already to my credit. Some of the greats were still on the staff back then, people whose work I admired and played in my formative years, including Zeb Cook, Jeff Grubb, and Jim Ward. My first projects were set in the Dungeons & Dragons worlds of Dark Sun,Ravenloft, and Planescape, and I couldn’t have been happier. It was a gamer’s (and game designer’s) dream come true. As time went on, I got the plum assignment of lead designer for the Alternity Science Fiction Roleplaying Game, working with co-designer Rich Baker and editor extreme Kim Mohan. It was a great time.
In 1997, Wizards of the Coast acquired TSR and moved me and a bunch of the staff out to Seattle. Shortly thereafter, I was promoted to Director of R&D for Dungeons & Dragons. I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with a talented group of creative people over the years, and we accomplished such feats as launching both the 3rd and 4th editions of the D&D roleplaying game, creating d20 Modern and d20 Star Wars, launching painted plastic miniatures for D&D, creating new worlds such asEberron and the D&D Core World, and most recently launching a new category of D&D board games that started with Castle Ravenloft. I can’t wait to see what they do next! I know that whatever it is, it will be great and I will be playing it.
My professional time with D&D may be coming to an end, but the game and its worlds will always be near and dear to my heart. I am a gamer, first and foremost, and it’s the game I always go back to for inspiration and fun. So, until our paths cross again, do what I’m still doing and …
Keep playing!
—Bill
Notice in the bolded parts that he doesn't talk about retirement, just that he is leaving WotC.
In the second bolded part, he says his time with DnD is over, but the game is still close to his heart. Sounds like a guy who still wants to work in the industry, he does say our paths will cross again.
It might not be clear if he left or was fired, but he is not retiring. So if he left, it might mean some disagreement with management or something.
His wife was fired, it might be normal that he also leaves out of solidarity. But at the same time, people above him must of known that if you fire a guy's wife, he might follow suit.
Resident Socialist and Undying Troublemaker
Martyr of Section 1, 2 and 4
Original Troll of the House of Trolls
|
|
|
|
2 years ago ::
Jun 27, 2011 - 11:56AM
#273
|
Date Joined:
Nov 12, 2002
|
Just to mention it, Bill was high enough up the path that he may have been involved in the discussion of how to address staff issues. He may have been a part of the decision making process that decided he should be amongst those that left. As such, the line between him leaving voluntarily and him being laid off might not be black and white.
I'm just curious who is left in the WotC halls, what their areas of expertise are, and what they're working on right now. I think if that picture were clearer, it might indicate the direction that the game is headed. If anyone has a clear picture of the higher ranking levels of WotC these days and wants to post it, I'd love to see it.
D&D & Boardgames
If I have everything I need to run great games for many years without repeating stuff, why do I need to buy anything right now?
|
|
|
|
2 years ago ::
Jun 27, 2011 - 12:30PM
#274
|
|
|
As much as I enjoy WOTC products, there is no way in heck I'd ever want to work for the company. There are almost no employees who last more than a couple years. Sure, it might be exciting to be part of the action, but I couldn't take the drama and disruption of a constantly changing workforce.
I met Bill at a worldwide gameday some years back. He's a guy who loved the game. I wish him well.
|
|
|
|
2 years ago ::
Jun 27, 2011 - 12:38PM
#275
|
Date Joined:
Sep 28, 2006
|
As much as I enjoy WOTC products, there is no way in heck I'd ever want to work for the company. There are almost no employees who last more than a couple years. Sure, it might be exciting to be part of the action, but I couldn't take the drama and disruption of a constantly changing workforce.
I met Bill at a worldwide gameday some years back. He's a guy who loved the game. I wish him well.
Going to work at WotC, it is done with the knowledge that they regularly lay people off.
|
|
|
|
2 years ago ::
Jun 27, 2011 - 12:48PM
#276
|
|
|
As much as I enjoy WOTC products, there is no way in heck I'd ever want to work for the company. There are almost no employees who last more than a couple years. Sure, it might be exciting to be part of the action, but I couldn't take the drama and disruption of a constantly changing workforce.
I met Bill at a worldwide gameday some years back. He's a guy who loved the game. I wish him well.
Going to work at WotC, it is done with the knowledge that they regularly lay people off.
That's a valid point. If you walk in the door with the understanding that it's probably just a couple-year gig, expectations can be managed. My company is at the complete opposite end of the spectrum, so it's hard for me to relate.
|
|
|
|
2 years ago ::
Jun 27, 2011 - 12:57PM
#277
|
Date Joined:
Apr 22, 2001
|
As much as I enjoy WOTC products, there is no way in heck I'd ever want to work for the company. There are almost no employees who last more than a couple years. Sure, it might be exciting to be part of the action, but I couldn't take the drama and disruption of a constantly changing workforce.
I met Bill at a worldwide gameday some years back. He's a guy who loved the game. I wish him well.
Going to work at WotC, it is done with the knowledge that they regularly lay people off.
That's a valid point. If you walk in the door with the understanding that it's probably just a couple-year gig, expectations can be managed. My company is at the complete opposite end of the spectrum, so it's hard for me to relate.
Sorry but I don't buy it, thats just A hole behavior and that sort of cold, inhuman mentality has a way of sneaking into the treatment of their customers as well. Its a crap way to run a company and a business, there is no excuse for that at all.
|
|
|
|
2 years ago ::
Jun 27, 2011 - 1:03PM
#278
|
Date Joined:
Sep 28, 2006
|
As much as I enjoy WOTC products, there is no way in heck I'd ever want to work for the company. There are almost no employees who last more than a couple years. Sure, it might be exciting to be part of the action, but I couldn't take the drama and disruption of a constantly changing workforce.
I met Bill at a worldwide gameday some years back. He's a guy who loved the game. I wish him well.
Going to work at WotC, it is done with the knowledge that they regularly lay people off.
That's a valid point. If you walk in the door with the understanding that it's probably just a couple-year gig, expectations can be managed. My company is at the complete opposite end of the spectrum, so it's hard for me to relate.
Sorry but I don't buy it, thats just A hole behavior and that sort of cold, inhuman mentality has a way of sneaking into the treatment of their customers as well. Its a crap way to run a company and a business, there is no excuse for that at all.
In an industry where you need to continually put out stuff that is new and where the profit margin is probably pretty thin, you will need to regularly clean out the old employees to bring in new blood who has a different and interesting take on things, the fact that they probably cost less (in salary/benefits) is just a bonus.
|
|
|
|
2 years ago ::
Jun 27, 2011 - 1:15PM
#279
|
- Dragon Slayer
- If only he would apply himself
- Dammit Jim, this is Star Trek, not D&D!
Date Joined:
Jan 31, 2006
|
If you are in the RPG business and don't know the industry has a terrible financial track record, then you somehow are really naive. No one should work at any RPG company without understanding that it is far from a sure thing in terms of employment.
There is a term for someone that has worked 20 years at an RPG company: Lucky. That Bill has been at WotC so long is likely a testament to the quality of his work, as well as interpersonal relationships.
That said, speculation is useless. There is seldom any good information on why a person has been let go. Both companies and individuals change over time. It is not surprising, especially in creative industries, for an individual of high value to a company to find they are no longer fitting in. Sometimes it can be mutually agreeable. A person might come to the realization that they really want to be in a company that does xyz, but the company states it wants to be doing abc. Other times the company wants a change of direction and the individual does not. When that person is instrumental to decision-making, severing the relationship is often best for both. Otherwise it will be frustrating and unproductive for both. Sometimes the person has done something egregious, or enough small things that action had to be taken. When the person is well liked a layoff may be used instead of firing with cause, so as to allow for benefits and to make it easier on them to gain future employment. We really just don't and probably won't ever know.
On the corporate side of things, companies have to look at revenue and expenses. Salaries for people that have been employed a long time may not match what the person would receive if they walked in through the door today. That requires careful handling and setting expectations clearly. If the expectations cannot be met such that the person is worth the hire salary, then it is again in the interest of both parties to sever the relationship. Both the company and the individual work best when that individual is valued correctly.
Sometimes there must be a reduction to reach company goals. A mandate from above can be simple: reduce salary outlays by $x amount. That sounds terrible (and I don't like it either), but in the end it has to do with keeping everyone else employed when revenue is scarce. It is better to face these issues head on and make proper decisions than to close the company many years later (as some RPGs have done) when they suddenly find themselves in a hole. There are a lot of ways to handle this well or poorly, but it is a reality of corporate life. It sounds cold and inhuman, but it is also cold and inhuman to run a company into the ground and suddenly lay everyone off. That hurts the company and all the customers. Ideally you learn from layoffs and prevent them in the future, better targeting your growth investment and hiring to your revenue (easier said than done, especially in RPGs).
Any time that a person is allowed to say goodbye, as Bill was, it suggests (but is no assurance) that the person left on fairly amicable terms. There is no indication here or before that WotC is particularly different from other companies when it comes to layoffs.
Follow my blog and Twitter feed with Dark Sun campaign design and DM tips! Dark Sun's Ashes of Athas Campaign is now available for home play (PM me with your e-mail to order the campaign adventures).
|
|
|
|
2 years ago ::
Jun 27, 2011 - 1:25PM
#280
|
Date Joined:
Jan 15, 2004
|
In an industry where you need to continually put out stuff that is new and where the profit margin is probably pretty thin, you will need to regularly clean out the old employees to bring in new blood who has a different and interesting take on things, the fact that they probably cost less (in salary/benefits) is just a bonus.
Not based on actual studies.
From Harvard Business School (hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5902.html):
Previous laboratory studies have demonstrated the causal relationship between emotion and creativity. Amabile's research in a real-world setting bears this out, with positive emotion tied to higher creativity and negative feelings linked to lower motivation and creativity. (Data for her study are based on diary evidence that a subject actually did creative thinking that day, not on his or her self-evaluation.) The diary findings also showed a positive carry-over effect in creativity and productivity, one day and even two days after a worker reported being in a good mood. drfd.hbs.edu/fit/public/facultyInfo.do?f...: Teresa Amabile is the Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business School. She is also a Director of Research at the School. Originally educated and employed as a chemist, Dr. Amabile received her Ph.D. in psychology from Stanford University in 1977. Her research investigates how life inside organizations can influence people and their performance. Originally focusing on individual creativity, Dr. Amabile's research expanded to encompass individual productivity, team creativity, and organizational innovation. This 35-year program of research on how the work environment can influence creativity and motivation yielded a theory of creativity and innovation; methods for assessing creativity, motivation, and the work environment; and a set of prescriptions for maintaining and stimulating innovation. Dr. Amabile's current research program focuses on the psychology of everyday work life: how events in the work environment influence subjective experience ("inner work life") and performance (creativity, productivity, and commitment to the work).
|
|
|
