The Idea Drunks at EA Sports
Posted on August 7, 2007 - Filed Under On Ideation, Cool Ideas
I was reading this article in the Georgia Straight about how the peeps over at EA sports generate ideas and push new projects. Now coming up with new kick-ass ideas is a process that takes a lot of investment, both temporally and fiscally.
One of EA’s keys to generating awesome new ideas is fostering a creative culture in the behemoth of a 1,300 person organization. First of all they call their office a “campus”. I know this is a simple exercise of reframing an existing entity, but I think it works. I mean, would you rather tell people that you are going to the office or that you are chillin’ on campus? I believe the simple act of calling it a campus fosters an environment of learning and creativity (as opposed to full spectrum lighting and cubicles).
Management has also structured teams as small studios, each with its own unique culture inside the larger space. This allows for a more organic and personalized environment to exist within a large organization. As an employee, you’re less likely to feel like a number and you are more likely to realize that you ideas and actions are impacting your group.
According to the Georgia Straight article, EA has tried different approaches to generating ideas, from having everyone submit a concept for consideration to putting the “best of the best” in a room and tasking them with creating something. It doesn’t work. True creative passion doesn’t come from assigning people to something.
So rather than force staff to come up with game ideas, the EA Canada approach is to let the ideas be generated organically. Someone will come up with an idea and will recruit others, often from other teams, to help them flesh out the concept. So an artist from FIFA will partner with a programmer from NHL, and they’ll have producers from NBA asking if they can help out. Things grow from there.
The challenge is that you have to assemble a team of really smart and motivated people for this to be able to occur organically.
You need to surpass a critical mass of intelligence and motivation. But if you already have that in your organization (no matter how big or small), don’t be afraid to let your employees’ ideas run free.
- Christian
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